Press should shun religious rhetoric — activists

AMMAN — Media outlets in the Arab world should avoid using religious rhetoric to promote certain agendas and must actively be involved in raising the alarm on the dangers of using religion to justify political, social or economic actions, experts said Saturday.

Following the Arab Spring developments that started in early 2011, the number of media outlets using religious rhetoric rose significantly, some of which seek to sow the seeds of sedition and incite sectarian conflict, participants in the third Forum for Media Freedom Defenders in the Arab World said at a session on the issue.

The participants — who include media and legal experts, human rights activists and representatives of NGOs — noted that some media personnel ended up taking sides on certain issues instead of conveying a balanced image of unfolding developments.

“Religious rhetoric is used in some Arab states to justify government policies and practices... [and] to demonise the opposition,” Feisal Saleh, a journalist from Sudan, said.

“Religious speech is dominant not only in state media but also in independent media as well,” Saleh noted.

Kholod Fahed, a women’s rights activist from Saudi Arabia, expressed similar views, calling for holding accountable media outlets that promote sectarianism.

“Some satellite channels in the Arab world clearly seek to sow sedition and promote sectarianism. These channels should be sued,” Fahed said.

Participants in the session called for unified efforts by the entire community to prevent the usage of religious speech to promote intolerance, radicalism and the rejection of others.