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The morning newspaper you browse daily may contain what falls in line or clashes with your values, mindset, and, sometimes, some of the facts you know. The content may be explicit (as in a point-of-view or analytical article) or implicit (as in an advertisement or photo caption). The radio or TV program you listen to may transmit similar content. The question is: Have you ever thought of interacting with this material so as to influence the performance of the different media channels?
This is accomplished by many projects. One of these is the Media Review Network (MRN) endeavor, which I got acquainted with in South Africa. The MRN project monitors the media, as required by current events, and conducts other activities that could make the Muslim community in South Africa more influential, something that is needed more than ever.
Stepping into the Experience
It was an office in a small building in Pretoria, South Africa. Once I stepped in, my attention was captured by the huge amount of posters displaying caricatures, articles, and comments, most of which tackle the Palestinian issue, the sanctions (now occupation) imposed on Iraq, the status quo of Muslims in South Africa, and many other issues that involve international justice. I also bumped into an enormous collection of cassette and video tapes of TV interviews and public conferences, a number of computers, and a cupboard full of several books on topics ranging from the experiences of national liberation to comparative religious studies. Although the staff consists of a small number of people, their faces are friendly and their voices are enthusiastic.
This is the office of the Media Review Network. I was introduced to the organization with the following words:
There are more than 1 million Muslims living in South Africa. The mainstream media have always defined who we are and what we represent for the general South–African public. Our views and opinions, our policy positions and strategic interests have either been ignored or deliberately distorted. The Media Review Network, through a loose informal group of individuals and in association with some research centers, considered it imperative in the rapidly changing socio-political landscape of the new South Africa, to ensure that the dynamism of Islam is not lost in the maze of perverse innuendo. As Muslims, we need to have our opinions and insights heard on a daily basis as a matter of routine, rather than as an exception. The aspiration of the Media Review Network is to dispel the myths and stereotypes about Islam and Muslims and to foster bridges of understanding. Muslim perspectives on issues impacting on South Africans are a prerequisite to a better understanding and appreciation of Islam.
The challenge that Muslims face in South Africa is that they are a minority, one which had contributed in the struggle for national liberation and, accordingly, has won a respected position, but whose passive dependence on how they are portrayed by the media might lead them to be misunderstood and marginalized. While Muslims have successfully established a solid infrastructure of organizations, mosques, and schools, there has remained the need to face the challenges that the complex media system poses.
More Objectives
"Yes. Our aim is to monitor, analyze, and sometimes refute the media distortions about Islam and Muslims. This Media Review, which the Network is named after, may be in the form of periodic reviews, complaints and/or messages sent directly to the media organizations, newspapers, and TV and radio stations in South Africa."
So replied Sayd Iqbal Gazit, head of the MRN, when I asked him about the nature of the reports and comments the network issues.
These are the circumstances and motives behind the establishment of the Media Review Network. Its team, therefore, focusing on the coverage and other media forms tackling Islam and Muslims, counteracts Islamophobia. They also deal with the Muslim minority's local affairs and with issues of international scope, for example, the Palestinian issue, the Iraqi Crisis, the Kashmiri problem, as they also shape the image of Islam and Muslims.
Of course, some would remark that the MRN experience is characterized by the particular status quo in South Africa. So what are the techniques and means utilized by the MRN from which we could directly benefit according to our unique circumstances and issues?
Transformed into a Monitor
The network's team—of different professional backgrounds—monitors the daily and weekly papers in the MRN office, with members focusing on their field of specialization. The team has also established a network of viewers and listeners to radio, news, TV programs, and documentary movies, and encourages the public and specialists to directly respond to radio programs and articles with their comments.
Iqbal Gazit explains:
Through our personal contacts with important personalities, such as the famous interviewers and guests on TV and radio programs, editors and journalists, we establish a fortified network which we support with readings and the necessary material and information. One could describe this network as unofficial and as asserting the values of friendship and mutual trust among all.
The MRN activities also involve actively participating in radio and TV programs (interviews and debates), arranging TV interviews for activists and local and international spokespersons, and publishing journalistic statements. On the other hand, the MRN forms media lobbies by establishing correspondence channels with governmental administrations, student groups, civil societies, political parties, national societies, and other media organizations. The MRN provides all these parties with analyses and MRN reports about the current events, political positions, and hot issues such as Palestine and Iraq.
MRNs Everywhere
The Media Review Network endeavors to expand and export its experience everywhere. A page entitled "How Do You Set Up a Media Review Network in Your Area?" on the MRN site lists the following steps:
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Get a group of a few interested individuals or students.
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Read one or two newspapers and scrutinize articles for anti-Islamic bias—of course, any other issue you are interested in may replace Islamophobia. Words such as Muslim fundamentalists, extremists, terrorists, oppression of women, and the like should give a clue of bias.
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Familiarize yourselves with facts of certain regions, for example, Palestine, Kashmir, and Afghanistan.
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Visit Web sites on similar subject matter.
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Respond to the offending articles—based on knowledge.
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Recall the noble Qur'anic verse: [Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in the ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, Who have strayed from his path and who receive guidance] (An-Nahl 16:125). Phone the editor/journalist and politely yet firmly inquire and correct the offense.
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Phone into TV/radio programs once you have knowledge of the issue at stake.
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Fax or e-mail all correspondence to the Media Review Network for support, records, and networking.
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Mobilize others from the community and schools to scan magazines and newspapers to educate them on Islamophobia.
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The cost and requirement for this exercise are minimal (newspaper, postage stamp, fax machine, computer with internet access).
These are the steps the MRN activists suggest for repeating their experience elsewhere. When I asked Gazit about the requirements for accomplishing the project's aims, he replied, "You need a group of interested individuals who really believe in the idea, then a place (office) for follow-ups. The more you practice, the more knowledge you gain about the influential factors in the media industry."
Set Up Your Own MRN
A media expert once stated that the media and mass communication should be viewed as a "changeable means of change." Is this not ambiguous?
In other words, the media and mass communication are a colossal sector with an extraordinary capability to form awareness and manage situations. Some have stated, "Communication has become one of the instruments used in the conflict among nations because it transmits and reflects the elements of power in those nations." This unusually influential power can be dealt with and set right if it violates accuracy and objectivity or damages the interests and values of others. Those wronged can influence the treatment and coverage and can be active partners in the production of the media message targeted at them.
Every one of us can become hero, neutralizing the spell of witches and liberating people—liberating them from the spell of the traditional media machine that strips us of our ability to understand and analyze. It also prevents us from accessing accurate information in some instances. This will happen if we stay recumbent before that machine, receiving its messages day after day via a one-way channel, indifferent to the damage such pernicious messages might cause to our senses and our conception of ourselves and others. Sometimes, we do not even pay attention to the fact that the media could pose a threat to our interests.
The MRN wants to convey to us that we can monitor the media, not in the traditional sense of restricting freedom of expression, but through implementing our role as active recipients who care about our interests and values.
You could also set up your own MRN tackling issues relevant to your interests (social, ethical, political, economic, health, and so on) and your circumstances, selecting the media form you would like to monitor (local, foreign, visual, audio and/or print media). You can define your own means of monitoring (post letters, e-mail messages, phone calls, visits in person, and so on). You can cooperate with other media monitoring organizations and learn from their experiences. Let's start.
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