Propaganda & Mass Persuasion: Al Jazeera Will Evoke the Fear in Ya

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Al Jazeera Will Evoke the Fear in Ya

Al Jazeera, the independent news station based in Doha, Qatar, which broadcasts in over 20 Arab countries, is not only doing more than it's fair share of frightening people, but is also relentlessly adding "fuel to the fire." As portrayed by the New York Times article on November 18th, 2001, entitled "What the Muslim World Is Watching" by Fouad Ajami, Al Jazeera emphasizes war, death and corpses to the Arab world more than anything else. From tuning in to this 24 hour news channel, an "anti-Americanist/ anti-Zionist" (New York Times) sentiment can be powerfully felt through the despicable speech used and programming shown to the public.

In terms of the level of propaganda, or amount of one-sided information and images that Al Jazeera uses in their news broadcasts and shows, it is safe to say that they go to the extreme. Not only does their programming aim to and accomplish horrifying the Arab world with their bloody, as well as devastated lands and people, but they also continually frame the "enemies," (mainly those whom are not Muslims), to anger the public and gain support in their practice and preaching of hatred.

Furthermore, in this quote from "What the Muslim World Is Watching," it is made blatantly clear the way in which Al Jazeera keeps Arabs in tune with their beliefs, as well as maintains the Arab world's feelings of sympathy in the anti-American struggle, as Ajami details a highlighted feature on Al Jazeera; an attack in 1983 by "a young man in a Mercedes truck loaded with TNT who struck the Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 Americans":

"The segment revisited the horror of that day -- the wailing of the wounded, the soot and ruin everywhere. The images were far more horrible than any I had ever seen of the tragedy. There was no sympathy in the narration, and a feeling of indifference, even menace, hung over this dark moment of remembrance. The message was clear: the Middle East was, and is, a region of heartbreak for the foreign power."

This quote helps to identify the prime example of what Al Jazeera stands for and represents to an astounding 35 million Arabs globally (Ajami): the magnification of the idea that Muslims are the most oppressed people in the world and this is mainly the fault of Americans or Zionists. If they are not airing their own civilians and children dying at the hands of American or Israeli soldiers, they will surely be found lending playtime to celebrate the killings of the Americans or Zionists who do not believe in their fundamentalist religious ideas. The Arab world, however can not be blamed for the propaganda that keeps them in fear of and in check by their religious leaders; they are simply keeping faith in Al Jazeera, their trusted news source, as there is not many other outlets by which Arabs can receive full and accurate information. Therefore, what they are allowed to know and traumatized by with gruesome images and despicable words, unfortunately is that which leads their way in terms of opinions, beliefs and ultimately, hatred.

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