Journalists ‘must counter growing Islamophobia’

JEDDAH: A Jeddah-based Pakistani writer has called on journalists to project a positive image of Pakistan and the Muslim world, to counter growing Islamophobia worldwide.
“Journalists play a critical role in shaping opinions and we need their help and guidance in countering the negative propaganda against Pakistan and the Muslim world,” said Neaz Ahmed, chairman of the Pakistan Writers Forum.
He was speaking at an event on Thursday organized by his forum to open channels of communication with the media in Jeddah. “Politics and journalism can change the fortunes of any nation,” he said. “If you want to know the state of a nation, you have to just look at the daily newspapers and TV channels and you will get to know everything.”
He said newspapers and TV channels are a reflection of what is happening in society. “If newspapers project a positive image, it raises the morale of the community and the nation. Journalists have great power, great influence. They can, through the sheer power of their pen, help turn defeat into victory as was evidenced in many historic events of the past.”
Ahmed lamented the fact that when it comes to Muslims, the media is particularly nasty. “The headlines are provocative. They malign the entire community. If a terrorist bomber happens to be a Muslim, then his religion is highlighted and if the criminal happens to be a non-Muslim , then he is dismissed as a lunatic. His religion is not mentioned at all. Such is the state of mainstream journalism today. It is in this context that we want to raise awareness and seek the help of journalists to play their part in reversing this obnoxious trend.”
He explained the aims and objectives of the forum and said it has been active for a long time but had kept its activities within its circle of friends. “We want to benefit from the experience of journalists and use our platform to do some good for the Ummah and the community,” he said.
Prominent among those who spoke at the event were Pakistan Journalists Forum (PJF) Chairman Amir Mohammed Khan, top journalists M. Jamil Rathore, Asad Akram, Mohammed Amil Usmani, S. Athar H. Rizvi and Radio Jeddah’s senior anchor Khalid Mahboob.
The special invitees included Mahmood Hasan, M. Nasir Jawed, Liaqat Anjum, Syed Mussarat Khalil, Zamurrad Khan Saifi and Usama Altaf.
The event was ably anchored by journalist Mustafa Habib Siddiqui who was previously associated with ARY News. Among the event’s hosts were PWF Vice Chairman Tauqeer Ahmed, General Secretary Yasir Mahmood, Bahjat Ayub Najmi, Abdul Rashid, Zahid Hussain, Altaf Hussain Awan, Ghazi Afzal Hussain and Imran Farooqui.
Neaz Ahmed quoted an interesting Urdu couplet that explained the difficult and principled task of a journalist: “Ham subah paraston ki ye reet purani hai/Haathon me qalam rakhna ya haath qalam rakhna,” which is loosely translated as: “For the seekers of truth, this has been the norm, either to keep the integrity of the pen or lose your hands.”