Page - 127 - in Media – Migration – Integration - European and North American Perspectives

Souley Hassane | Mainstream Media vs. Ethnic Minority Media 127 ‘double meaning’ and especially for anti-Semitism in the words of Tariq Ramadan. The broadcast, then, distorted the interview’s content, according to Oumma.com, which immediately sprang to the defense of one of its own writers and mentors. “The method”, writes Yamin Makri (Makri 2003), “is very simple: interview Tariq Ramadan, then cut his statements into smaller sequences and re-arrange them to demonstrate the ‘double meaning’ of his responses, his duplicity and his eminently dangerous character.” Tariq Ramadan remained in the headlines, even though no evidence was ever found to support his alleged ties to Islamic extremists. On Oumma.com, Mohsin Mouedin wrote (Mouedin 2003): “We are all Tariq Ramadan”, in allusion to media headlines after 9/11 (“We are all Americans”). The controversial debate between Tariq Ramadan and Sarkozy of 20 November 2003, broadcast on the program “100 minutes pour convaincre” on France 2, stimulated a number of reactions in the press (Sarkozy 2003). It was the culminating point of the new ideological communion between the political and intellectual scenes on the one hand and the media on the other. Objectively, the debate between the Minister of the Interior and a Swiss citizen was of little interest. But a better cast was not to be had. Sarkozy gained an immense symbolic advantage from the debate as the person who ‘unveiled the fundamentalist’ in a France ready to abandon social taboos. This communion between spheres united in their aim to sensationalize information warrants further examination. On December 2, 2004, France 2 broadcasts a “special report” on Tariq Ramadan by Mohammed Sifaoui. The report was presented as an excursion into the center of the Islamist ‘network’ in France. The report shows Tariq Ramadan followed by a hidden camera. The author promises his audience an outstanding account. In reality, not only is nothing ‘discovered’, but also the splicing and taping of the filmed sequences is clearly visible. This provoked a general outcry among the Muslim population. The Algerian nationality of the “reporter” only stoked the fire over the fabrication which was evident in the story. Subsequently, the author refused to participate in a broadcast focused on demystifying the media “Arrêt sur l’image (Stop. Image check!)”, planned for December 3, 2004. In an article published by Oumma.com, Tariq Ramadan went to his own defense by denouncing Sifaoui’s work. Several other journalists and researchers also harshly criticized the widely disseminated broadcast and the public channel responsible, reflecting the general indignation among professional journalists. It is the shame and repugnance of sharing the same profession with Mohammed Sifaoui that pushes me to react after the broadcast of the