DUBAI, 1 May — The Arab world must work to build a proper media mechanism to effectively convey its message to Western audiences, according to speakers at a major Arab media conference that concluded here on Monday.
Panelists who took part in the 2002 Arab Media Summit agreed that Arabs must pool their efforts and resources to acquire a better understanding of the inside workings of the United States, and work the system much the same way Israel has done throughout the past 50 years.
The summit attracted some 1,000 media specialists from the Arab world and the West for two days of discussion and debate.
Israel’s media strategy has been to enlist supporters who sport nice suits and speak impeccable English. These people appear "reasonable" to Western audiences, said Tim Llewellyn of the BBC.
"The way the Arab cause has been treated by the Western media is a paradigm of the way the Arab world has been treated in general," said Llewellyn, who was the BBC Middle East correspondent, based in Beirut from 1976 to 1980, and again in 1987. He recalled a comparison a Palestinian friend once made.
"The Palestinian story was recorded on a faulty computer with a virus. We were told it was recorded, but it was then deleted," he said.
"It is up to you, Arabs, to tell us your story and to keep repeating it...," said Llewellyn.
"The BBC and others are doing you (Arabs) a disservice," he said, by telling the story as if it involved two equivalents. The use of misleading vocabulary, such as "cease-fire" and "Palestinian forces" imply there are two equal parties, he pointed out.
"We are not reminded by the media that one is an occupier and the other is occupied — that one is the oppressor, and the other is oppressed," he continued.
According to Dr. Ahmed Al-Rabae, a member of the Kuwaiti Parliament and a former minister of higher education, breaking the Western barriers is "a difficult task, but not impossible".
His speech focused on the United States, because, as he put it: "In Europe, there remains a balanced opinion, but not in America."
"Sometimes, we look upon the US as an enemy and we hate them; sometimes we ask them to interfere," he began. "What is important is that we understand the concept that is America, because it is often misunderstood."
When addressing America, Al-Rabae said Arabs must consider their culture, their history and their education, and deal with them accordingly. "We face this concept with extremism. We burn flags in demonstrations. But what we need to do is to understand it, and interact with it," he went on.
"In structuring our message, we have to take into consideration America’s social, cultural and political systems. We have to put ourselves in their shoes." He proceeded to paint a picture of America’s internal make-up.
"The United States is not a single entity. It is composed of different people, of different origin, who are managed by institutions. It is wrong to say that the US government is run by the Democratic party, or the Republican party. These parties are windows to the lobby system."
Al-Rabae explained that the Middle East crisis is not a foreign affairs issue for the United States. It may be a matter of foreign affairs for many countries, but for the US, it is very much an internal one, he said.
"The Zionists quickly understood the system in the US, and worked within it. The Arabs, too, need a mechanism," he maintained. "We have a fair and just cause, but that is not enough to win in the current scenario."
Dr. Yousuf Al-Hassan, director of the Diplomatic Institute, UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, blamed the Arab media for failing to combat Western perceptions of the Arab world and the Palestinian struggle.
He said the media has not presented Israel as an invading power. "Jerusalem has been depicted as a disputed religious site and not in terms of human rights violations."
