Since the rise of Arabic speaking stations in Europe like BBC Arabic in 1938 and Radio Monte Carlo in 1972, a new trend has emerged in how western media communicates with the Arab region. The trend has reached new heights in media, and extends to include visual media, leading a number of western outlets, such as the BBC, DW and France 24, to adopt Arabic language channels.
There are several goals in launching this type of media, including closing the cultural gap and improving the western image in the Arab world. Certain goals of these states are promoted through Political implications. Over time, this will pave the way for their policies and have them become accepted, and indeed supported, by the Arab populace.
Individual Efforts:
Despite some western states adopting this new trend, the field has recently opened up to include a number of new, and more individual, efforts to launch Arabic media abroad, in an attempt to absorb the incoming flow of migrants and help to integrate them into the local society. In Sweden, the “Nabd El Orosend” channel was launched as the first Arabic channel in Scandinavia.
The Compass network was launched as one of the largest media outlets that speak Arabic in Sweden. The addition of this network speaks to the pattern of media that is directly funded by certain western states in order to absorb Arab migrants into their societies. Countries such as Germany have been very active in their efforts to undertake integration into their society.
An Open Field:
Realizing the major role that the media plays in bridging the gap between cultures and bringing differing points of view closer, western states have worked to adopt a media model aimed at the Arab world. This is accomplished through the utilization of Arabic speaking media. The first media outlet to do so was BBC Arabic, which was launched in an effort to combat the forces of communism that were spreading in the region. A number of other outlets such as Radio Monte Carlo and the Dutch Broadcast were other attempts at spreading the media’s message across the region. The Sep. 11th attacks in 2001 would prove to be a turning point in the launching of a number of new media outlets in the region such as Al Hurra, Radio Sao, the American Magazine Hi and a number of others.
Media outlets have sought to send out the message that overall, the image of the states they represent in the region wishes to be changed, and that they seek to promote their policies towards various causes that are of interest to their respective states. This trend has led to the politicization of issues covered by these media outlets, thereby making it easier to spot the agendas of these media outlets. It is clear in their coverage of events in the region, as they only focus on issues of interest to them and ignore other issues that could tarnish their standing in the world.
Noting that western media aims to only serve the interests of their respective states, the rise of Arabic speaking media inside of these states to serve Arab migrants is an important step, particularly in light of the ongoing spread of refugees to Europe after the increase of crises in the region. The influx of migrants, has led to an increasing need to help the migrant community identify with the host community’s culture. Regardless of whether the migrants will stay in these countries on a permanent or temporary basis, these stations serve to better integrate them into the community and avoid any potential problems that could arise as a result of delays in integration.
The emergence of these stations allows for the experiences of migrants, particularly young Arab migrants, to be expressed. For example, Sweden, which is considered to be one of the most prominent European states with an interest in media directed towards Arab migrants, has over 400,000 Arabic speakers. According to some assessments, there are over 16,000 Syrian refugees that were accepted by Sweden. Over the last 5 years, the increasingly tumultuous conditions in Syria have led to an unprecedented rise in the number of Syrian refugees headed towards Europe, and Sweden in particular.
In 2012, a group of Swedish youth insured that the media institute known as the Kompis Network, meaning Friendship Network in Swedish, would help to integrate incoming Arab migrants into Swedish society by providing media content that aims to identify with Arabs and educate them on their rights as migrants and how to gain Swedish nationality. They provide a number of ways to live within the Swedish community including how to follow the laws that govern it as well as providing social services such as food, clothing and places to stay.
In a similar experience to Kompis, another group of Syrian and Palestinian youths from Sweden and Denmark have worked to establish a monthly newspaper under the name of Oresunds Puls, which distributes over 10,000 copies a month in southern Sweden in cities such as Helsingborg, Malmo, Ystad, Sundsvall and Kalmar. The group has also established a TV channel that holds the same name. It should be noted that Swedish Arabic-speaking media was in existence before the rise of the Syrian refugee crisis. Prior to the refugee crises, the main source of news targeted at the Arab community was a newspaper known as Arab Nyheter. The paper was established in 2004, and it was the official newspaper aimed at the Arab community in Sweden. It also allocated special broadcast hours on the Sveriges Radio Broadcast for thirty minutes daily in order to broadcast the news in Arabic.
Prior to the establishment of Kompis, German media had already established Arabic speaking TV channels, which introduced Germanic culture and published Arabic magazines with public transportation maps. Despite this, Swedish attempts at community targeted media are more neutral and of greater benefit to the target audience. This is due to the fact that Compass was established by youth who had already been through the integration process personally and had previous knowledge of the steps needed to adapt in Sweden. This attempt has helped countless migrants in European countries and has helped to provide needed aid quickly.
A Lack of an Arab Presence:
The steps and initiatives undertaken by government-sponsored western media to reach out to migrant communities in Arabic, raises a number of questions on the issue of using culture as a tool to reach out. In general, migrants and refugees fear backlash from within European states due to anti-Muslim or anti-Arab rhetoric. This rhetoric may have negative consequences on migrant communities abroad, which in turn is discussed in Arab media and used as anti-western propaganda.
Despite the interest of western media to communicate with the countries of the region, including attempts by western media to absorb the incoming Arab migrants, similar attempts by the Arab media are completely absent from the scene. Arab media is completely engulfed by local affairs, despite the fact that a focus on external issues, such as the migrant crisis, would help to change the negative image of Arabs in the west, and dispel the idea that Islam and terrorism are related. Despite the vast financial capabilities available to Arab investors and Arab shareholders in large western media outlets, which could possibly allow some room on these channels to expand in that regard, Arabian media seems interested in speaking only with itself and defending the image of Islam only in Arabic, thus ostracizing the west and retaining a misunderstood image.
