Responsible coverage of religious affairs can be a bridge between cultures. But while faith is a sensitive issue, it's not an excuse for going soft.
Many journalists have been thrown into unchartered waters since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Islam (and Islamic extremism) might once have been restricted to the foreign desk, but has now become part of just about every journalist’s round. In Australia, stories such as the Bali bombings, controversy about the former grand mufti, Sheik Taj el-Din Al Hilaly, the rejected Islamic school in Sydney’s Camden, and military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought reporting on Islam into the mainstream. Many journalists have had to do a crash course in Islam, learning the fundamentals of fundamentalism and how to spot the difference between moderate Islam and those who twist the Koran’s words to justify violence.
Reporting on the “war on terror”, on all its fronts, is a job that must be taken seriously, because journalists constantly risk inflaming simmering tensions. But how do you balance freedom of expression and respect for religious beliefs with fair and fearless reporting? In November last year, as the Bali bombers were executed on Nusakambangan Island, more than 50 journalists from Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, Burma, Cambodia, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, India, New Zealand and Australia gathered in Jakarta to discuss “Journalism at the Intersection of Religion, Politics and Culture”. Endorsed by the East Asia Summit and supported by the United Nations’ Alliance of Civilisations, the Indonesian Press Council and the governments of Indonesia, New Zealand and Norway, the conference aimed to find common ground in reporting on a changing world.
In one of his last public appearances before his death last year, the former Indonesian foreign minister, Ali Alatas, gave the keynote address. Alatas, a member of the High Level Group of the Alliance of Civilisations, spoke of the media’s role as a bridge between cultures. But he said political pressures and market forces were increasingly hampering the production of quality news that presents a balanced portrayal of foreign cultures.
“Only objective reporting and the presentation of diverse perspectives can prevent stereotypes and misrepresentations,” he said. Although he pointed to a greater popular awareness of events in the Middle East, he lamented an increased anti-Islamic sentiment in reporting.
“In the West, a more nationalistic and at times anti-Muslim tone has become evident in news and commentaries, especially since 9/11.”
Debate continued through the week on how far journalists should go in respecting religious sensitivities. When should the desire not to offend override other considerations? Amy Pamintuan, editor of The Philippine Star, spoke of a Moroccan Imam’s complaints, three weeks after September 11, that Muslims were bothered by photos being run in her paper, and others, of Muslim men kneeling in prayer.
It wasn’t the depiction of prayer that was the problem, but the fact that the men were overwhelmingly depicted from behind. Any other angle would convey the same message of Islamic devotion, but Pamintuan said the Imam wondered, “Why did the mass media like those butt shots so much?”
The Philippine Star started running images of Muslim prayers taken from other angles. But some problems weren’t so easily fixed. The Imam also complained about the paper’s use of the words “Muslim” or “Islamic” when referring to separatists in the southern Philippines or extremists in the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah groups. But Pamintuan insisted those terms would stay.
“When a group invokes religion as its cause for sowing terror and violence,” she told the Imam, “we use the faith as an adjective.” The Abu Sayyaf goes after Christian targets, she pointed out, kidnapping Catholic priests and nuns and bombing churches. “Should we keep religion out of this story?” she asked.
In Australia, there is no ongoing civil unrest or insurrection to report on, but while the events may differ, the issues remain the same. Respecting racial and religious sensitivities can be crucial to maintaining harmony in a multicultural and multi-faith society. As the 2005 Cronulla riots demonstrated, communal tensions are easily inflamed. While the Australian media have the relative freedom to report on whatever they choose, doing it responsibly is still essential.
Where countries are still in the process of nation-building, conference panellist Dr Dewi Fortuna Anwar said, this responsibility takes on an added importance. The former adviser to Indonesian President Habibie told journalists that in developing Asian countries, “the media is often complicit in whipping up nationalistic sentiments” and should be encouraged to operate within a context of “responsible freedom”. She advocated the use of “peace journalism” where the media seeks to calm rather than inflame conflict. “Journalists should not be part of the problem,” she said.
But the general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, Aidan White, warned against journalists becoming advocates for a cause. “There is no argument for self-censorship or for journalism of advocacy – even for good causes – as against journalism of scrutiny.” Instead, he said journalists should “make a commitment to a narrative that is positive as well as negative” and try to let go of the “bad news” agenda which can be driven by commercial, political and adversarial imperatives.
Kavi Chongkittavorn, from Thailand’s The Nation, said that in reporting on conflict, journalists shouldn’t report only on victims and suffering, but focus more on “stories of normal persons trying to cope with crisis and making the best of the worst situations”. He also called for a “new breed” of journalist, who would understand the big picture, putting news into a local, regional and international context and avoiding parochialism.
Many delegates pointed to the role of so-called “citizen journalists” in providing that context. While traditional media is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a powerful few, the internet provides platforms for a potentially limitless number of “reporters”. This growing band of bloggers, twitterers and other new-media users should be moderated, Aidan White suggested. He proposed a public-private global media network, harnessing stories about “diversity, culture and dialogue in every region and from every country”. He said citizen journalists would never replace professional journalists. Trained journalists help maintain quality, but having a wider range of independent voices would make it harder for those in power to manipulate news. “Today, journalists are the moderators of a great, global conversation in which they can provide context, nuance, explanation, commentary and enhanced understanding of events,” he said.
Sacha Payne is a senior SBS journalist. She travelled to Jakarta as a guest of the European Union and the governments of New Zealand and Norway
Joanne Brooker is a freelance illustrator based in the UAE; see Joanne's work online
