LONDON: The Qatar-owned media have incited terror and death threats against a rival broadcaster over the hit Ramadan TV drama 鈥淏lack Crows,鈥� it has been claimed, leading to questions over whether the Doha-backed channels are standing up for extremist ideology.
The series, produced by the Saudi-owned MBC Group, dramatizes the brutal life under Daesh rule in Syria and Iraq, documenting crimes like the sexual assault, enslavement and rape of women.
Yet Al-Jazeera鈥檚 Arabic-language service has attacked the show, helping stoke terror threats against the channel and its employees, an MBC executive said.
One tweet by the channel on June 2, for example, implied that 鈥淏lack Crows鈥� is demeaning to Sunni Islam and that the show positioned women living under Daesh rule as hungry for sex. 鈥淏lack Crows: A TV series to fight terror, or providing a free service for extremist groups showing Sunni Muslim women seeking sex?鈥� the channel鈥檚 provocative message, which has been retweeted more than 22,000 times, asked.
Other Qatar-backed media also took a critical stance on the 鈥淏lack Crows鈥� show, given that it is made by a Saudi-owned broadcaster.
The London-based Middle East Eye, for example, claimed that the show 鈥渦nderlines Saudi鈥檚 self-appointed role as bulwark against extremism but critics say (the) Kingdom is a sponsor of violence and intolerance.鈥�
Ali Jaber, MBC鈥檚 director of television, questioned why the Qatari channel was attacking the show and inciting violence against MBC鈥檚 employees.
鈥淲hat is hard to swallow is why鈥� the Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera, which understands very well the risks of inciting radicals against media practitioners, would want to put the lives of their colleagues at MBC at risk when they are supposed to be with us in the same anti-terrorism camp,鈥� Jaber told Arab News.
鈥淭hey should rise above any politics鈥� media ethics should never be affected.鈥�
MBC Group was forced to step up security at its facilities across the Middle East following Daesh threats made over the broadcast of 鈥淏lack Crows,鈥� while Kuwaiti actress Mona Shaddad has said she and other cast members had received death threats, according to media reports.
Jaber said he could not understand why Al-Jazeera or others would criticize 鈥淏lack Crows,鈥� which is clearly aimed at confronting the tyranny of Daesh.
鈥淭his is not the first time we face criticism or even threats at MBC; however our position has been and will always be (to confront) extremism in all shapes and forms,鈥� he said.
Asked about claims by the likes of Al-Jazeera that 鈥淏lack Crows鈥� demeans Sunni Islam and positions women as sex-hungry 鈥� rather than as victims of rape and cruelty under Daesh rule 鈥� Jaber said: 鈥淔irst and foremost, the show did not invent the reality that Daesh exists, or make up how they treat women or brainwash them. This is something, which you see or read about in the news every day.
鈥淎ll鈥� we are doing is merely criticizing in a dramatic way and alerting viewers to the many ways this evil group propagates its ideas.鈥�
Some of the accusations made against 鈥淏lack Crows鈥� imply that its critics believe Daesh should not be condemned in such TV dramas, Jaber argued.
鈥淲hat is yet to be understood is why this upsets critics? What are they trying to say? That Daesh should not be criticized and condemned every day and in every way possible? What is their interest? This is particularly strange since we should all be aligned when it comes to countering extremist ideology,鈥� Jaber said.
He then slammed critics by saying: 鈥淚t is always very easy to discredit or move public opinion against anything or anyone by accusing them of being sectarian; this is absolutely unethical and irresponsible.鈥�
He added: 鈥淢BC takes these threats seriously because we have paid a dear price for our moderation and opposition to violent extremism. Fifteen of our colleagues were killed over the past decades but it never deterred us from doing the right thing be it against Sunni or Shiite extremism.鈥�
Journalist Abdel Latif El-Menawy, the former head of Egypt鈥檚 state TV news under ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, said that Qatar had been 鈥渇uriously attacking鈥� its neighbors in the Gulf.
He said the Al-Jazeera TV channel had 鈥渦nintentionally revealed its true positions鈥� in its attack on the MBC series.
鈥淭hey stood in the same trench as the terrorist groups in Syria, such as the Al-Nusra Front, and other groups which joined Al-Jazeera in attacking the MBC series,鈥� he said.
The allegations against Al-Jazeera come at a time of heightened tensions in the Gulf region.
Several Arab and Islamic countries on Monday cut diplomatic ties with Qatar over Doha鈥檚 alleged support for extremist groups.