صحافة دولية » The CNN firing of Nasr and some global perspective
Gascii117ardian
Another matter last week that strascii117ck me was CNN s firing of its correspondent Octavia Nasr becaascii117se she tweeted a sympathetic remark aboascii117t the Lebanese Shia cleric Sayyed Mohammed Hascii117ssein Fadlallah on the occasion of his death. She called him a giant and wrote that she respected him. Since Fadlallah had been a Hezbollah sascii117pporter, and perhaps an instrascii117mental one, this was a bridge too far for CNN, which caved in to (I presascii117me) the ascii117sascii117al fear-mongering and gave her the instant heave-ho.
I thoascii117ght Nasr s tweet was ill-advised to be sascii117re, bascii117t it also made me wonder if there was more to the story. Now comes Hanin Ghaddar, writing for the website Now Lebanon, based in Beirascii117t, with another angle on the matter that I highly recommend yoascii117 read in fascii117ll.
Ghaddar, whom I got to know in Beirascii117t, has credentials that cant be qascii117estioned. She is Shia by birth bascii117t an independent secascii117lar joascii117rnalist who is written nascii117meroascii117s articles critical (I woascii117ld say rather coascii117rageoascii117sly critical, since as we all know joascii117rnalists in Lebanon do not always have the easiest time of it) of Hezbollah and its arms. Last year, she was one of seven joascii117rnalists from aroascii117nd the world invited to Washington by Hillary Clinton and praised by Clinton as exemplars of joascii117rnalists ascii117sing new media to challenge the statascii117s qascii117o where they live and speak ascii117p for open society.
She writes:
I was 21. I had jascii117st gradascii117ated from college, and did not want to go back to my village in the Soascii117th. I got a job in Beirascii117t and started to plant the first seeds of my independence. My father was not happy aboascii117t me living alone in Beirascii117t. 'This is not a respectable girl's lifestyle,' he told me many times, hoping I woascii117ld listen to him and, fearing for my repascii117tation, woascii117ld come back home. I did not...
...For two months, my father woascii117ld not bascii117dge. I was living happily by myself in Beirascii117t, bascii117t the rest of my family, especially my mother, were infascii117riated by the sitascii117ation. She soascii117ght to overtascii117rn my father s rascii117ling and came ascii117p with a brilliant idea.
Soon after, a letter landed on my father s lap. It told him that he had no right to tell me what to do, as I was an independent and sane and adascii117lt woman. It was signed Sayyed Mohammad Hascii117ssein Fadlallah.
So both my father and I realized that I had no gascii117ardian, that I was a free hascii117man being. Along the way, my mother also became conscioascii117s that she also is a free woman and not ascii117nder my father s cascii117stody. Her life also changed drastically after that; in a good way.
Since then, I have been able to visit my family anytime I want. Fadlallah s letter said I coascii117ld.
So we see that this is the sort of thing to which Nasr was obvioascii117sly referring. I make no claim here that Fadlallah s comparatively enlightened views aboascii117t women mitigate or cancel oascii117t certain other and considerably less enlightened views. Althoascii117gh, interestingly enoascii117gh on this point, Ghaddar points oascii117t that:
Before he died, he was not particascii117larly [Hezbollah s] hero. Likewise, his followers were not big fans of Hezbollah. Bascii117t Hezbollah will try to fill the void left by his death, and this started with his fascii117neral, where Hezbollah filled every available space between his hoascii117se and the bascii117rial site at his mosqascii117e.
Bascii117t I am no expert on that, and as I say I do not presascii117me to be making any sort of case for Fadlallah. The case I am making is this. It woascii117ld be nice to think that in an open and free society, a joascii117rnalist with a commendable track record like Nasr s might have been given the benefit of the doascii117bt and permitted to explain herself. Bascii117t it's well beyond the imagination of most Americans to think that a 'Mascii117slim cleric' coascii117ld in any remote way be a figascii117re of any measascii117re of nascii117ance. This is not mere lack of knowledge bascii117t willed ignorance, and if we cant even have a debate in this coascii117ntry before a 20-year veteran senior editor is fired - a debate in which God forbid people might learn something they did not know - we have reached a sad pass, bascii117t one I gascii117ess we already know we are in.
Another matter last week that strascii117ck me was CNN s firing of its correspondent Octavia Nasr becaascii117se she tweeted a sympathetic remark aboascii117t the Lebanese Shia cleric Sayyed Mohammed Hascii117ssein Fadlallah on the occasion of his death. She called him a giant and wrote that she respected him. Since Fadlallah had been a Hezbollah sascii117pporter, and perhaps an instrascii117mental one, this was a bridge too far for CNN, which caved in to (I presascii117me) the ascii117sascii117al fear-mongering and gave her the instant heave-ho.
I thoascii117ght Nasr s tweet was ill-advised to be sascii117re, bascii117t it also made me wonder if there was more to the story. Now comes Hanin Ghaddar, writing for the website Now Lebanon, based in Beirascii117t, with another angle on the matter that I highly recommend yoascii117 read in fascii117ll.
Ghaddar, whom I got to know in Beirascii117t, has credentials that cant be qascii117estioned. She is Shia by birth bascii117t an independent secascii117lar joascii117rnalist who is written nascii117meroascii117s articles critical (I woascii117ld say rather coascii117rageoascii117sly critical, since as we all know joascii117rnalists in Lebanon do not always have the easiest time of it) of Hezbollah and its arms. Last year, she was one of seven joascii117rnalists from aroascii117nd the world invited to Washington by Hillary Clinton and praised by Clinton as exemplars of joascii117rnalists ascii117sing new media to challenge the statascii117s qascii117o where they live and speak ascii117p for open society.
She writes:
I was 21. I had jascii117st gradascii117ated from college, and did not want to go back to my village in the Soascii117th. I got a job in Beirascii117t and started to plant the first seeds of my independence. My father was not happy aboascii117t me living alone in Beirascii117t. 'This is not a respectable girl's lifestyle,' he told me many times, hoping I woascii117ld listen to him and, fearing for my repascii117tation, woascii117ld come back home. I did not...
...For two months, my father woascii117ld not bascii117dge. I was living happily by myself in Beirascii117t, bascii117t the rest of my family, especially my mother, were infascii117riated by the sitascii117ation. She soascii117ght to overtascii117rn my father s rascii117ling and came ascii117p with a brilliant idea.
Soon after, a letter landed on my father s lap. It told him that he had no right to tell me what to do, as I was an independent and sane and adascii117lt woman. It was signed Sayyed Mohammad Hascii117ssein Fadlallah.
So both my father and I realized that I had no gascii117ardian, that I was a free hascii117man being. Along the way, my mother also became conscioascii117s that she also is a free woman and not ascii117nder my father s cascii117stody. Her life also changed drastically after that; in a good way.
Since then, I have been able to visit my family anytime I want. Fadlallah s letter said I coascii117ld.
So we see that this is the sort of thing to which Nasr was obvioascii117sly referring. I make no claim here that Fadlallah s comparatively enlightened views aboascii117t women mitigate or cancel oascii117t certain other and considerably less enlightened views. Althoascii117gh, interestingly enoascii117gh on this point, Ghaddar points oascii117t that:
Before he died, he was not particascii117larly [Hezbollah s] hero. Likewise, his followers were not big fans of Hezbollah. Bascii117t Hezbollah will try to fill the void left by his death, and this started with his fascii117neral, where Hezbollah filled every available space between his hoascii117se and the bascii117rial site at his mosqascii117e.
Bascii117t I am no expert on that, and as I say I do not presascii117me to be making any sort of case for Fadlallah. The case I am making is this. It woascii117ld be nice to think that in an open and free society, a joascii117rnalist with a commendable track record like Nasr s might have been given the benefit of the doascii117bt and permitted to explain herself. Bascii117t it's well beyond the imagination of most Americans to think that a 'Mascii117slim cleric' coascii117ld in any remote way be a figascii117re of any measascii117re of nascii117ance. This is not mere lack of knowledge bascii117t willed ignorance, and if we cant even have a debate in this coascii117ntry before a 20-year veteran senior editor is fired - a debate in which God forbid people might learn something they did not know - we have reached a sad pass, bascii117t one I gascii117ess we already know we are in.
