May 21, 2012

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Debate in the Mainstream Arabic-Speaking Universe: Only One Flavor Available

By February 29, 2012
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Westerners tend to believe that the debate in the Arabic-speaking universe is sort of like debate in the West. Despite differences there is supposedly pragmatism, a strong sense of reality, and the underlying desire for material prosperity, stability, and peace. Of course, such things exist but often there is a strong element of fantasy and a powerful dose of hatred. Consequently, the policies and results are commensurate with that input. And remember that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Media Coverage of the Middle East, Understanding the Middle East

The World Media Goes Bonkers: An Israel-Att​acks-Iran Case Study

By February 10, 2012
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For the second time in a few months we have seen a crazy global Israel-About-to-Attack-Iran Story. I don't want to go into all of the details but this tale is an example of how the media has just lost it completely due to a combination of laziness (reporters don't really do research or check sources); agenda; ignorance; and good old sensationalism. Partly, too, it arises from the difficulty of the mass media in dealing with the Internet media era and the difficulty of the Internet media in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Iran, Israel, Media Coverage of the Middle East

A Brave Rape Victim in Tahrir Square and a Brave Egyptian Actor Teach Us All How to Behave Properly

By February 6, 2012
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President Barack Obama will probably be defeated in November by people voting for the Republican candidate who will then tell their friends that they voted for Obama. For them, that will be a compromise between responding to the reality they see as opposed to being in fashion and not being called nasty names by one’s peers. It is like the story told by the latest Western woman to be sexually assaulted by a mob in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Listen carefully to what she says: “Heather … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Media Coverage of the Middle East, Regional, Understanding the Middle East

Why Did the Arabs Suffer “Nakba” (Disaster) in 1948 and Every Day Since? The Surprising View of the Man Who Coined That Term

By February 5, 2012
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It’s ironic how the West has adopted the narrative of the very people who caused so much disaster in the Middle East. There are two reasons: The ignorance of the Western “experts” and the domination of the radical interpretations that made the mess in the first place. Here’s a example. In a paper just published by Harvard, somebody named Neil Lewis (where do they find these people to write about Middle East issues who know nothing about them?) argues that the idea the New York Times … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Israel-Palestinian Issues, Media Coverage of the Middle East, Understanding the Middle East

The Muslim Brotherhood Moderation Myth Revealed, Then Quickly Dropped Down the Memory Hole

By February 2, 2012
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It is amazing how mass media coverage of the Middle East switches gears and implicitly admits to having been wrong while continuing with the same themes. Or sometimes, buried deep inside an article, there’s a flash of truth that conflicts with everything else that’s been said, even by the same reporter. But then the light goes out; the stygian dark returns; and it was as if that flash had never taken place. In working on a new edition of my book, Islamic Fundamentalists in Egyptian … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Media Coverage of the Middle East, Radical Movements, U.S. Policy on the Middle East

The Three Rules of Western Discourse and Why The Media Must Always Blame Israel

By January 17, 2012
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It is truly astonishing how, it often seems, how Western media coverage must blame Israel for everything that “goes wrong” in the Middle East, including murderous hostility to Israel. Sentences often seem carefully formulated to push this claim and exclude any possibility of balance, much less accuracy. And no matter what the subject, it seems, this message must be snuck in. Consider these two paragraphs in a Washington Post story about the Egyptian government’s cancellation of a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Israel, Media Coverage of the Middle East

If Tourists Can Wear Bikinis But Local Women Must Wear Chadors Does That Prove the Muslim Brotherhood is Moderate?

By January 15, 2012
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The answer to that headline is, “No. But seeming to answer ‘yes’ proves the West is hypocritical about supporting human rights.” Oh, wait, what if a democratically elected government decides to enforce such a system in a law legally passed by a democratically elected government? I guess that’s just democracy in action. The Western media is obsessed with whether the new, Islamist-dominated Egyptian government will let tourists wear bikinis. When some Islamist leader says that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Egypt, Media Coverage of the Middle East, Middle East Politics

Friedman Cheers as Egyptians Are Enslaved

By January 12, 2012
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It is distasteful when Western intellectuals, politicians, and journalists who pride themselves on their enlightened, humanitarian views watch people abroad fall subject to ruthless forces of dictatorship and dogma. When these same people actually cheer the new tyrannies, put their arms around the shoulders of those who despise them, and tell everyone else that there’s nothing to worry about, that’s actively disgusting. Many in the West have so acted toward Egypt during the last year. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Egypt, Media Coverage of the Middle East, Middle East Politics

Hamas Chief: “Islamic Spring”; Brotherhood Chief: Caliphate Soon; Western Media: Islamists Moderate, Israel Bad

By January 10, 2012
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A 27-year-old American-Israeli law school student decides he’s going to go to Egypt and talk to Egyptians. He gets arrested by the authorities there as a spy, then is released in the prisoner exchange. He then brags that the mere charm of his magical persuasion convinced a hardened Muslim Brotherhood cadre not to be anti-Israel any more. So there’s nothing to worry about! That’s worth a Washington Post op-ed, but the Muslim Brotherhood’s leader calling for an Islamic state and a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Media Coverage of the Middle East, Radical Movements, Regional Security

Such a ‘Great’ Idea It Can Now Be Proclaimed But Not Criticized: Obama Supports the Muslim Brotherhood

By January 10, 2012
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Not only is the Obama administration, as I’ve written for the last year, favoring radical Islamist forces — despite the fact that these are anti-Western, pro-terrorism, building dictatorships, and  openly antisemitic and anti-Christian — but now even the establishment media is admitting it. A friend of mine said, “Oh, they are probably saying that the Brotherhood is sounding radical publicly but privately reassuring U.S. officials that they are moderate.” “No,” I replied. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Media Coverage of the Middle East, U.S. Policy on the Middle East
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