Egyptians Protest ‘Islamic Hate Channels’

EGYPTIANS PROTEST ‘ISLAMIC HATE CHANNELS’

Egyptian human rights advocates demand the government remove provocative television channels from the air.

Egyptian human rights activists submitted a report to the Egyptian government this week demanding it ban aggressive religious Islamic channels from broadcasting.

The activists, who include lawyer and human-rights activist Nagib Gabriel, described these channels as extremist and said they were disseminating “subversive ideas that call for discrimination against women and Copts and lean towards radical behavior that is far from the spirit of Islam,” according to a report in the Kuwaiti Al-Jarida.

Gabriel, who heads the Egyptian Union for Human Rights, expressed concern about these channels and stressed the need to “close any channel that fuels internal strife and threatens the social peace, whether among Christians or Muslims.”

The activists demanded that the Egyptian satellite operator Nilesat stop carrying these “extremism channels,” naming stations such as A-Nas, A-Rahma and Al-Hafiz.

Prof. Hussein Amin, who heads the department of Journalism and Mass Communications at the American University in Cairo, implied there was logic behind this decision.

“Nilesat broadcasts almost 50 Islamic channels varying from extreme 'salafi' to ‘conservative’ to ' modern' Islamic channels,” Amin told The Media Line. “Some of them take things to the extreme. For example, they do not refer to women at all, there’s no women presentation and [they feature] only Sheikhs who interpret the Qur'an and the broadcast of the Qur'an itself.”

“Others have talk programs where hate campaigns against other religions is documented in the content materials, sometimes directly but mainly indirectly,” he added.

“I do think that the influence of these channels is increasing dramatically and fast," he stressed. "I notice that many people are affected with the new presenters and their ideas about others.”

The activists are accusing these channels of “fueling the latest attacks by fundamental Muslims against peaceful Christians” as well as attacks against followers of the Bahai faith.

Amin said satellite channels have become more influential since the economic crisis affected the Egyptian middle and lower classes.

“In this environment, 'satellite sheikhs' find a golden opportunity to cultivate those in need of any support, and those who don’t find doors open to them," he said. "Therefore, they drift to the religion satellite channels for comfort and psychological and sociological support.”

Human rights activists are not all in agreement over how to deal with these stations.

“The stations are very problematic,” Ahmad Samih, director of the Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies told The Media Line. “It’s not an easy decision for a human-rights activist fighting for freedom of speech to ask them to take it off air, but I think they need to be punished and they need to understand what responsibilities they have.”

Bahey Eddin Hassan, director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies told The Media Line that “with all due respect to the good intentions of those NGOs, I’m afraid this will indirectly help the government limit the freedom of satellite channels in Egypt and other parts of the region.”

Gamal Eid, executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said his organization was not a party to the demand to stop certain channels from broadcasting.

“We’re against stopping the broadcasts of any station or channel unless they are calling for hatred and racism and there are no channels that call for racism,” he told The Media Line. “There are channels that are radical, but matters haven’t reached the stage of asking them to be blocked.”

Sixteen non-governmental human-rights organizations submitted a report this week to the United Nations Human Rights Council for a periodic review about the human rights situation in Egypt. The council is expected to review the situation in Egypt in February 2010.

The extensive report included criticism on the way Cairo is treating journalists.

“Violations and restrictions have continued, despite the success of the media in gaining a wider margin for freedom of the press in recent years,” it said. “The legal harassment of journalists continues, led by the state or elements linked to it, which has led to prison sentences or heavy fines for journalists in recent years.”

“There have also been more cases in which journalists have been physically assaulted with impunity while doing their job, in addition to pressure on private satellite channels, intervention in their affairs, the closure of their offices, and the legal harassment of some of their employees on charges related to the practice of their profession,” the report said.



By Rachelle Kliger on Thursday, December 03, 2009