April 30, 2002

The Daily Star

Hiring speakers with strong English skills and lobbying Capitol Hill are first steps to conveying a united, convincing message

Alia Ibrahim
Daily Star staff

Arabs should promote their causes with a presence in the Western media and make an effort to reach Western audiences through English-language programs on Arab news channels, according to veteran information expert Farouk Mawlawi.
Mawlawi, a retired United Nations media official, recently acted as a consultant for Information Minister Ghazi Aridi regarding the minister’s proposal to Arab information ministers, suggesting the creation of an English-language Arab news television station targeting Western viewers.
However, Mawlawi said a better idea would be to take advantage of existing stations to reach the targeted audience, arguing that a new station created by Arab regimes would be tagged as a propaganda outlet and would thus hurt its credibility. He added that depending on existing Arab satellite channels would be both less expensive and more efficient.
Mawlawi said that satellite stations with round-the-clock broadcasting, such as Al-Jazeera, Abu Dhabi TV, Future TV and Nile SAT, allocate time for interviews with Arab experts who have a strong command of English to explain the Arab viewpoint to Western audiences.
“Many Arab channels have news bulletins in English and that is a good thing, but it would be even better to add a 10-15 minute interview or commentary by a good analyst at the end of the bulletin,” he said.
“The more stations do this, the better our chances of reaching a larger audience,” he said, adding that both French and Spanish should be considered in addition to English.
Mawlawi said a database should be compiled of the names of Arab experts who possess English skills and could appear in interviews.
“We need quality people to defend our causes before the Western public, and we need to appear more in Western media,” he said. “I would like to see more of Edward Said, Nabil Shaath, Hanan Ashrawi and Saeb Erekat addressing US audiences in perfect English, just like Israeli officials do.”
In order to counter Israeli and Western mainstream notions that Arabs do not want regional peace, Mawlawi said Arab interviewees “must stress the very generous effort for peace that Arabs extended to Israel during the last summit in Beirut. This was a clear cut offer that gives Israel everything that it always pretended to be asking for: recognition and normalization.”
However, the Arab cause cannot be promoted by an Arab television station alone, Mawlawi said, adding that Arab-Americans had an important role to play.
The “performance” of the Jewish American community, estimated at 5.5 million people, has been much more impressive than that of an equal, if not larger, Arab and Muslim community, he said. “This is because they are more motivated, better organized and more in tune with the American system.”
He gave the example of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), one of the most powerful lobbies in the United States.
“AIPAC can draft a resolution at any time, send it to Capitol Hill, circulate it through Congress, and receive an overwhelming majority of congressmen and senators voting in its favor,” he said, suggesting  an Arab counter-lobby that would cater to Congress.
“Even in Michigan, where there is a majority of Arabs, and where, logically, legislators should be supporting the Arab causes, there is just one such person,” he said.
Mawlawi also stressed the need to monitor major newspapers, such as the New York Times and the Boston Globe, saying that there should be more knowledgeable people to respond to their articles.
“There are a dozen websites on Arab issues. They monitor and they circulate good articles that appear in the United States and in Israel,” he said, citing several sites such as the Electronic Intifada. “But until now they have been circulating among Arabs, and (while) that is good and important, we must reach others.”
“We have to monitor news programs and reports and respond to them immediately,” he added.
Mawlawi admitted that the majority of American citizens were not interested in international  news, but added “we should try to reach out to anyone wishing to learn more about the situation.”
He said that an overwhelming majority of Americans were not interested in Arab affairs.
“They are not knowledgeable about the issue, they are not interested and they are negatively affected by the Sept. 11 events,” he said, adding that the parallel being drawn between the suicidal operations of Sept. 11 and the suicide bombings in Palestine was not making the situation any easier.
“It is tough to explain differences and motives,” he said.
As for the crisis in Palestine, Mawlawi said the demonstrations were of crucial importance.
“The message is reaching the United States,” he said.
He also said nongovernmental organizations have an important role in every area, pointing out that every UN conference has had a parallel NGO forum that drew even more liberal and more open-minded people.
“Things as simple as taking a vote on a survey conducted by CNN could help, because these surveys reach decision-makers,” he said.
He also suggested placing advertisements in US and other Western papers explaining that Arabs are calling for peace.
Mawlawi recalled the 1973 boycott, when he was employed by the Arab League, saying that similar advertisements were placed in US newspapers explaining to people that the boycott was not against them but was defending the Arab cause.

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