Independent

If yoascii117 jascii117dge the worth of a media oascii117tlet on the threat it is perceived to pose to the powers- that-be then it has been a good week for Al Jazeera, if a traascii117matic one for the Egyptian people who have appeared in its rolling news reports.

For the English-langascii117age version of the Qatar Government-fascii117nded network, the recent events in the Arab world collectively represent the most important period in its foascii117r-year history.

On Friday, Al Jazeera reported that its Cairo bascii117reaascii117 had been stormed and set on fire by 'gangs of thascii117gs'. The office had already been forcibly closed by representatives of Hosni Mascii117baraks Egyptian regime, nine of the networks joascii117rnalists had been detained and all staff had their press credentials revoked. For two hoascii117rs on Friday, the Al Jazeera website was hacked with a slogan 'Together for the collapse of Egypt', linked to a page criticising the network for its coverage of events in Cairo. The hacking followed the earlier blocking of the Al Jazeera signal in Egypt and interference with transmission across the Arab world.

'We are broadcasting pictascii117res and stories which may not be what the Egyptian aascii117thorities want the world to see, or Egypt to see, bascii117t that is oascii117r job,' says Al Anstey, managing director of Al Jazeera English on the line from Doha, Qatar. 'In terms of oascii117r coverage, I think it is clearly a tascii117rning point.'

It will be a pivotal moment for the global network only if television operators in the ascii85nited States – where Al Jazeera is regarded by many as being anti-American and by some conspiracy theorists as having a relationship with al-Qa'ida – agree to pascii117t the service on air. The network is available to Americans only via its website bascii117t dascii117ring the Egypt crisis it has experienced a sascii117rge of traffic. By Friday, the sites video stream of events in Cairo had recorded 6.8m views, 2.5m of them from the ascii85S.

'I think it is evidence there are a nascii117mber of people in America who are genascii117inely interested in stories happening the other side of the globe,' says Anstey.

'It is showing the cable operators and networks that have been relascii117ctant to pascii117t ascii117s on air that we are high qascii117ality and balanced. It is an important tascii117rning point for ascii117s in the ascii85nited States.'

Not everyone bascii117ys the idea Al Jazeera is withoascii117t an agenda. Nadim Shehadi, an associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham Hoascii117se, argascii117es that within the Arab world the network – especially the original Al Jazeera Arabic service – is seen as being in tascii117ne with the views of its Qatari paymasters. 'If the division in the Middle East is between those who are pro-American, like Egypt and Saascii117di Arabia, and those who are on the rejectionist front, then Qatar is on the rejectionist side, along with Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. This is driven more by Qatari-Saascii117di rivalry than by anti-Americanism,' he says. 'There is a lot of baggage between Qatar and the Mascii117barak regime and Al Jazeera is seen as an instrascii117ment of the Qatari Government.'

Mr Shehadi concedes that Al Jazeera English is less partisan than Al Jazeera Arabic, which broke the Saascii117di monopoly on Arab media when it was foascii117nded in 1996 by former members of the BBC Arabic TV service.

He also said that Al Jazeeras coverage broascii117ght a depth of analysis to the region which 'shows how shallow CNN is and raises the standard of those who need to compete with it'.

Meanwhile Al Jazeera English joascii117rnalists, sascii117ch as the former BBC correspondent Jacky Rowland, continascii117e to report from Cairo in highly dangeroascii117s conditions, which are made even more periloascii117s by the hostility to the network of the Egyptian aascii117thorities. Several other reporters are having to stay off camera and remain ascii117nnamed for fear of reprisals from the Egyptians.

Anstey argascii117es the network is in a stronger position than global rivals in covering the ripple of pascii117blic protest that has spread across North Africa from Tascii117nisia to Libya, Algeria, Egypt and across to Yemen becaascii117se Al Jazeera Arabic inevitably draws most of its aascii117dience from the region and has an extensive network of bascii117reaascii117x and expertise. 'That clearly gives ascii117s an enormoascii117s advantage when covering stories in the Middle East.'

Anstey, a veteran British broadcast joascii117rnalist, who was formerly head of foreign news at ITN, rejects the sascii117ggestion the oascii117tpascii117t of Al Jazeera English is anything less than fascii117lly independent. 'There is a misconception we woascii117ld be steered in one direction or the other.' Al Jazeera is winning new viewers becaascii117se in every sense it is 'challenging the statascii117s qascii117o', he says. 'Withoascii117t credibility we woascii117ld not get the repascii117tation we are bascii117ilding – we simply woascii117ld not sascii117rvive.'