Hey Everyone,
In the past few years, the Arab world witnessed a phenomenal rise and spread of religious TV channels. This started with Iqraa channel that is affiliated with the ART group. The Islamic TV channels broadcast religious education shows that inform people more about their religion and their duties. These shows can be in the form of Quran lessons, or stories and lessons from the life of the prophet and his companions, or question answer sessions and programs that clarify a Muslim’s religious duties.
However, this phenomenon deserves o be reflected upon deeply, and its advantages and disadvantages analyzed. Although I believe that the spread of religious channels is beneficial, because it spreads religion among people and helps them realize an important part of their identity and cling to their traditions and values, it does have its side effects. Some channels, like Iqraa, are moderate Islamic channels that present people with the true side of Islam, but some other channels promote a very strict and inflexible image of Islam, they announce so many things illegal or haram. In my opinion, this can harm people more than benefit them because they will find it hard to abide by their religion. Also, people tend to blindly trust any Sheikh or scholar who appears on these TV channels and take what he says for granted without questioning it or questioning his credibility. This can give some untrustworthy sources a chance to promote a wrong image of Islam. Though, there are some points to consider about the Islamic religious channels, I believe that the majority of their content is beneficial to the society.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
the relgion and the media
Here in the Middle East, religion is the controlling element in the media. Most governments in the Middle East, if not all, can not do anything without taking religion into consideration, or any consequences that might impact the religious lifestyles of their people, excluding the several TV channels that concentrate solely on broadcasting religious programs such as, "Al Resala" and "Iqra".
On the other hand, in the Western media, religion lacks the major role that it plays in the Middle East. They focus on the modes that would attract as many viewers as possible, and could sometimes be classified as low or unethical.
As great as it is for one’s soul, religion can sometimes be the reason behind people being so judgmental about one another. Therefore by default the media is driven by people’s desire to seek righteousness via religion.
On the other hand, in the Western media, religion lacks the major role that it plays in the Middle East. They focus on the modes that would attract as many viewers as possible, and could sometimes be classified as low or unethical.
As great as it is for one’s soul, religion can sometimes be the reason behind people being so judgmental about one another. Therefore by default the media is driven by people’s desire to seek righteousness via religion.
Media impact
The proliferation of satellites became a source of concern and attention by experts and journalists, the Arab viewers are also baffled to the huge amount of channels offering miscellaneous goods. Satellites have enormous implications on all walks of life. Since technology appeared, it enabled large plurality in the satellite channels. There are news channels, dramas, songs, films, sports, marketing, tourism and others. The viewers became confused they don’t know what to watch, so does the Arabic citizen they are besieged on a large amount of satellites. The satellite channels allow the citizens to experience several new platforms that took them to knowledge and freedom of expression, which is not enjoyed by government channels. But this pluralism led the government channels to give itself a larger area of freedom of expression. Media pluralism also led in recent years to outburst the competition between the stations to earn the approval of the public and to achieve further proliferation. The public shifted in recent years to new channels that attracted the attention for one reason or another, especially, that this audience is deprived from freedom of expression for many years. Unfortunately, some of these channels provided a downward trend, not at the level required in the media format and content. Of course this is the new reality that is characterized by the media explosion which led to the fragmentation of the public among hundreds and thousands of channels. A lot of the Arab channels fell into the trap of imitating the western model in its direction and content believing that this is the only way to success and obtain public admiration. In this context, waves of excitement, nudity, and westernize the Arab families began to immerge. The western models in media entered every home and affected the youth in most cases. As well as the methods of introducing programs by broadcasters vulgar language evolved. I believe that the satellite hacking is the best way to further proliferation and loosing the cycle of the broadcaster in many cases.
On the other hand, on news channels scenes that began to receive subjects that are not used to them on Arab television screens. Within the framework of democratic communication satellites began to broadcast several important dialogues, but some of the models are unsuccessful because they lacked the art of dialogue and the language of screaming overshadowed which gave an impression that this nation is not a nation of dialogue. Moreover, a wide westernize process appeared on the expense of the Arabic language, values, customs and traditions. In fact, the education system had affected and even the dialogue between the parents and their sons had changed because of the new reality of media.
The media space had weakened the Arab culture and makes it fall back in front of the western culture. Many of us think that the traditions of the West are the progress and development, but this is wrong. Even it is more dangerous when we imitate the west in negative aspects and ignore the positive things such as: workmanship, maintaining the dates, and accepting other opinions.
On the other hand, on news channels scenes that began to receive subjects that are not used to them on Arab television screens. Within the framework of democratic communication satellites began to broadcast several important dialogues, but some of the models are unsuccessful because they lacked the art of dialogue and the language of screaming overshadowed which gave an impression that this nation is not a nation of dialogue. Moreover, a wide westernize process appeared on the expense of the Arabic language, values, customs and traditions. In fact, the education system had affected and even the dialogue between the parents and their sons had changed because of the new reality of media.
The media space had weakened the Arab culture and makes it fall back in front of the western culture. Many of us think that the traditions of the West are the progress and development, but this is wrong. Even it is more dangerous when we imitate the west in negative aspects and ignore the positive things such as: workmanship, maintaining the dates, and accepting other opinions.
religion, media and societies
There are different types of media channels now. They are on T.V and radio. Each one is specialized in a criteria and other are mixed. They have different programs and different effects. These channels affect us and change our perception to ward everything in different ways. Some TV channels are specialized in Islam and religion like alnas, alrai, iqra and a lot more. Those channels might have a good effect on people most the times. But in the other hand they might have a bad effect. When people watch the religion channels they learn more about their religion especially Muslims. But if any other religion people watch this they might get a wrong idea and in that way they are affected in a negative way. But to the Muslims it might teach them more about their religion and it increases the feel of responsibility in us toward our religion. In the other hand, TV channels change people attitudes and thinking as they want. People who watch TV all the time might learn what they want and ignore what they don't want. There are many irresponsible channels that give people wrong thoughts and ideas. Channels like this will first hurt the kids who don't know much and believe anything they see or hear. Channels that only broadcast music, fashion and such type of things that are not educational should be more aware. All media channels no matter where they broad cast from or who owns them should be educational and should accomplish something good to the community. Channels that are specialized with education and religion should be more. Some people might see religion channels as channels that ask Muslims to ignore other religions and people from other religions. They also might think that these channels ask for terrorism. But in fact Islam always asked Muslims to respect and believe in other religions.
Media & Religion
People are very much influenced by the media and information that is sent through it. Recently Television has been one of the main mediums to send in formations to the audience. It has been many times taken advantage of to persuade and manipulate the audience. Religious channels are an example of taking advantage of the power of television as a way to persuade and manipulate the audience. If you run through the 450 channels in your TV, you realize there are more than ten channels associated to one religion that teaches nothing but extremism of that religion. There are channels for Muslims, Jews, Christians, and every other religion in the world. As if there is a competition that whoever collects more people wins. Debates, arguments, and wars about religions are all over the media and not just television but everywhere. Through the media each religion is trying to separate its people from the other religion to a point that it’s not religion anymore its politics now. Its influences on people are so great that you can feel the resistance of people religion-wise towards each other. Its influences on people are so massive that you can feel the separation between people of different religion.
Yet, there is no channel, no program, and no media that would let these people understand that no matter what your religion is we are all equal. There is no channel that would let people know that no matter what they call their god, we all pray to the same God. There is no channel that would bring us all together instead of separating us by our religions. There is no channel that would let people know no matter how many religions in the world, at their core they all teach us one lesson and that is humanity, equality, fairness, and that is the truth.
Yet, there is no channel, no program, and no media that would let these people understand that no matter what your religion is we are all equal. There is no channel that would let people know that no matter what they call their god, we all pray to the same God. There is no channel that would bring us all together instead of separating us by our religions. There is no channel that would let people know no matter how many religions in the world, at their core they all teach us one lesson and that is humanity, equality, fairness, and that is the truth.
Religion & T.V Shows
Media is considered a source of knowledge and an opportunity for learning. Mass media is used to disseminate messages to a large number of audiences in order to influence them in a variety of ways. I see television as the most popular type of mass media where audiences receive a full picture of particular information. To me, having religious T.V channels is great because they increase people’s awareness towards their religion. Frankly speaking, I often watch IQRA which is an Islamic modern channel. I love this channel because I see it as a fair channel, not bias towards any organization. In addition, IQRA shows are very useful. Shows are not all about religion and praying, there are a different variety of shows that discuss family issues, medical issues and entertainment competitions.
To be honest, this channel has a great influence on me. Whenever I continuously watch it, I become more religious and committed to god by all means. IQRA shows emphasize on the great values and morals that a Muslim person should have, and how people can create social connections based on honesty and respect. Some shows as Amr Khalid show highlights the importance of the interaction between people from different religions, countries and cultures. He encourages people to listen and learn in order to be able to defend and spread our culture and religion in the right way.
However, I heard from some people that there are some Muslim channels which are biased to specific groups or organizations. Those channels are very closed minded and refuse to listen to the other part of the story. Such channels have negative effects on people’s perceptions. Most of these channels mix between religion and politics and that is totally unacceptable. For example, Al-Manara is a sort of religious Lebanese channel which is totally biased to “Sheeaa” in other words to Hizb Allah. They deliver the news to people in a way that supports their ideas and beliefs, and to me I think that they rely on media to brain wash people’s heads.
Some people are indirectly using religion to reach and enter people’s brains and hearts in a negative way, in order to persuade them with special thoughts or ideas. It is so dangerous to allow T.V shows to become as a content of our religion. However, I am so happy to have great channels such as IQRA which elevate people’s conscious about Islam. And I’ll be happier to watch other channels that discuss other religions in the same way that IQRA talk about Islam.
Religion in Mass Media channels
The general rule in mass media is that it has significant effects on its audience. Whether negative or positive the impact towards that direction is high. Religious channels have these high impacts. They will try their best to persuade their audience toward themselves.
However, this is not the case for commercial channels, which are mostly private. Their main focus is to get more audience. For achieving this, they will have to avoid taking a specific side or a specific group in the society. Thus, they will avoid contextual topics like politics and religion.
Going back to the religious channels. They are mostly local to the region at least in Middle East and are being supported by governments. These channels have less visual effects and more verbal and contextual. They don’t have much of an impact at the first impression we get of them. But by passage of time and the continues exposure to them, they will have deep effects on their audience.
Unfortunately, most religious channels which I have seen, label other religious channels as propagandists. As one of audience, I think every one should get the chance to face all the options and listen to every side. This will make us know about each side and their opinions and let us choose which side to take.
However, this is not the case for commercial channels, which are mostly private. Their main focus is to get more audience. For achieving this, they will have to avoid taking a specific side or a specific group in the society. Thus, they will avoid contextual topics like politics and religion.
Going back to the religious channels. They are mostly local to the region at least in Middle East and are being supported by governments. These channels have less visual effects and more verbal and contextual. They don’t have much of an impact at the first impression we get of them. But by passage of time and the continues exposure to them, they will have deep effects on their audience.
Unfortunately, most religious channels which I have seen, label other religious channels as propagandists. As one of audience, I think every one should get the chance to face all the options and listen to every side. This will make us know about each side and their opinions and let us choose which side to take.
Religion in Mass Media channels
The general rule in mass media is that it has significant effects on its audience. Whether negative or positive the impact towards that direction is high. Religious channels have these high impacts. They will try their best to persuade their audience toward themselves.
However, this is not the case for commercial channels, which are mostly private. Their main focus is to get more audience. For achieving this, they will have to avoid taking a specific side or a specific group in the society. Thus, they will avoid contextual topics like politics and religion.
Going back to the religious channels. They are mostly local to the region at least in Middle East and are being supported by governments. These channels have less visual effects and more verbal and contextual. They don’t have much of an impact at the first impression we get of them. But by passage of time and the continues exposure to them, they will have deep effects on their audience.
Unfortunately, most religious channels which I have seen, label other religious channels as propagandists. As one of audience, I think every one should get the chance to face all the options and listen to every side. This will make us know about each side and their opinions and let us choose which side to take.
However, this is not the case for commercial channels, which are mostly private. Their main focus is to get more audience. For achieving this, they will have to avoid taking a specific side or a specific group in the society. Thus, they will avoid contextual topics like politics and religion.
Going back to the religious channels. They are mostly local to the region at least in Middle East and are being supported by governments. These channels have less visual effects and more verbal and contextual. They don’t have much of an impact at the first impression we get of them. But by passage of time and the continues exposure to them, they will have deep effects on their audience.
Unfortunately, most religious channels which I have seen, label other religious channels as propagandists. As one of audience, I think every one should get the chance to face all the options and listen to every side. This will make us know about each side and their opinions and let us choose which side to take.
Since during our class discussion we focused on religious specialized channels, I’m assuming that this is what the term “specialized” refers to in this case. I must say, that I’m not too familiar with any types of religious channels to be honest, since I don’t watch any of them regularly.
I remember that there is a specific Christian Catholic channel that my grandmother used to watch in Poland (don’t remember the name now). I just watched it a couple of times and I was pretty sceptical at the beginning (this is mostly because I always assumed that such channels are pretty boring and only focus on spiritual matters) however soon, I actually realized that the channel was good and the programs were shown from a relatively open-minded perspective.
For example, although it did have many programs specifically designated to portray various spiritual aspects of religion such as praying, the broadcasting of mass etc., there were certain shows also dedicated to normal real-life problems that people face as well. I thought that this was a very good idea because it showed you how religion can help people battle through all sorts of hardships in life.
I think that the majority of these so-called religious channels aren’t harmful in any way, and usually stress on the equality among all people rather than focusing on the differences. They also don’t condemn other religions.
Are they biased?
Well, I think that the TRY not to be but in the end the message they spread will always be biased in one way or the other. This is because of the fact that they focus on just one religion (be in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc.). Therefore they’ll automatically put that religion as the Number 1 religion, i.e. the only righteous faith. While they may not criticize other spiritual denominations and beliefs, their goal is to promote that one religion as the ideal.
Therefore to sum it up, I think that religious channels do encourage us to listen, interact and understand the "others". They encourage us to seek similarities between individuals of different religions, while not failing to promote the one that they desire.
However you must keep in mind that they may also have varying effects, depending on how some people interpret them.
I remember that there is a specific Christian Catholic channel that my grandmother used to watch in Poland (don’t remember the name now). I just watched it a couple of times and I was pretty sceptical at the beginning (this is mostly because I always assumed that such channels are pretty boring and only focus on spiritual matters) however soon, I actually realized that the channel was good and the programs were shown from a relatively open-minded perspective.
For example, although it did have many programs specifically designated to portray various spiritual aspects of religion such as praying, the broadcasting of mass etc., there were certain shows also dedicated to normal real-life problems that people face as well. I thought that this was a very good idea because it showed you how religion can help people battle through all sorts of hardships in life.
I think that the majority of these so-called religious channels aren’t harmful in any way, and usually stress on the equality among all people rather than focusing on the differences. They also don’t condemn other religions.
Are they biased?
Well, I think that the TRY not to be but in the end the message they spread will always be biased in one way or the other. This is because of the fact that they focus on just one religion (be in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc.). Therefore they’ll automatically put that religion as the Number 1 religion, i.e. the only righteous faith. While they may not criticize other spiritual denominations and beliefs, their goal is to promote that one religion as the ideal.
Therefore to sum it up, I think that religious channels do encourage us to listen, interact and understand the "others". They encourage us to seek similarities between individuals of different religions, while not failing to promote the one that they desire.
However you must keep in mind that they may also have varying effects, depending on how some people interpret them.
Media And Society
We all agree that as humans, our behaviors, attitudes and the way we think is affected by the environment that is surrounding us from family, friends, school and media. And we all agree that media have a great influence on us in terms of perceiving the other from different cultures, religious even the other part of the world.
Some media channels are considered to be biased in the way they deliver a certain message; sometimes they might address other cultures or countries in a negative manner. Yet we can’t pass on such judgment to all media channels as they were created to target a certain audience. For example religious channels such as Iqraa or Ahl albeit are targeted towards specific kind of Muslim audience and we can’t call them biased due to this fact. These channels educate people about their religion without pointing out to other religious. I have been watching Iqraa for a while and to be honest I didn’t see any evidence that confirms a fact that thee channels were biased.
On the other hand, news channels can be sometimes biased and most of the times focus on a certain event or perceive the other in a negative manner. For it seems to me the way these channels function are based on t he what is happing in the world or in other words what is more important news depending on the different desires of the audience. Al-Jazzerra news channel for example, are biased towards the Arabs and focus on showing them either heroes or victims of the war whether it was the Palestinian conflict on the Iraqi war and that in my point of view is logical and rational way of thinking. BBC on the other hand is biased towards their cultures and focus on their audience. In my point of view is logical and rational way of thinking. I mean if Al-Jazzerra brought an Israeli civilian or minister and started showing them as innocent people, it would be a huge setback between a the Arabic audience and the channel itself and the same thing would happen to BBC or CNN.
Some media channels are considered to be biased in the way they deliver a certain message; sometimes they might address other cultures or countries in a negative manner. Yet we can’t pass on such judgment to all media channels as they were created to target a certain audience. For example religious channels such as Iqraa or Ahl albeit are targeted towards specific kind of Muslim audience and we can’t call them biased due to this fact. These channels educate people about their religion without pointing out to other religious. I have been watching Iqraa for a while and to be honest I didn’t see any evidence that confirms a fact that thee channels were biased.
On the other hand, news channels can be sometimes biased and most of the times focus on a certain event or perceive the other in a negative manner. For it seems to me the way these channels function are based on t he what is happing in the world or in other words what is more important news depending on the different desires of the audience. Al-Jazzerra news channel for example, are biased towards the Arabs and focus on showing them either heroes or victims of the war whether it was the Palestinian conflict on the Iraqi war and that in my point of view is logical and rational way of thinking. BBC on the other hand is biased towards their cultures and focus on their audience. In my point of view is logical and rational way of thinking. I mean if Al-Jazzerra brought an Israeli civilian or minister and started showing them as innocent people, it would be a huge setback between a the Arabic audience and the channel itself and the same thing would happen to BBC or CNN.
Religion and Media
As we have been examining with our posts since the beginning of the semester the different impacts of media on us as individuals, on our interactions, perceptions, beliefs and on our society we came to one common realization, which explains how we are massively effected with the media channels around us regarding of their purpose or the kind of information that they represent to us.
It is a very broad and varied topic to talk about especially concerning the specialized media channels due to the different functions each one beholds. There are different kinds of those channels ranging from news channels to religious channels and we cannot generalize or equalize their impact on the society. If we were to examine the impressive burst of some of the religious channels, we see that they as well have different functions, purposes and audiences. Ahl Al-Bait or Al-Zahra channel have a total different impact on the people than Iqraa for example. I do not believe that any of these are being biased toward a specific religious sect or that they hold some discrimination because each one is targeting a very specific audience and yet they have a very high dignity and respect to the other religion sects and just because their news does not include them or doesn’t give them justice does not mean they create negative perceptions within their viewers of the others and it does not mean that our interactions with our fellow Muslims are going to be broken or dysfunctional. As a regular viewer of Ahl Al-Bait channel and other various religion channels, I find them extremely educational, and that on its own made my perceptions about who I am as a Muslim grow and it heightened my sense of pride and belonging to the bigger group as a Muslim and an Arab. Those channels do not only improve our perceptions and interactions with one another (Arabs and Muslims) but it also improve our interactions with other religions and cultures for they promote respect and high moral standards.
It is a very broad and varied topic to talk about especially concerning the specialized media channels due to the different functions each one beholds. There are different kinds of those channels ranging from news channels to religious channels and we cannot generalize or equalize their impact on the society. If we were to examine the impressive burst of some of the religious channels, we see that they as well have different functions, purposes and audiences. Ahl Al-Bait or Al-Zahra channel have a total different impact on the people than Iqraa for example. I do not believe that any of these are being biased toward a specific religious sect or that they hold some discrimination because each one is targeting a very specific audience and yet they have a very high dignity and respect to the other religion sects and just because their news does not include them or doesn’t give them justice does not mean they create negative perceptions within their viewers of the others and it does not mean that our interactions with our fellow Muslims are going to be broken or dysfunctional. As a regular viewer of Ahl Al-Bait channel and other various religion channels, I find them extremely educational, and that on its own made my perceptions about who I am as a Muslim grow and it heightened my sense of pride and belonging to the bigger group as a Muslim and an Arab. Those channels do not only improve our perceptions and interactions with one another (Arabs and Muslims) but it also improve our interactions with other religions and cultures for they promote respect and high moral standards.
Friday, April 27, 2007
religion, media and societies
Let me start by defining a very important term in our lives. Socialization is the process by which individuals learn the norms, values and traditions of their cultures or societies. This process is enforced by parents, schools, religion, peer groups and the media of course. The media plays a very effective role in influencing our perceptions towards fundamental issues in our lives. Most of us believe that the media cannot make us believe in things that are against our norms and values in societies and that the audience is not naïve and people are rational etc. however, we cant deny that the media at least influences the topics that we think about. I personally believe that media plays a significant role in creating images and stereotypes or labels at certain groups or religions. They always present the different groups in our societies negatively and they are always in black spots and they are always the reason for our misery. For example, al jazeera or any other Arabic channel will always be biased and will always present the westerns other side of the world negatively. The same is true with the CNN, BBC and other western channels, they will also be biased and will always present Muslims as terrorists that threaten their lives. Therefore, they create fear within their people towards other different groups. As a result, it becomes impossible for them to even try to communicate or interact with those different groups. They don’t try to understand their perception or listen to their explanations on the way they act or think. It becomes very hard for those different groups to change those judgments or labels that the media had gave them or created. Which in most of the times are exaggerated. For example, me as a person I would refuse to listen to an Israeli citizen defending his country, and I am sure he would also not listen to me if I was argueing that hizb alah are not terrorists and they are just protecting their country.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Religion, Media & social Change
This is to talk about the specialized media channels, their significance, function, possible consequences and social impact. It is very important to examine the values they emphasise and how they can affect our social connections, perceptions and interaction with with our fellow Muslims, Arabs or Middle Easterners on the one hand and our relations with our people from other religions and cultures on the other. what is the mood they spread between their viewers and what are the behaviors and values they signify? and how do they present those who are
"different"? Do they encourage us to listen , interact and understand the "other" or advocate judgement and lead to social polarization?
"different"? Do they encourage us to listen , interact and understand the "other" or advocate judgement and lead to social polarization?
Sunday, April 22, 2007
wafi's robbery
The fact that dubai is becoming a world wide tourist attraction would make my job as tv station manager always difficult. The Wafi robbery has scarred dubai’s reputation for being a safe area for shoppers. In order to keep the station’s name in the spotlight and keep Dubai on the map, I would keep the robbery a priority on the news watch list. The main reason behind my decision is no matter what the consequences would be, the public should be informed of the truth of the atmosphere of its surrounding. In addition, whether I like it or not, other international stations will be covering the incident, especially which it is the first time for such a serious incident to happen in Dubai, so the result if I didn’t well inform the audience will be really bad as they will think that we didn’t cover the robbery professionally and my channel will be in a weak position. Moreover, I would focus on the robbery because it would show viewer that our station is not filtered by government propaganda. The true educated viewers would understand our point of view and would have compassion for the fact that even the most perfect of diamonds have a flaw.
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