Thursday, May 10, 2007
Iraqi parliament votes to start legal proceedings against Al Jazeera
Media, Politics
(AP) - Parliament overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to start legal proceedings against Al-Jazeera television over perceived insults by the Arabic news channel against Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. It was not immediately clear what the legal action would amount to. Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni Arab, said only that the matter would be decided by parliament's legal department.
The move by the 275-seat house followed protests Friday in the southern cities of Basra and Najaf by hundreds of Shiites angered by an Al-Jazeera talk show in which the host questioned al-Sistani's leadership credentials and appeared to cast doubt on whether he personally authored his edicts.
The controversy has received extensive coverage by the Iraqi media, with some Shiite television channels devoting hours of air time to politicians and clerics expressing indignation. And in Shiite Iran, al-Sistani's birthplace, parliament on Sunday decided to ban Al-Jazeera reporters from its building in protest.
"We regret the Iraqi decision," Al-Jazeera's editor in chief Ahmed al-Sheik said from Doha, the Qatari capital. "This is an Iraqi decision. There is nothing that we can do. We have no problem with the Iraqi government and we deal with it like any other government," he said in a telephone interview.
Debating the issue before the vote, which was taken by a show of hands, several deputies suggested that the Qatar-based network be sued before the International Criminal Court in The Hague for what they said was its role in stoking sectarian strife in Iraq, a charge routinely leveled by Shiite politicians against the station.
Criticism by Sunni and Kurdish legislators, however, was muted, with some suggesting that the best defense against Al-Jazeera was for Iraqis to put their own house in order. Responding to calls by some deputies for a boycott of Al-Jazeera by Iraqi politicians, Sunni Arab lawmaker Mahdi Hafez said the station's allegations should be countered by Iraqis appearing on its programs. In unusually candid comments, lawmaker Safiyah al-Suheil said the root cause of the latest furor over Al-Jazeera was that al-Sistani has been brought into politics.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, Shiite politicians have accused Al-Jazeera of championing the former leader's rule and the Sunni insurgency. The channel has been banned from operating in Iraq since 2004.
The move by the 275-seat house followed protests Friday in the southern cities of Basra and Najaf by hundreds of Shiites angered by an Al-Jazeera talk show in which the host questioned al-Sistani's leadership credentials and appeared to cast doubt on whether he personally authored his edicts.
The controversy has received extensive coverage by the Iraqi media, with some Shiite television channels devoting hours of air time to politicians and clerics expressing indignation. And in Shiite Iran, al-Sistani's birthplace, parliament on Sunday decided to ban Al-Jazeera reporters from its building in protest.
"We regret the Iraqi decision," Al-Jazeera's editor in chief Ahmed al-Sheik said from Doha, the Qatari capital. "This is an Iraqi decision. There is nothing that we can do. We have no problem with the Iraqi government and we deal with it like any other government," he said in a telephone interview.
Debating the issue before the vote, which was taken by a show of hands, several deputies suggested that the Qatar-based network be sued before the International Criminal Court in The Hague for what they said was its role in stoking sectarian strife in Iraq, a charge routinely leveled by Shiite politicians against the station.
Criticism by Sunni and Kurdish legislators, however, was muted, with some suggesting that the best defense against Al-Jazeera was for Iraqis to put their own house in order. Responding to calls by some deputies for a boycott of Al-Jazeera by Iraqi politicians, Sunni Arab lawmaker Mahdi Hafez said the station's allegations should be countered by Iraqis appearing on its programs. In unusually candid comments, lawmaker Safiyah al-Suheil said the root cause of the latest furor over Al-Jazeera was that al-Sistani has been brought into politics.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, Shiite politicians have accused Al-Jazeera of championing the former leader's rule and the Sunni insurgency. The channel has been banned from operating in Iraq since 2004.
Labels: Ahmed al-Sheik, Al Jazeera, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Doha, Iraqi parliament, Safiyah al-Suheil
Monday, May 07, 2007
Iraqi government asks Qatar to rein in Al Jazeera
Media
(Azzaman) - The Iraqi government has asked its Qatari counterpart to interfere with the Arabic Aljazeera satellite channel to halt what it described as its anti-Iraqi rhetoric. A statement by the Foreign Ministry said the channel, the Arab world’s most influential broadcaster, hosted “terrorist leaders” and “insulted the national Iraqi symbols in its programs and news bulletins.”
Aljazeera is banned to report from Iraq and its offices have been closed for nearly two years. However, the channel still manages to scoop major competitors by airing interviews and broadcasting events which seem to have angered the Iraqi authorities. There were large-scale demonstrations against the channel in the cities of Nasiriya and Najaf following an Aljazeera news report which said that Shiite clerics do not condemn operations targeting innocent Iraqi civilians. The statement signed by Foreign Ministry Hoshyar al-Zaibari said Aljazeera reporting of Iraq-related events mounted to “meddling in internal Iraqi affairs and directly contributes to the incitement of terror.”
Aljazeera is banned to report from Iraq and its offices have been closed for nearly two years. However, the channel still manages to scoop major competitors by airing interviews and broadcasting events which seem to have angered the Iraqi authorities. There were large-scale demonstrations against the channel in the cities of Nasiriya and Najaf following an Aljazeera news report which said that Shiite clerics do not condemn operations targeting innocent Iraqi civilians. The statement signed by Foreign Ministry Hoshyar al-Zaibari said Aljazeera reporting of Iraq-related events mounted to “meddling in internal Iraqi affairs and directly contributes to the incitement of terror.”
Labels: Al Jazeera, demonstration, Hoshyar Zibari, Iraq, Najaf, Nasiriyah, Qatar
Al Jazeera banned in Iranian parliament for insulting Sistani
Religion, Media
(Al Jazeera) - Iran has banned Al-Jazeera from its parliament, saying one of its talkshows had insulted the most revered Shia cleric in Iraq. Gholam Ali Hadad Adel, the parliament's speaker, said: "Parliament has decided to prevent Al Jazeera journalists from entering until this network makes a formal apology for insulting [Grand] Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani."
Iran said questions from the host of the "Without Borders" programme had questioned the legitimacy of Sistani's leadership in Iraq. Hadad Adel said: "This is a plot of the enemies of Islam and Iraq and news networks like Al Jazeera committed this insult because of their influential role."
The Iranian-born al-Sistani is Shia Islam's leading cleric and commands huge respect in both Iran and Iraq. Last week he held talks with Ali Larijani, Iran's top national security official, in the Shia holy city of Najaf. The new furore about comments made about the cleric recalls a similar controversy in December 2005 when Iraqi Shias protested against the channel after a talk show guest accused Sistani of favouring the US occupation.
After that incident, Tehran summoned the ambassador of Qatar, where Al Jazeera is based. Al-Jazeera's Tehran bureau was shut down by the authorities in April 2005 amid accusations of stirring up violence in its coverage of clashes in the ethnic Arab majority city of Ahvaz and only reopened 14 months later.
Iran said questions from the host of the "Without Borders" programme had questioned the legitimacy of Sistani's leadership in Iraq. Hadad Adel said: "This is a plot of the enemies of Islam and Iraq and news networks like Al Jazeera committed this insult because of their influential role."
The Iranian-born al-Sistani is Shia Islam's leading cleric and commands huge respect in both Iran and Iraq. Last week he held talks with Ali Larijani, Iran's top national security official, in the Shia holy city of Najaf. The new furore about comments made about the cleric recalls a similar controversy in December 2005 when Iraqi Shias protested against the channel after a talk show guest accused Sistani of favouring the US occupation.
After that incident, Tehran summoned the ambassador of Qatar, where Al Jazeera is based. Al-Jazeera's Tehran bureau was shut down by the authorities in April 2005 amid accusations of stirring up violence in its coverage of clashes in the ethnic Arab majority city of Ahvaz and only reopened 14 months later.
COMMENT: Iraq's Iranian-born 75-year-old most senior Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is one of only five living grand ayatollahs. He's known for his more moderate views—he supports an Islamic state but rejects an Iranian-style theocracy. He is revered by conservative and mainstream Shiites (who make up 60% of Iraq's poplulation), both in Iraq and abroad, for his authority to interpret Islamic law and provide guidance on day-to-day matters. He tacitly supports the United Iraqi Alliance, the leading Shiite coalition that supports strong regional governments, prosecuting ex-Baathists, and strictly enforcing the constitution. At times he's been critical of the U.S. handling of post-war Iraq. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Al Jazeera, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Gholam Ali Hadad Adel, Iran, media
