UAE to UN: Al Jazeera antisemitic, promotes terrorism
The UAE does not accept the UN's decision that freedom of expression trumps the closing of Qatar's Al Jazeera television channel.
By YOCHEVED LAUREN LAUFERUpdated: JULY 13, 2017 09:25The Al Jazeera logo seen in a studio [Illustrative](photo credit: AFP / STAN HONDA)
United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash has accused Qatari broadcast network Al Jazeera of promoting antisemitism, supporting terrorist groups, and incitement to violence.Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi on Al Jazeera: Allah Imposed Hitler upon the Jews to Punish Them - "Allah Willing, the Next Time Will Be at the Hand of the Believers" January 30, 2009Gargash made the remarks in a letter written Sunday and made public Wednesday on the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation's website. The four-page letter was addressed to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, as a rebuttal to the UN Special Rapporteur's statement on June 30, that recent demands to close Al Jazeera breached rights of freedom of expression.Gargash defended demands to close the network by explaining that, "Freedom of expression cannot be used to justify and shield the promotion of extremist narratives." He also added that, "It is the international community’s responsibility to remain vigilant as the media and new technologies are being exploited by terrorists and their supporters to disseminate extremist ideologies, as well as mobilizing, recruiting, inspiring followers, and raising funding." The UAE minister further stated that, “Al Jazeera is a platform for spreading terrorist ideology,” by conducting interviews with leaders of various terror organizations such as Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki of al-Qaida, Khaled Mashal and Mohammed Deif of Hamas, and Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah. Gargash also accused Al Jazeera of promoting antisemitic violence in its programming, citing comments by Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi in one of his broadcast sermons on the Qatar-based network. According to Gargash, Qaradawi “described the Holocaust as ‘divine punishment’ during which ‘Hitler… put [the Jews] in their place.’”This comes after the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, Maldives and Egypt cut ties with Qatar in early June, including the state-funded satellite television network. Reports that Israel was considering shutting down Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem office also surfaced in June.