Under siege: Islam, war and the media

Half-day conference, hosted by Media Workers Against the War (http://www.mwaw.net), on November 15th 2008from 2.00 to 6.30pm at the London School of Economics, withPeter Oborne, Inayat Bunglawala, Nick Davies and others (follow the link for more details http://mwaw.net/conference/2008/)

We are living in dramatic times.

The first black president of the United States has raised expectations of genuine change. Yet the “war on terror", now in its eighth year, continues to be waged in the name of the same free-market ideas that lie behind the current economic crisis.

In Iraq, bloodshed, fear and a shocking standard of living remain the norm for most civilians, but too often the situation is spun as a “good news story" for Western audiences. In Afghanistan the commander of British troops, Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, has said: “We’re not going to win this war".

In the last 6 months Carleton-Smith has lost 32 soldiers and had 170 more injured. The US and European governments are seeking to create a “coalition of the willing" that would bypass the United Nations and impose sanctions on Iran – while a military attack remains on the agenda.

Meanwhile a proxy war is currently going on, largely unreported, in Somalia. The war continues to have a damaging effect on the mainstream British media:

* Journalists struggle to access and convey genuine information from Afghanistan and Iraq owing to strict military control and censorship;

* At home, the war has led to vilification of Islam and scapegoating of Muslims. Journalists who investigate extremism have been targeted by the courts, while the police have used “terror" laws to harass photographers;

* Without critical media we can stumble blindly into new wars, such as that in the Caucasus in August;

* Iran is routinely demonised, while war is already spreading – almost unmentioned – into nuclear-armed Pakistan.

This conference comes at a crucial time – never has the need to keep an open mind and an open media been greater. 

Contributors are from across the political spectrum and include:

* Peter Oborne, Daily Mail columnist and author of “Muslims Under Siege: Alienating Vulnerable Communities". As Peter has said, “We should all feel a little bit ashamed about the way we treat Muslims in the media, we misrepresent and in certain cases persecute them. We do not treat Muslims with the tolerance, decency and fairness that we so often like to boast is the British way."

* Louise Christian, campaigning solicitor who has acted tirelessly for families prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay* Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain and ENGAGE

* Eamonn McCann, leading Irish journalist for many years, and one of the Raytheon 9 activists who “decommissioned" the offices of military suppliers Raytheon in Derry in 2006

* Moazzem Begg, former Guantanamo inmate and author of “Enemy Combatant"

* Nick Davies, investigative journalist and author of this year’s must-read book on the media, “Flat Earth News"

* Jeremy Dear, general secretary, NUJ

* Lyndsey German, national convenor, Stop the War Coalition

The event is hosted by Media Workers Against War, a group of concerned journalists and media staff who campaign against the “war on terror" and against the racism directed against Muslims in consequence of the war. Set up by campaigning journalists John Pilger and Paul Foot in 1990 to campaign against the first Gulf War, Media Workers Against the War believes British and US troops are making the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan worse and should leave immediately.

MWAW seeks to:

* Persuade all sections of the media to report the war fairly through critical, informed questioning and investigation of politicians and the military;

* Ensure that broadcasters follow the terms of their charters on impartiality and context;

* Urge print editors and broadcasters to follow the ethical principles of journalism, as laid down by professional bodies such as the NUJ and BECTU, in war coverage;

* Investigate and publicise biased, incomplete or distorted coverage of the “war on terror", incitement to racial or religious hatred in the media;

* Urge the public to bring the media to account, pressure it to tell the truth and resist political interference, whether in the form of direct government pressure, official regulation or commercial and business interests.