[1]http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=[2]17751Misusing freedom of
   expression
   Abdullah Farraj Al-Sharif/Al-Madinah
   Freedom of expression has long been absent in the Arab world. While all
   Arab intellectuals emphasize the need for it, they do not accept the
   wild lies and prevarications dished out regularly by the Qatar-based
   Al-Jazeera on a round-the-clock basis. The station chooses guests with
   dubious qualifications to participate in what is arguably the worst
   kind of talk show.
   Guests rant and rave, reminding viewers of a brawl. The participants
   are never concerned with the authenticity of evidence used to support
   their arguments. Such shows, which are not often broadcast by other
   stations in other parts of the world, spew hatred and hostility all
   around.
   Viewers wonder at the apparent contradiction in the way the station
   presents programs and in what its goals really are. Its motto is
   Opinion and the Other Opinion but the stations performance has proved
   that the other opinion has no place in its broadcasts. When a topic is
   discussed Iraq, for example the discussion rambles on interminably.
   Viewers who may or may not know anything about the topic participate by
   telephone. The moderator puts questions to them but they are not
   allowed to express a dissenting opinion. Questions are phrased in such
   a way that the desired answer is implied and it is thus clear what the
   participants are expected to say. The trick usually works as
   unsuspecting participants initially agree with the moderator and later
   when the trap has become obvious, the participant protests that he or
   she has not been allowed to state his views. At this point the
   moderator jumps in to say angrily, We are discussing the likelihood of
   Americas attacking Iraq and not the stations style of presentation.
   The stations objective becomes quite clear to those who watches it for
   some time. It aims at the total surrender of all Arab interests to
   American policies. The station seems to follow a skillfully-devised
   scheme, which is much worse than either covert or overt Zionist
   schemes, to deprive Arabs of all their legitimate rights. The viewers,
   who see through the stations evil designs, are at a loss to explain why
   a Gulf country continues to finance a station which has ruined good
   relations with a number of Arab countries because of its baseless
   criticisms and allegations. If the station is impartial in its
   treatment, one wonders why it never discusses the state of affairs in
   Qatar. Is Qatar an ideal and infallible state while all other Arab
   states and governments and countries deserve to be condemned?
   Though I have been frank in my opinions about the way the station
   operates, I want to stress my keenness to maintain our close family and
   cultural ties with our brothers in Qatar despite the efforts of the TV
   station to ruin them.
   14 August 2002
   [3]http://www.cursor.org/aljazeera.htm

References

   1. http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=17751Misusing
   2. http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=17751Misusing
   3. http://www.cursor.org/aljazeera.htm