Governments plan media blitz to counter criticism
''For what Mr President?'' Abdullah asked.
''For what is carried by the newspapers which are trying to drive a wedge between the kingdom and America,'' Bush had replied.
This reported conversation in the Saudi Arabian media is an indication that post-Sept 11 diplomacy has not been just about ensuring and maintaining a coalition to fight terrorism. It has also been about attempts by the United States to win the support of Muslim countries in the wake of anti-Arab and anti-Islamic sentiments in the US media.
Currently, Washington's Arab allies are facing their strongest Western criticism since the oil-price shock in 1973. As a result, the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) - comprising Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain - has agreed to launch a media blitz to counter ''rising anti-Arab publicity''.
Rectify image
''Arabs and Muslims, especially GCC citizens were transformed overnight in the eyes of the West into suspected and wanted people surrounded by fears and suspicion,'' GCC Secretary-General Jameel Al Hujailan said.
As a first step in developing a media strategy for their countries, the GCC said it would urge press outlets in the region to ''rectify the image of Islam that has been damaged by some (foreign) media institutions''.
Second, a committee has been formed to shape their line of defence after the attacks on the United States tarnished the image of the Arabs in the West - all of the named suspects were Arabs, and over 50 of the 350 accused were Saudis. In fact, within days of the jets crashing into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, over 110 Saudis were detained for questioning by US officials.
Key US allies Saudi Arabia and Egypt have also been accused of being too soft on terrorism at home and abroad. The US media and influential politicians have particularly highlighted Riyadh's refusal to allow its airbase to be used for attacks against any Muslim country as reason tosupport their accusation.
Third, the GCC information ministers proposed that three satellite television channels, costing hundreds of million dollars, be set up to woo public opinion in North America and Europe.
Jameel said the GCC would set up Spanish, English and French satellite channels to ''face the Westerners in the US and Europe and anywhere else''.
''We need a media that reaches the people who have begun to see Arabs as evil and see Islam as communal, pro-terrorism and supporter of the killing of innocent civilians,'' he added.
Intense campaign
Defending the need for a sustained media campaign and political lobbying on behalf of the Muslim world, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington James Zogby said: ''Years ago the Saudi ambassador would just do a couple of high-profile interviews or they would take out full-page advertisements in newspapers and magazines. But now they need an intense campaign to transform the political climate.''
It has not been just media attacks, but there has also been a strong backlash and a spate of hate crimes against Arabs and Muslims in the West since the New York and Washington attacks. In particular, Saudis returning from the United States have spoken of harassment, maltreatment and humiliation from both authorities and the public.
''We were subjected to tremendous pressure and close searches, especially while flying within the US,'' said Abdullah Qattan, a student, whose institute told him he can no longer study aviation despite being promised a degree and a pilot's licence about a year ago.
''They even used police dogs for our body and luggage searches, while they paid no great attention in searching people belonging to other nationalities,'' he said.
Several of the 19 presumed hijackers in the jetliner suicide attacks carried Egyptian or Saudi passports. Riyadh has since clarified that some of the passports used on Sept 11 were stolen before being sold. It also announced new and stricter measures to monitor issuing of passports and guard against manipulation in future.
Saudi leaders have hit back time and again against Western criticism,accusing the media of running a smear campaign against Riyadh's stance on terrorism, and vowing never to compromise on Islam.
Hidden hatred
Crown Prince Abullah said: ''The fierce campaign against Saudi Arabia by the Western media is a result of a hidden hatred against Islamic doctrine and the kingdom's commitment to it,'' and added that ''preserving religion and the nation is an issue on which there can be no bargaining.''
Though Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz said the Western criticism was a result of ''misunderstanding and wrong assessment'' of Riyadh's position, he threatened that Riyadh would ask all its nationals in the United States to return home if harassment against them did not end soon enough.
Saudi newspapers, meanwhile, have stepped up their criticism of the ''double standards'' in the US policy in the region, and warned Washington this could not go on forever.
''For those who are dealing with this issue, particularly America, we say: Kabul and Jerusalem are inseparable twins in the political conscience of Arabs and Muslims,'' Arabic daily Al Watan's editorial said.
''In the same way that Washington has Arab and Islamic backing in its war against terrorism in Afghanistan, it is required to stop the Zionist terrorism in Palestine, because the public opinion in the region no longer accepts the double standard policy of the United States,'' it added.
