D. C. Chief of Al Jazeera Hafez Al-Mirazi to Speak at Fletcher School at Tufts Nov. 10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Terry Ann Knopf
Thursday, Nov. 6, 2003 617-627-2778;
terry.knopf@tufts.edu

Medford, Mass. -- Hafez Al-Mirazi, the Washington bureau chief of Al Jazerra Television, the most watched Arab language network in the Middle East, will speak at The Fletcher School at Tufts University this Monday, Nov. 10, 2003 at 5:30 p.m.

Launched seven years ago, Al Jazeera has been an important source of news in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attaciks and the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Its supporters view it as an indispensable news that allows Americans to get news from the Arab world they might otherwise not get. Others see Al Jazeera as a propaganda tool for Arabs -- criticizing it for brodcasting audio tapes of terorist Osama bin Laden and video clips of terror-stricken U.S. prisoner of war in Iraq.

Indeed, the war in Iraq provides two very different set of images. Arabs see crowded street scenes, with bodies of dead children and gruesome images of dead American soldiers. By contrast, Americans viewers see littler of civilian casualties. Instead they see embedded reporters traveling along with American troops in the field and bombs going off in the background.

In his talk entitled "The Al-Jazeera Effect: In the Middle East and Beyond," Mr. Al-Mirazi is expected to dwell on a number of issues, such as why Al Jazeera founded? ; its role in the war on terrorism and what effects, if any, has its presence had on American news coverage?

Mr. Al-Mirazi's talk is co-sponsored by the Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies and The Fletcher School at Tufts.

WHEN: Monday, Nov. 10, 2003, talk begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by questions and answer period..

WHERE: Tufts University
The Fletcher School160 Packard Ave. Medford, MA

[Note to reporters: Please let us know if you wish to speak with Mr. Al-Mirazi following his speech.]