A "FAILED State". That's what they're calling my country these days! And although I didn't look at the criteria they've based that title on, any rational observer will call it apt. The religious tension (sensational bullshit?) that has sensationally invaded the media recently is especially fearful because it suggests a suicidal turning point in this country's release of anger at our current FAILED situation: from a collective stance facing the presidential palace, we have seemed to have given up hope of burning down the castle and in our frustration have started to face one another. I'm standing in the middle dazzled! لأ يا مصر لأ ! Taking a step back, and trying to wrap my head around this picture, my first word of advice to everyone is: FREEZE! !تماثيل إسكندرية NO ONE MOVE! JUST FREEZE! The media needs to pause for just a bit because the snowball effect is rolling the wrong way! My second piece of advice is: BREATHE! Maybe it's only me.. maybe I'm overly dramatic and maybe this whole play that I'm witnessing is only in my head.. and it's possible that I'm giving these shenanigans unnecessary attention.. if so then I blame the flame war comments that I read on every article that touches this subject.. comments that make me think "Are there really people like this?" I'm one of those people who will throw a burning cigarette on the grass but watch it till it burns out by itself.. But with a situation like this.. what will you watch? And with a president like ours.. who can you trust to step up if needed and put it off? And with a fuel like religion.. how wise is that? And when up until yesterday supreme idiocy is being published.. how can you tell when we've reached the point where it won't just burn itself out anymore and someone has to do the honours? With these questions pardon me while I sprinkle my miserable fistful of water.. an amount already dripping through insecurity and hopelessness but sustained by some old-fashioned common sense and encouraged by nationalism and human being! My third piece of advice is: THINK! A full recovery from this mess we find ourselves in will never happen without an old-fashioned, honest, detailed review of the events that led us to reaching this point but for the sake of those who want to get to my point already without having to go through the details I will explain my argument first but you will find my review of events after that in case you wish to understand the whole story as I see it. Let us all agree on one thing: There will always be religious fanatics on either and any and all religious sides. Nothing new here. I blame a lack of enlightened education but you can point to lack of exposure, poverty, injustice, fear, insecurity and whatever else you want. What I really want to shed light on is the role of the media when faced with an issue like this. And the media to me is the most depressing disappointing party involved here. ماكانش العشم فيكي يا صحافة In a country where chaos is the norm, and a thick segment of the government is apparently snoozing, our next line of defense is the media which should by now have taken the front line in our pitiful stand against these pitiful circumstances. They're all we've got right now and they're all we can cling to. Let me pause this line of thought regarding the role of the media and go back to issue of religious fanatics. I'll return to the media in a second. Fanatics, extremists, closed-minded, over-zealous: It doesn't matter what name you pin on them, or what shade or how extreme... We all know what can be taken as an insult by the other and anyone harboring any words/feelings that we KNOW will hurt the other is automatically in the same basket regardless of shade. Extremism may not be anything new in itself but when it becomes apparent that a high-ranking religious official holds extreme views, that's a serious problem because people look up to him. He has a larger, wider effect on others. It's shit and sad and dangerous and I would definitely want to know if there are high-ranking officials in any religious institution holding extreme views that can threaten national unity; instead of being in blissful ignorance and out of touch with reality. But how do we deal with this tricky situation? Specifically how should the media deal with this situation? With tact, shrewdness and calculation especially in these turbulent times. Let's start with the easier situation when the fanatic is not an official representative of any religion. Do you publish? Yes or No? The only argument for "yes" would be to inform the public that: "Beware.. there are people amongst us that have these fanatical thoughts" especially when the reporter/newspaper believes after objective scrutiny into the matter that this is either a new or growing trend of thought. But is this really necessary? Don't we all know that fanatics are amongst us? Is there REALLY something new in what's being said? With our "failed state" status, all forms of chaos thrive. Is it professionally necessary at all to give these idiots the mic? I don''t mean censor (that's the role of the security and judiciary): let them bark; but in my role as a news outlet, is this really news?! In my role as a temporary front-line against chaos and with the absence of a state, is this what my role compels me to do? NO. This is not news guys, this is gossip. Feel free to share your arguments on this point. Now with the trickier situation when the fanatic is an official representative of a religion. Do you publish? This requires even more scrutiny and shrewdness but there are two important baselines we can agree upon: 1. Thoughts are not borne out of the moment of which a statement was issued. If anyone goes so far as to speak out a certain belief, then that person has obviously harbored those beliefs for a while. 2. People have several identities. A religious identity, racial, national, professional, political etc. Yet it is important to identify the official position on a certain topic of each of these identities to clarify whether the person is stating an official position or a personal one. The first point is relevant in discussing when to publish. The second point is relevant in discussing what and how to publish. Yet these are not separate points. Collectively along with answers to where to publish, why to publish and who should publish, only then does the media reach a level of responsibility in par with its urgently needed role as our front-line in extracting us from the chaos that's surrounding us. Why. This is the most critical question from which all other questions follow. The most typical yet incomplete answer would be to "inform the public". Inform the public of what? That a certain religious official made certain fanatical statements? Isn't it more to the point to inform that the official holds certain fanatical views? And could the news not be adulterated or even misunderstood by people to mean that the religious institution itself holds these fanatical views? If the point is to expose the person's views rather than statements, the "when to publish" is made less urgent but on the other hand, the more fanatical the views themselves, the more important the "when to publish" becomes. And in case there is danger (and there is always with these issues) that the news be adulterated or twisted in the minds of readers, and for the sake of not missing the target, shouldn't we also accompany (how) the news piece the official position of the religious institution (what) ? Wouldn't that direct more force to a particular person instead of a massive generalization that divides? ويل لقوم يعمم . Finally wouldn't it be wiser that the person exposing the issue (where & who) be someone honest and objective? Wouldn't it help the cause to include persons of the same religious affiliation? Ideally that shouldn't matter of course (It wouldn't matter to me and I wish we were all idealistic people), but let's be realistic here, in these times? Particularly these last couple of months? Let's not lose focus of the why we are publishing. To stress my position.. religious officials with extreme views are rotten apples that must be removed or genuinely rehabilitated if there ever is such a thing, but with wisdom so that the anger and frustration of our already existing circumstances do not be directed at one another but instead at the root cause of the problem. Let's not blow up ourselves in our effort to burn the rotten. Publish, expose, be angry, be indignant, be offended, but with an awareness of the current situation, including your more sensitive, elevated role and responsibility. =Note: It's been quite a few days since I first wrote this note and I've been thinking over it again recently and I feel something better will come out of that. In the mean time I'm still posting this one may it be a stepping stone to further thought for others as well.
