Sheikh Hamad's Proposal: Terms And Conditions In The West Are Harsher
05 March 2013By Tariq Alhomayed
At the opening session of the first International
Conference Of Council for Arab and International
Relations in Kuwait, Qatar's prime minister put
forward several ideas that are worthy of discussion.
The most prominent of these were his proposal to
create a cooperative Gulf organization of states
including Iran, his call for a media free from checks
and balances, and his assertion that reform should not
come about in the form of a revolution or an uprising.
Of course, you could write an article about every idea
put forward by Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim, but it does no
harm to have a quick discussion here. Firstly, let us
address his proposal for Iran to be included in a
future Gulf organization. This is strange, especially
as the Gulf, and the wider region, is calling for Iran
to take its hand out of our countries. Furthermore,
Tehran is facing mounting international pressure,
including with regards to its nuclear file, so should
we really be trying to rescue Iran now, rewarding it
for what it is doing in Syria for example? Sheikh
Hamad in turn justified his proposal by saying that
outstanding issues with Iran can be resolved through
?constructive dialogue, pursuing diplomatic means, and
strengthening confidence away from heavy-handedness?.
This is true, but was it not Sheikh Hamad who also
said, according to WikiLeaks documents, that relations
with Iran are based on the principle of ?they lie to
us, and we lie to them?? What has changed? As for
saying that reform should not come in the form of a
revolution or an uprising, but rather it should be a
gradual process, there is no doubt here. This is what
we and the wise, although there are few of them, have
been saying since the beginning of the Arab Spring,
although Syria is an exception because it is a genuine
revolution. Nevertheless, we have been exposed to the
harshest expressions of mistrust and insults for
saying so. So has Qatar's political thinking changed,
with the realization that it is a mistake to pour fuel
on the fire and inflame the street, or is there
something else at play here, especially since Doha has
hosted several opposition conferences and
personalities, and its media still invites some of the
main instigators of the Arab Spring? As one thing
leads to another, Sheikh Hamad also said that whenever
the media is allowed to perform its role without
checks and balances, we increase our understanding of
the world, and in turn we receive greater respect for
our issues.
Yet this goes against one of the main principles of
reform and freedom, namely responsibility. How can
there be a media without checks and balances? Why not
do the same with economic markets, traffic systems,
and so on? Sheikh Hamad is well aware that the
societies we want to respect us have strict media
controls, on the basis of ?responsibility?.
The West, for example, criminalizes hate speech, and
holds even football fans accountable for their chants.
Likewise, social networking users can be prosecuted if
they promote lies or slander, and social media terms
and conditions in the West are harsher than most of
the laws regulating the media in our region. The
Western media operates in accordance with a system of
strict rules and conventions that ensures its
credibility and independence. If we applied such
measures in our region, many media outlets would go
out of business, and the situation would be even worse
if we had to earnestly respect intellectual property
rights, but this is another story.
I will conclude by saying that regardless of my
opinions, Sheikh Hamad has put forth a series of
issues to spark a serious debate, and this in itself
is commendable.
Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq
Al-Awsat, the youngest person to be appointed that
position. He holds a BA degree in Media studies from
King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, and has also
completed his Introductory courses towards a Master's
degree from George Washington University in Washington
D.C. He is based in London.
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EsinIslam.Com
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