August 24, 2004: Headlines: COS - Kazakhstan: Journalism: Speaking Out: Muslim Issues: TV Barn: Kazakhstan RPCV Kevin Marousek says he was watching C Span and the Washington Bureau Chief of Al Jazeera, Hafez Al-Mirazi, was speaking to a committee on public diplomacy and the media

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Kazakstan : Peace Corps Kazakhstan : The Peace Corps in Kazakstan: August 24, 2004: Headlines: COS - Kazakhstan: Journalism: Speaking Out: Muslim Issues: TV Barn: Kazakhstan RPCV Kevin Marousek says he was watching C Span and the Washington Bureau Chief of Al Jazeera, Hafez Al-Mirazi, was speaking to a committee on public diplomacy and the media

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-239-147.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.239.147) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 5:10 pm: Edit Post

Kazakhstan RPCV Kevin Marousek says he was watching C Span and the Washington Bureau Chief of Al Jazeera, Hafez Al-Mirazi, was speaking to a committee on public diplomacy and the media

Kazakhstan RPCV Kevin Marousek says he was watching C Span and the Washington Bureau Chief of Al Jazeera, Hafez Al-Mirazi, was speaking to a committee on public diplomacy and the media

Kazakhstan RPCV Kevin Marousek says he was watching C Span and the Washington Bureau Chief of Al Jazeera, Hafez Al-Mirazi, was speaking to a committee on public diplomacy and the media

I was watching C Span tonight and the Washington Bureau Chief of Al Jazeera, Hafez Al-Mirazi, was speaking to a committee on public diplomacy and the media. He explained that Al Jazeera, like the BBC, was created and supported with public funds, but the plan was to be privately funded through advertising after five years. Problem was, Al Jazeera was televising interviews with human rights activists, feminists and the like, which caused governments of some of the hard line mid-east countries to apply pressure on would-be advertisers. Long story short, to get advertsing dollars, Al Jazeera has to have a more hard-line bias.

I found this in striking contrast to US media, which still chooses to villify Muslims. How many documentaries have they produced about women who wear burkas or the strict schools of Muslims? I know, having volunteered in the Peace Corps I have a huge bias, but I don't often see coverage of a country like Kazakhstan, a Muslim country in Central Asia. I served there and can attest the Muslim women there wore tighter, more revealing clothes than any American I've ever seen... including Britney Spears. Having worked in an all-Muslim school, I can attest to the fact students are allowed to read from books other than the Koran. They can dance and play music that has nothing to do with Allah (God). And on one day which made me smile, I conducted a lesson where my high-school aged students were to locate various cities and countries on a world map... and not one of them knew where Mecca was.

My point is, there are lapsed Muslims just like there are lapsed Catholics, but I don't see a lot of media coverage about them. Countries like Turkey have gone to great (some say draconian) lengths to reduce the number of Islamic Fundamentalists on their soil. Nobody mentions that. Nobody mentions any of it. I watched CBS news over the weekend and I don't think they showed anyone with dark skin unless he was holding a gun.

If Al Jazeera shows the moderates, they lose income. If they try to broadcast an alternative point of view... governments issue threats of violence. So which is worse... Al Jazeera, who has to air one sided broadcasts... or US media, who chooses to air them?


Kevin Marousek, RPCV





When this story was prepared, here was the front page of PCOL magazine:

This Month's Issue: August 2004 This Month's Issue: August 2004
Teresa Heinz Kerry celebrates the Peace Corps Volunteer as one of the best faces America has ever projected in a speech to the Democratic Convention. The National Review disagreed and said that Heinz's celebration of the PCV was "truly offensive." What's your opinion and who can come up with the funniest caption for our Current Events Funny?

Exclusive: Director Vasquez speaks out in an op-ed published exclusively on the web by Peace Corps Online saying the Dayton Daily News' portrayal of Peace Corps "doesn't jibe with facts."

In other news, the NPCA makes the case for improving governance and explains the challenges facing the organization, RPCV Bob Shaconis says Peace Corps has been a "sacred cow", RPCV Shaun McNally picks up support for his Aug 10 primary and has a plan to win in Connecticut, and the movie "Open Water" based on the negligent deaths of two RPCVs in Australia opens August 6. Op-ed's by RPCVs: Cops of the World is not a good goal and Peace Corps must emphasize community development.


Read the stories and leave your comments.






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Story Source: TV Barn

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Kazakhstan; Journalism; Speaking Out; Muslim Issues

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