Historic Media Seminar to Quell Islamaphobia

THE MUSLIM WEEKLY 2004
Mainstream journalists with their camera crews converged at the London Muslim Centre (LCM) on Saturday morning to witness media representatives and Muslims engage and discuss their relationship.

For the MCB, the seminar could not have come at a more opportune time as it coincided with the departure of two of it’s delegates to Baghdad amidst unprecedented publicity. For Muslims in general, it was an opportunity to gain an insight into how the media operated and raise concerns that undoubtedly existed.

Opening comments were made by the the MCB’s chairman Iqbal Sacranie and media secretary Inayat Banglawala, outlining their aim to build more fruitful relations with the media, making them more sensitive to Muslim feelings and to back pro-active action in portraying Muslim issues in a fair manner.

First up on the podium was the BBC online editor Peter Clifton who provided an overview of their services, stressing they made every effort to use their unparalleled resources to gain a better overall picture of the world we live in.

Next up was Sue Roberts from the Press Complaints Commission who focussed her speech on explaining how individuals may complain about news that was found offensive. Comments from the audience suggested that there were severe limitations including a reluctance to adjudicate on issues concerning Muslims.

The BBC had a second representation in the form of Jon Williams (Editor of Home News) who outlined the corporation’s aims to get closer to communities by asking them to challenge, provoke and become more active in portraying an accurate image of themselves.

OFCOM, the broadcasting and telecommunications regulator’s presentation by Simon Crine and Pam Giddy was overshadowed by comments from members of the audience who expressed their frustration at being unable to obtain broadcasting licences to express Muslim creative talent, alleging there was official obstruction.

Before lunch, attention was focussed on Muslim Media in the UK with Sarah Joseph (EMEL), Ahmed Versi (Muslim News) and our own Chief Editor Mr. Ahmed Malik joining a panel discussion. Points that emerged included suggestions that until now, Muslims had been reactive to news and in the main had not generated a positive outcome. There was acknowledgement that mainstream media was far more developed and could not be competed with at this stage. However, as Muslim involvement in the media increased, changes in mainstream attitudes would follow.

Lunch was followed by a thought provoking re-affirmation of Anti-Palestinian bias shown by the media, presented by Professor Greg Philo from the Glasgow University Media Unit. He included video footage and excerpts from his book ‘Bad News from Israel’ which was written in conjunction with a detailed two-year study. Particularly telling was the ‘muddled view’ generated by TV news, where viewers innocently thought the settlers were the Palestinians and the Israelis, the occupied. He concluded that the Israeli issue was ripe for debate now more than ever.

The final phase included a panel discussion involving Michael Binyon (Times), Ewen MacAskil (Guardian), Chris Carter (Ilford Recorder) and Simon Israel (Channel4). The panel expressed a fear for multi-culturalism, with the last three years proving particularly difficult and acknowledged the tarring of Muslims with the terrorist brush. They pointed out commercial pressures and deadline constraints but were ready to accept criticism with a view to improving Muslim portrayal and avoid highlighting Muslims only when a crisis occurs.

Closing of the day-long seminar was conducted by Inayat Banglawala with examples of where the media had unfairly or incorrectly depicted Muslims, including a list of usual suspects on the Islamaphobe list.

All in all, an educative seminar long overdue, culminated with the hopeful aspiration that the media’s relationship with Muslims will improve.