The Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA), Singapore & Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF), Singapore Covering Islam: Challenges & Opportunities for Media in the Global Village Edited by Syed Farid Alatas Copyright © 2005 by the Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF). Editor: Syed Farid Alatas Publisher: Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA) 150 Changi Road #04-06/07 Guthrie Building Singapore 419972 Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Singapore 34 Bukit Pasoh Road Singapore 089848 Tel: +65 6227 2001 Fax: +65 6227 8343 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior consent of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and the Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA). The responsibility for facts and opinions expressed in this publication rests exclusively with the contributors, and their interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views or the policy of the publishers or their supporters. ISBN: 981-05-4872-9123 Layout and Design: TimeEdge Publishing Pte Ltd 10 Anson Road 15-14 International Plaza Singapore 079903 www.tepub.com CONTENTS Forewords v-ix Preface 1 SYED FARID ALATAS Four Years after September 11th: The Failure of Western Media 5 STEPHEN SCHWARTZ Globalisation of Media Ethics and Localisation of Media Values 27 JOHN RICHARD GEE Is Objective Reporting on Islam Possible? Contextualising the Demon 41 SYED FARID ALATAS Islamic Imagery and American Policy 53 YUSEF J. PROGLER Right, Left & Wrong: A Comparison of East and West Coverage 89 of Islam SUNNI M. KHALID Religious Ideas: Islam in the Malay Press 115 AHMAD MURAD MERICAN Harnessing Inter-Religious Harmony through Media Agencies 133 HAIDAR BAGIR Notes on Contributors 149 iii Appendices Keynote Speech 155 YAACOB IBRAHIM, Minister for Environment and Water Resources and In-Charge of Muslim Affairs Peace Journalism as a Tool for Rapprochement 161 FRANK LEMKE, Radio Training Centre, DW-AKADEMIE Seminar Programme 173 iv WELCOME ADDRESS by Abdul Razak Chanbasha Chairman, the Centre for Research on Islamic & Malay Affairs (RIMA) One glance at the title of this book will remind one of the landmark work by Edward Said, “Covering Islam: How the Media and Experts Determine How We See The Rest Of The World”. In his book, Edward Said highlighted the media and the experts’ monolithic effect when they interpreted Islam for others’ consumption. The result of this effect was not only a misunderstanding of the subject matter but also a mistrust of the people of this faith. His advice was clear – not to defend Islam per se, but to be critical in one’s understanding of Islam, and of other religions for that matter. In the same spirit, this seminar is the result of two major motivations. One is the need to understand the media as a producer instead of a mere transmitter of news, with the ability to influence views and opinions, and the other is to empower readership to engage media practitioners on the coverage of religious issues, particularly issues on Islam. These two motivations share the underlying sentiment that inter-religious harmony and understanding can be cultivated through the media, provided that each and everyone of us make the extra effort to critically review daily news that have cumulatively shaped our understanding of religious ideology and practices. This seminar is not to redress the grievances that the media have perceivably imposed on Islam or Muslims. It is, essentially, about cultivating and exploring the spirit of engagement with what is reported and analysed in terms of news and opinions expressed in the media. It is about coming to an understanding v about the roles and accountabilities of the society at large and for the media, exercising discretion in producing news and reproducing views. Readers and viewers on their part must be critical and yet open to different points of view and appreciate diversities in thoughts. The notion of the “global village” is all the more real when we have various media agencies that serve as links between the different nations, countries, and some may even say, civilizations. Whether these links serve as a positive harness for peace and inter-cultural understanding or as a negative force that instigates misunderstanding is an outcome dependent on many parties. RIMA hopes that this seminar has sparked the will to harness the positive energy of media agencies in cultivating inter-religious relations and wishes to thank KAF for its support towards such an endeavor. vi WELCOME ADDRESS by Werner vom Busch Regional Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Singapore The challenges for reporting on Islam in an era of global interconnectedness are considerable. If they are not adequately met, then the global village threatens to remain a hollow concept in which prejudiced and dysfunctional feuding families are divided by hatred, injustice, inequality or simply ignorance. The present publication of seven articles and two speeches attempts to counter this threat. It is the product of a seminar entitled ‘Covering Islam: Challenges & Opportunities for Media in the Global Village’, which was held at the Holiday Inn Parkview in Singapore on 3 and 4 September 2005. Organised by the Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA) and supported by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, this public seminar brought together leading academics, activists, authors, editors and journalists as well as an attentive audience. The timing and theme of the seminar were no coincidence. It was conceived of and held at a time when images and events suggested not only a clash of the Muslim with the non-Muslim world, but also a battle within the Muslim world about the meaning and purpose of Islam. In the face of so much violence, there is a distinct need for the media to defuse rather than ignite religious and ethnic tensions. Informing through enlightened, balanced and objective reporting, not only as a means of conflict resolution but also as a method of conflict prevention, is the order of the day. However, as discussed during the seminar and laid out in greater detail in this publication, the obstacles are considerable: vii a) How can news coverage be objective if journalists lack the historical knowledge, first-hand experience, or the contacts to understand, for instance, the schisms within Islam? b) How can news coverage be even if terrorist violence by Muslims against non-Muslims is given far more attention than, for instance, Muslim violence against other Muslims, or non-Muslim violence against Muslims? c) Furthermore, how can news coverage be neutral if it is embedded in differing mediascapes and serve different masters and audiences? Clearly, possible answers to these questions are not purely technical but also relate to questions of identity (religious, ethnic, gender, generational) and power. Who is reporting about Islam, who are the opinion-shaping experts cited in the media, and whose views are predominantly represented in the media? Although the challenges in covering Islam evenly, objectively and with insight seem considerable, it clearly emerged during the seminar that they are not insurmountable. In fact, every challenge presents opportunities for improvement, and every crisis provides a window for change. The Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Media Programme Asia is a good example of how such challenges might be met. Headquartered in Singapore, but covering most countries between Pakistan in the west, Mongolia to the east, China in the north and Indonesia to the south, it promotes a free, responsible and ethical press. It does so by strengthening dialogue among leading editors and journalists through regional conferences and meetings, and through its three key initiatives: the Asia News Network (ANN), the Council of Asian Press Institutes (CAPI) and the Konrad Adenauer Center for Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University (CFJ). While none of the above initiatives are explicitly concerned with Islam, they nevertheless provide a framework of dialogue and exchange of information. In fact, the seminar and this publication demonstrate how much can be achieved through open inter- and intra-faith dialogue. viii In this context, I would like to congratulate the Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA), and in particular its Director, Mr Yusof Sulaiman, for their excellent work. Not only did they bring together an interesting and well-qualified group of speakers and commentators, but they also facilitated the keynote speech by the distinguished Guest of Honour, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister of the Environment and Water Resources, and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, Republic of Singapore. I would like to further extend my thanks to the contributors to this volume and in particular to Dr Syed Farid Alatas, Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore. Without his professional expertise, the compilation and editing of this volume would never have been achieved in such record time. It is my hope that this publication will find the audience that it deserves because it makes a modest but substantial contribution to a better understanding about the challenges and opportunities faced by the media in reporting about Islam. ix Preface Syed Farid Alatas It cannot be denied that the events of the last few years in both the global and local arenas have had some impact on tensions between Muslims and non- Muslims. The 9-11 incident, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the rise of global terrorism have all posed inevitable challenges. The media plays a very important role in analyzing and reporting these events given that they shape public opinion, which, subsequently, translates into reactions in the various sections of society. The media must, therefore, be sufficiently engaged so that biased reporting and prejudicial views are minimized as the realities of the day are presented to the public.