…Aljazeera? Its constant anti-Jordanian sentiment.
In a recent article entitled “Jordan Detains Islamist Deputies” it had the following to say about Zarqawi:
Jordan brands al-Zarqawi as a terrorist and says he is the mastermind behind the triple hotel bombings that killed 60 civilians last November.
First of all, he is a terrorist with or without Jordanian “branding”. Second of all Jordan didn’t say he masterminded the bombings ZARQAWI SAID that he masterminded the attacks!
…And you know what I hate about Abu-Fares?
Whe he says Zarqawi is a “martyr” but that the same term cannot be applied to those who died in the Amman Bombings (even though by Islamic definition it can and it is).
So what does he call those people who died instead?
“I can’t describe them as martyrs; these were mobs and ignorant [people],” Abu Fares told Al Arabiya satellite station on Saturday.
GGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Picture: Courtesy of Hamzeh
Al Jazeera is still the best media outlet in the Middle East. The rest of the bunch are completely run by their governments, the majority of them, at least the larger ones, by Saudis.
On al Jazeera you get a wide range of opinion and that is not available on any other Arabic news venue.
I think that al Jazeera often tries TOO hard to seem impartial. There could be a case for saying that just because Zarqaqi claimed the bombings doesnt mean he did it. How many times have we seen a terrorist or group claim a bombing it didnt do? The instances are legion, Lebanon and Palestine often two or three groups would claim an attack.
I think al Jazeera, in this case, was just trying to be impartial, and sometimes it just seems stupid.
As to Zarqawi, he was a terrorist, full stop. I am all for fighting the occupation of Muslim lands, what have you. But purposely killing civilians? That is unIslamic! Purposely killing Shi’a, trying to create a murderous civil war in which hundreds of thousands might die is unIslamic.
The problem here is that many think that being against the American invasion and occupation means that you should support a man like this and his deeds, or if you denounce him somehow you are not supporting the right of the Arabs and Muslims to resist.
I dont believe that. Resist, by all means, but do so within a moral Islamic framework. Zarqawi didnt do this, no matter how much you are against the American occupation. As Zarqawi used unIslamic methods in his fight, killing civilians, trying to spread fitna with the Shi’a, he is no martyr.
Did Mohammed kill men, women and children for no reason? No, he banned the practice. How someone could claim to follow the Prophet then ignore his most important ideas is beyond me.
Zarqawi was a shame to the people in Iraq resisting.
Abu Sinan,
there were two recordings (video and audio) where he claimed responsibility. the first one he proudly claimed it as a personal victory….then Jordanians got mad and stormed the streets calling for his death which is something he didnt expect…so a few days later he released another tape saying he didnt mean to kill Muslims, they just got in the way.
the captured would-be suicide bomber is even related to him
so i think all the bases are covered when it comes to responsibility.
Maybe Nas, but I still think al Jazeera is the best and most unbiased news source in the Middle East.
Is there one that is more unbiased and less influenced by the establishment and governments that you know of?
It might be imperfect, but it is the best out there. As an American I can tell you it is better than our news sources.
Abu Sinan, saying that they are less bias than American sources isn’t really saying much considering where the bar has been set. I backed them up when there were claims that a memo existed which said Bush was considering bombing their HQ. They made a big fuss about it and rightly so. Why is it they refuse to believe Zarqawi was behind the attacks and that it’s all a big Jordanian conspiracy (as implied several times in the past) when he himself confessed to it proudly twice!
this is the issue which I grapple with. 🙂
Salaam ‘Alaikum
They might be the most unbiased in a sea of bias and gov’t control, but that doesn’t preclude al Jazeera from saying dumb things about Jordan. I personally can’t stand watching al Jazeera, although I dislike al Arabiya, LBC, etc. a thousand times more.
dude aljazeera are always against kuwait even, always mocking all the time
Salam every body, saying that Aljazeera is unbiased is just outrageous. I donâ??t believe they even try to be impartial when it comes to Jordan, Saudi and Egypt. They donâ??t give a chance for people from the other side to express their opinions and if they did they will limit it in a way to serve their purpose. I think the recent changes in the editorial staff in the network have made this very clear, for example Jordan is always represented by IAF and I donâ??t believe this is the case. From my experience, I donâ??t think that there is an unbiased news network, each one works based on an agenda. However itâ??s our responsibility to listen to booth sides of the aisle before making judgments and start tossing accusations to every body.
At the same time I have to admit that Aljazeera is by far the best Arab news network by the number of people on the ground covering a wide range of events every day and probably the most influential in the Arab community worldwide. However, this doesnâ??t give them the right to their anti-Jordanian sentiments.
Al Jazeera proved itself as a very biased media outlet when it comes to Jordan, that was especially clear during the coverage of the latest Hamas-Jordan conflict.
No media is totally unbiased but for God’s sake their reporters made it clear on whose side Al Jazeera is. It is one thing to present all sides of the story and another to make the judgement and draw conclusions while the whole world is still asking what has happened; everything was decided on in a news report!
“Jordan brands al-Zarqawi as a terrorist and says he is the mastermind behind the triple hotel bombings that killed 60 civilians last November.”
That statement is taken from Reuters! (also check the footnote: Aljazeera + Agencies).
I don’t find this report biased or anti-Jordan.
Regardless of what Jordan brands Alzrqawi as, Aljazeera is obliged to tell all sides of the story and present the facts in a matter that doesnâ??t favor one side over the other. Honestly, right now Aljazeera is not much different of any other big news network (like CNN, Fox,etc…) that has an agenda and trying to fuel people toward their agenda.
Shaden, it doesn’t matter..unless aljazeera is in the business of plagarising then it has a responsibility over the content it chooses to publish
I think that AL Jazeera tries to broadcast what it believes that the mainstream Arabic citizens want to hear.