When we look at the media world here in the United States, one of the things we understand the least is how media operate in the non-Western world, especially in the Muslim Middle East. NPR’s On The Media had a great series of stories on media in the Muslim world:
- Iraq’s Vibrant, Sectarian Media
In Iraq, there are television stations for every political persuasion: Shiite TV, Kurd TV, Turkmen TV, Maliki TV…. Take your choice. What there isn’t is a non-partisan Iraqi channel. - The Rise of “Satellite Sheiks”
A rerun of a story from last summer, but it’s still worth listening to. A look at a moderate Muslim entertainer/reporter. (By the way, Ahmad al-Shugairi says he’s not a sheik: “Sheik is an Arab word that means like a rabbi, a priest. And I always say in my program that I’m not a scholar and I’m not a sheik. I’m just a simple human being who has hopes for the Arab and Islamic world to improve in all levels, economically, financially, socially. Now, that doesn’t necessarily make me a sheik. It’s just a person speaking his mind out.” - Mideast Sitcom Pushes Social Reform
Who knew that there were sitcoms for the Muslim season of Ramadan? A look at Tash Ma Tash, a humor and social commentary program. - Al Jazeera Now
An interview with the director general of Al Jazeera, an independent Arab-language satellite news channel broadcasting out of Qatar.
And now for something completely different – check out the Canadian Broadcasting Company’s comedy series Little Mosque on the Prairie. (No, I’m not making this up.)