Al Jazeera...The Fox News of The East

In the document that I chose out of the packet entitled "What the Muslim World Is Watching" by Fouad Ajami, I was intrigued by the efforts that Al Jazeera has made over its short history to craft their own version of the the world as well as facilitating the ideals of Terrorist factions. In the document Ajami begins by using the example of a documentary televised on the Al Jazeera network which chronicled Che Guevara's "last stand" before his capture and ultimate execution. This "Romanticism" of a legendary "rebel" as Ajami would call him, would also make the comparison that Che Guevara is to Bolivian people as Osama Bin Laden is to the people of Afghanistan. Ajami would later in the document make the comparison between Al Jazeera and the American networks such as Fox News in how they both are the extremes of a media, but also noting that Al Jazeera takes their rhetoric to another extreme all together:

"On Al-Jazeera the Hollywoodization of news is indulged with an abandon that would make the Fox News Channel blush. The channel's promos are particularly shameless. One clip juxtaposes a scowling George Bush with a poised, almost dreamy bin Laden; between them is an image of the World Trade Center engulfed in flames"

I felt that this was interesting because when I watch networks such as Fox News and CNBC, I can see the depths that they take everyday to stay on either side of the aisle. I feel when covering news your covering some critical material which ultimately will play into the fears and the safety of the audience. As an American watching the constant videos released by Bin Laden after 9/11, you can only be worried about the future of the country in respects to the anti-American sentiment promoted on this network:

"The channel's numerous call-in shows welcomes viewers to express opinions that in the United States would be considered hate speech. And, of course, there is the matter of Al-Jazeera's "exclusive bin Laden videotape....Dressed in a camouflage jacket over a traditional thoub, bin Laden spoke in ornate Arabic, claiming that the terror attacks of Sept. 11 should be applauded by Muslims".

Although I do not promote the acts of terrorism at no time, it is important to note that this country has their own skeletons which they have seemed to try to hide themselves which makes these networks that much more harder to dissect. Before the war began their was already an attempt to create an "Anti-Muslim sentiment" to fuel the need for war by not only the Bush administration but the media alike. We as people also took on the job of adding to these feelings and still remain in a anti-Muslim country, no matter if we want to believe it or not.