U.K. woos Arab media in propaganda war

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, OCT. 20. To be an Arab in the West these days may not be a happy experience, but to be an Arab journalist in Britain is certainly heaven. As the public opinion in Arab countries remains hostile to the bombing in Afghanistan, with people more inclined to believe al-Jazeera than the BBC or the CNN, Downing Street has decided to woo the London-based Arab and Muslim media in a big way.

They are being offered special briefings, interviews and ``on- record-off-camera'' comments-and Arabic and Urdu- speaking officials-passable Arabic, very atrocious Urdu-have been wheeled out to give them a sense of linguistic solidarity. In a charm offensive which has floored Arab journalists, more used to being shunned than wooed, there have already been three briefings in the past three days, including one with the Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair-and one each with the Foreign Office Minister, Mr. Ben Bradshaw, and the Prime Minister's spin-in-chief, Mr. Alistair Campbell. The Foreign Secretary, Mr. Jack Straw, has called one on Monday, and there is promise of more to come-maybe almost on a daily basis.

The exercise, apparently the brainchild of Mr. Campbell, reflects the growing frustration in Downing Street that the western media, despite its international reach and power, is not succeeding in getting across to the Muslim world the ``simple'' message that what is going on in Afghanistan is not a war against Islam. It discovered that in the battle for the ``hearts and minds'' of the Muslim world one telecast on al-Jazeera or one editorial in an influential Arabic newspaper was more effective than acres of footage on BBC and thundering editorials in The Times or The Daily Telegraph.

The penny really dropped when, with one video message on al- Jazeera, Osama bin Laden managed to swing a lot of the public opinion in the Muslim world; and when Mr. Blair tried to counter it by insisting on being interviewed by al-Jazeera the effort simply fizzled out. A British Prime Minister, wearing war on his sleeves and speaking in a language which not many in Muslim countries cared about, carried little conviction with an audience suspicious of western motives. It was then that Downing Street realised that the messenger was as important-indeed more important-than the message. It took Mr. Campbell more than a month to figure this out, but once he had done it he knew exactly who the messenger was. The Arabic media in his own backyard, of course. So, there we are-suddenly the most obscure of Arabic journalists are walking up and down Downing Street and Mr. Campbell, who on another day wouldn't have given the time of the day, is putting on his best smile when he sees them.

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Section  : International
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