'Western media attacks Muslims'

2006-05-02 10:02

Kuala Lumpur - The Malaysia information minister has accused the Western media of carrying out a campaign against Islam.

Minister Zainuddin Maidin claimed the recent publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad aimed to antagonise Muslims and distract them from other issues.

Speaking at a seminar for journalists from Islamic countries, Zainuddin said the international press often misinterprets Islamic tenets and spreads stereotypes of Muslims "as terrorists or religious extremists or even suicide bombers".

Zainuddin said: "There is no denying that there is an agenda to belittle Islam and Muslims among certain quarters in the West, using the media.

"Various tactics, including deception, are used in the onslaught against Muslims to work up their emotions, because these people know full well that Muslims would respond in agitation when their religion is attacked."

Cartoons 'deflected attention to killings'

The Prophet drawings could have been a tactic to "deflect the attention of the Muslims from the killings of their brethren," said Zainuddin.

He was referring to an American missile strike on January 13. The missile hit a Pakistan border village, killing 13 civilians and possibly several top al-Qaeda leaders.

The cartoons, one of which showed the prophet wearing a turban shaped like a bomb, were first published by a Danish newspaper.

They were reprinted in European papers in January and February, and sparked a wave of protests in the Arab and Islamic world.

Islamic tradition bars drawings of Muhammad, favourable or otherwise, to discourage idolatry.

Zainuddin said Muslim journalists should co-operate to counter what he called the "spread of Islamophobia".

'We must correct wrong ideas'

He said journalists should strengthen media outlets in their countries and channel accurate information about Islam to the international population.

Zainuddin said: "It is now time to make use of our own media to correct the wrong ideas and views that have been spread throughout the world by these callous and irresponsible people."

The seminar in Kuala Lumpur was attended by media representatives from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Malaysia recently spearheaded an internet-based news service, that pools the resources of dozens of developing countries to provide an alternative to Western media.

- AP