The Rise of Muslim Media

I remember being glued to the images of the first televised war, the Gulf War, during 1990-1991. CNN beamed these mesmerising images into our living room, and the worlds first 24 hour news channel was born. I can actually recall fond memories of sitting next to my Dad, peppering him with questions and listening to his commentary on the war. I was in standard six at the time, and still too young to accurately grasp the reality on the ground of what it meant to be at war. This new entertainment as morbid as it was, was enthralling.

Then came September 11. This time though, I was a young man, working in a company where I was the only Muslim. I remember having to defend myself, my beliefs, my beard to my co-workers. They were fed daily doses of CNN's dramatic coverage of the attacks, George Bush's war on terror and the Taliban's harbouring of suspect no1, Osama bin Laden. And I grew ever more desperate. Every which way I looked, the media seemed to have a story of an Islamic terrorist, or a fanatic suicide bomber. I began to loathe opening a newspaper or switching on the news channels.

Somewhere in between all of this, Al-Jazeera English had launched. I believe the Arabic channel had already begun sometime in the 90's. But for me, the English channel was a lifeline - that all was not lost. I desperately kept hoping that more and more people in the west would turn it on - and see that Islam was not as portrayed on mass media up to then. The professionalism of the productions and presenters really impressed me. Something inside me, felt proud - Proud that a perceived "Muslim" broadcasting company could pull this off.

As many people have commented, Al-Jazeera has really come into its own, during their coverage of the Tunisia and Egypt uprisings. With them, there has been a host of Muslim bloggers, writers, reporters keeping the world updated on social network sites like Twitter. Names like (Twitter handles) @SultanAlqassemi, @Waelabbas, @Ghonim, @Monaeltahawy. And back home we've had @Azadessa, @Khadijapatel. And many more. These names are etched into our memories, together with the wonderful memories of Tahrir Square. But what has struck me, is that the epicentre of News in the world has taken a distinct shift. Doha, is a real alternative now, if you want your voice heard, and your views expressed to the world. For me, this is quite remarkable. Back then, in the dark days of post-911, it seemed a hopeless cause.

So I watch this silent revolution taking place, and hope that one day, Muslims will again be at the forefront, in this fast moving world. We always hear of the golden age of Islam, when Muslim thinkers developed the principles of Mathematics, Science, Literature. Somewhere along the way, we got lost. We concluded that Islam was to be confined only to the Musjid. And we lost our thirst to be the best. The west certainly overtook the Muslim world in this regard. But in these uncertain times of economic upheaval and capitalistic meltdown, I see a real place for Muslims, to take a leading role in finding creative solutions to the World's problems. And I have my hope back, and a spring in my step - Loading my English Al-jazeera site, proud to see Muslim names, making their mark in the World.