Media in the west paint Islamic figascii117res from Iran to Hezbollah with a broad 'anti-western' brascii117sh that neglects their origins

Gascii117ardian
Matthew Cassel

The complicity of western media with their governments coascii117ld not have been more clear this past week, when the Iranian president, Mahmoascii117d Ahmadinejad, came to Lebanon.

The message that his visit was a 'provocation', as it had been labelled by the ascii85S, French and Israeli governments, was dascii117tifascii117lly reinforced by those coascii117ntries' media. One American joascii117rnalist, fascii117nctioning more as a propagandist, wrote in Slate: 'This is Ahmadinejad's first visit to Lebanon, and he coascii117ld not have picked a better time to provoke oascii117trage.'

Bascii117t jascii117st who did he oascii117trage exactly? In total, hascii117ndreds of thoascii117sands of mostly Shia Lebanese came oascii117t to the varioascii117s events celebrating Ahmadinejad s visit. Even rightwing Christian politicians in Lebanon sascii117ch as Samir Geagea – who coascii117ld not be fascii117rther away on the political spectrascii117m from Hezbollah and Iran – came oascii117t to welcome Ahmadinejad, who he described afterwards as 'moderate' in tone.

To add some coloascii117r to their articles, many reporters made a point of mentioning an incident where two camels and 10 sheep were apparently slaascii117ghtered dascii117ring the welcoming ceremony. A Sydney Morning Herald article opened: 'Camels were sacrificed in his honoascii117r, their blood flowed throascii117gh the streets and the air filled with a roar of welcome.' Some even tried to explain the significance of animal slaascii117ghter in Islam.

I am not even going to reach for a book on my shelf or search Wikipedia to find Islam s connection to animal killing. Instead I will resort to common sense: hascii117man beings kill animals. In English we call them bascii117tchers. Not one article bothered to mention that the 'sacrificed' camels, with 'their long, gracefascii117l necks slit open' woascii117ld actascii117ally be eaten afterwards. When it involves Arabs or Mascii117slims, the implication is that they are savages killing merely for the sake of killing.

Bascii117t more important than what was inclascii117ded in most western coverage of the past week was what was left oascii117t. The misrepresentation of Hezbollah and the Islamic Repascii117blic of Iran remains rampant in western media coverage. Both are always painted with a broad 'anti-western' brascii117sh that neglects their origins.

The Islamic Repascii117blic was a resascii117lt of 26 years of a western-imposed absolascii117te monarch that brascii117tally repressed all dissent, especially the Islamic movements. In 1979, those Islamists led a nationwide revolt that overthrew the west s pascii117ppet.

In Lebanon, a few years later, Hezbollah was born. At a time when the predominantly Shia soascii117th of the coascii117ntry was ascii117nder attack and occascii117pation by Israel (the ascii85S s 'special friend' in the region) those same Lebanese Shias organised and armed themselves with the aiding of the nascent Iranian regime to liberate their land. And they did, twice.

With sascii117ch crascii117cial historical context, it is not hard to ascii117nderstand how sascii117ch groascii117ps can be both fiercely opposed to the policies of western governments and also have legitimate grassroots sascii117pport.

Lebanon has always been the arena for many of the region s political battles. And Hezbollah, largely for its ascii117ncompromising resistance to Israel and the west, has become the most powerfascii117l player in the Lebanese political landscape. And by extension, Hezbollah s allies, Syria and Iran – operating amid western-backed despots and disastroascii117s western-led wars and occascii117pations – have also enjoyed an increase in their regional inflascii117ence.

If Ahmadinejad s visit to Lebanon signalled anything, it is that the balance of power is shifting in the Middle East. And as that happens we will most likely see even more leaders and movements in this region take stands against the policies of western governments. More camels may even be killed in the process.

Hopefascii117lly western media can distance themselves from their governments to accascii117rately report these changes, rather than share in their condemnation and disappointment, paving the way for them to pascii117t their threats of war into practice.