One mans tussles with the thought police Armed with words, Ibrahim moussawi battles for hearts and minds - and freedo
Source: Daily Star, 17-12-2007
By Kristin Dailey
INTERVIEW
BEIRUT: Sitting in his office, clad in jacket, button-down shirt and pressed pants, and adjusting piles of books neatly stacked atop his desk, Ibrahim Moussawi hardly looks like a threat to anything, let alone national security. But when Moussawi, editor in chief of the Hizbullah-affiliated newspaper Al-Intiqad (Criticism), was invited to speak at a conference in October organized by the Irish Anti-War Movement, the government in Dublin denied him an entry visa, a move that Irish media reports described as having been made for "security reasons" at the behest of Washington.
The following month, the leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party, David Cameron, argued in Parliament that it was "vital" that Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government prevent Moussawi from entering the United Kingdom to attend a similar event in London, the World Against War conference organized by the Stop the War Coalition. To support his call for a ban, Cameron claimed that Moussawi is the "head of the viciously anti-Semitic TV station Al-Manar," which is also affiliated with Hizbullah. In fact, while Moussawi has headed Al-Manar's foreign news desk and hosted a political talk show, he was never in charge - and he left his job at the station more than two years ago.
Looking back on the controversy, Moussawi seems genuinely puzzled.
"Why are they afraid of me?" he asks. "I only work in media and I only say what I see."
Prior to the fall of 2007, Moussawi, who recently earned a PhD in political studies from Birmingham University in England, had never experienced any trouble with traveling. He has presented research papers and delivered lectures at prestigious universities - including Cambridge, the London School of Economics and the American University of Beirut - and attended conferences in countries such as Malaysia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Germany and Qatar.
Born in 1965 to a family from Baalbek, Moussawi grew up in the southern suburbs of Beirut and developed an interest in media at a very early age.
"When I was about 10 years old I was a newspaper boy," he explains. "It was the beginning of the Civil War then, and I used to report to my job very early in the morning and get all of the newspapers and then sit down in a corner and read them all. I wanted to be aware of everything that was going on."
By the time Lebanon's most recent war with "Israel" erupted in July 2006, Moussawi was running Al-Intiqad, a position that soon thrust him into the international spotlight. As civilian casualties mounted in Lebanon, most of the international community demanded an immediate cease-fire, but the United States and Britain worked together to prevent pressure from the United Nations Security Council - and to replenish "Israel"'s arsenal. Moussawi soon gained global recognition as a spokesperson for Hizbullah, his image beamed to television screens around the world via networks such as CNN, BBC and Sky News as he deplored what was happening to his country.
Shortly after the war ended in August 2006, the Irish Anti-War Movement invited Moussawi to address peace activists in Belfast, Dublin and Gallway about the summer conflict, which he did. He was invited back the following year, and applied for another visa, but it never came - nor did an explanation or even an official notification that his application had been rejected.
"I read about it in the news," Moussawi says when asked how he learned about the ban. "I still haven't been given an official answer as to why I was rejected for the visa, although I've read articles in the Irish press that said that my visa had been rejected because I represent a security threat."
To hear Moussawi describe the experience, the campaign to prevent him from traveling to European countries sounds not unlike Oceania's attempts to stamp out "thoughtcrime" in George Orwell's novel, "1984."
"I'm only involved in academia and media," he says, adding that the only "crime" he has ever committed is to openly express his political views, which he insists remain within the boundaries of legitimate intellectual discourse.
"We should allow for open debate," he argues. "After all, I come and I only say words. If my words are worth hearing, people should give me the opportunity to speak. If my words are rubbish, it's worth the opportunity to refute what I say, and to undermine my logic if what I say is not logical."
Governments, Moussawi argues, "should not censor what people have to say and confiscate the right of intelligent people to decide what to hear or not to hear."
"I'm a staunch defender of political freedoms and freedom of speech," he adds.
Moussawi categorically denies the accusation that he has promoted "anti-Semitic" views. "I would challenge anyone to provide evidence of any word that I have said that is hateful or anti-Semitic," he says, adding that he himself has been a victim of discrimination and has therefore made a special effort to eschew any form of prejudice.
"I have nothing against Jews. I have nothing against any human being, whether because of religion, gender or political affiliation," he explains. "I'm a human being who believes in dignity, independence and freedom. I'm a bridge-builder and I've always been an advocate of dialogue and discussion."
Indeed, Moussawi's efforts to initiate dialogue have earned him a reputation as one of the more progressive voices in Hizbullah-affiliated media. In February 2005, just one week after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, he invited five Jewish rabbis to a conference in Beirut and hosted them as guests on his political talk show.
Moussawi's quest to expand dialogue has also taken him around the world to meet with peace activists who are promoting conflict-resolution at the grassroots level.
"I believe governments and politicians have failed to address the problems of the people," he explains. "I believe there is another role that we have to play at the grassroots level, as NGOs and as members of civil society. There is a lot of diplomacy that could go on at this level. We don't have to wait for officials to take the lead; we have seen what they have brought: nothing but disasters. So I want to highlight the need to interact at this level."
"I also want to refute this notion that there is a 'clash of civilization,'" Moussawi adds. "I believe that all over the world, people want the same things. We all want to be with our families; we all want to come back to our kids at the end of the day and bring bread to their tables and give them a good education, to live in harmony and peace."
"We can do a lot if we join efforts and pressure the politicians to adapt their policies to seek and to be able to reach justice, because justice is the thing that we should seek to reach," he says.
One thing that Moussawi seeks to combat is the very notion that Hizbullah is a terrorist organization.
"I would say that we are in the midst of a war of terminology," he says. "It is a war of definitions that we should pay attention to."
Far from being a terrorist outfit, he argues, Hizbullah is a legitimate resistance group that is fighting to regain occupied land like the Shebaa Farms and to secure the return of prisoners held by "Israel".
"Many people try to demonize the resistance, but resistance is the right of people under occupation," Moussawi says, a claim supported by the UN Charter.
"If there wasn't an occupation, there wouldn't be resistance," he adds. "I would support any nation or people if they were occupied and exercising their right to resist an occupying force."
"I don't believe anyone wants to have wars," Moussawi says. "But in this part of the world, we have for decades been the victims of occupation and war.
"We want to tell people that it's not what you hear, that we like wars, or whatever. We really want peace. We are the true and genuine seekers of peace. But you cannot reach peace unless you address the core issues.
"We want a long-lasting peace, a genuine peace. We don't want a compromise or a settlement that would only last a few years and then have it break or collapse and return again to the vicious cycle of violence," he says.
A durable peace, Moussawi argues, "cannot happen unless the core issues are addressed in a just way."
In the end, Moussawi was permitted to attend the World Against War conference in London. However, his message to the gathering was largely drowned out by the media buzz that focused on the attempts to prevent him from entering the country.
And what was the crux of the message that Cameron and his party had thought the British people should be prevented from hearing?
"Yes, we believe in religion, but this does not bring us to a place where we do not respect others or we do not recognize others," Moussawi said at the conference. "If religion is not going to make me a better human being who cares for any human being, I don't need it. ... [Religion] is not to make me fanatic, irresponsible, or feel that I'm deemed to salvation while others are going to hell. No, this is not what we want. If you are really a true believer, you should care for any human being, whoever he is, wherever he lives."
During his speech, Moussawi also had a response for those who would question the idea of inviting a Hizbullah media man to an anti-war event.
"Who can talk about [the need to] stop the wars and [achieve] peace more than those who are suffering from the occupation and the atrocities and the massacres and the aggressions?" he asked. "We want genuine peace. We don't want compromises and we don't want to go again and again to the same vicious cycle every 10 years or five years, where you make a temporary settlement and you end up with another war coming. The roots of the problem, the roots of the cause of the problem, should be addressed."
By Kristin Dailey
INTERVIEW
BEIRUT: Sitting in his office, clad in jacket, button-down shirt and pressed pants, and adjusting piles of books neatly stacked atop his desk, Ibrahim Moussawi hardly looks like a threat to anything, let alone national security. But when Moussawi, editor in chief of the Hizbullah-affiliated newspaper Al-Intiqad (Criticism), was invited to speak at a conference in October organized by the Irish Anti-War Movement, the government in Dublin denied him an entry visa, a move that Irish media reports described as having been made for "security reasons" at the behest of Washington.
The following month, the leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party, David Cameron, argued in Parliament that it was "vital" that Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government prevent Moussawi from entering the United Kingdom to attend a similar event in London, the World Against War conference organized by the Stop the War Coalition. To support his call for a ban, Cameron claimed that Moussawi is the "head of the viciously anti-Semitic TV station Al-Manar," which is also affiliated with Hizbullah. In fact, while Moussawi has headed Al-Manar's foreign news desk and hosted a political talk show, he was never in charge - and he left his job at the station more than two years ago.
Looking back on the controversy, Moussawi seems genuinely puzzled.
"Why are they afraid of me?" he asks. "I only work in media and I only say what I see."
Prior to the fall of 2007, Moussawi, who recently earned a PhD in political studies from Birmingham University in England, had never experienced any trouble with traveling. He has presented research papers and delivered lectures at prestigious universities - including Cambridge, the London School of Economics and the American University of Beirut - and attended conferences in countries such as Malaysia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Germany and Qatar.
Born in 1965 to a family from Baalbek, Moussawi grew up in the southern suburbs of Beirut and developed an interest in media at a very early age.
"When I was about 10 years old I was a newspaper boy," he explains. "It was the beginning of the Civil War then, and I used to report to my job very early in the morning and get all of the newspapers and then sit down in a corner and read them all. I wanted to be aware of everything that was going on."
By the time Lebanon's most recent war with "Israel" erupted in July 2006, Moussawi was running Al-Intiqad, a position that soon thrust him into the international spotlight. As civilian casualties mounted in Lebanon, most of the international community demanded an immediate cease-fire, but the United States and Britain worked together to prevent pressure from the United Nations Security Council - and to replenish "Israel"'s arsenal. Moussawi soon gained global recognition as a spokesperson for Hizbullah, his image beamed to television screens around the world via networks such as CNN, BBC and Sky News as he deplored what was happening to his country.
Shortly after the war ended in August 2006, the Irish Anti-War Movement invited Moussawi to address peace activists in Belfast, Dublin and Gallway about the summer conflict, which he did. He was invited back the following year, and applied for another visa, but it never came - nor did an explanation or even an official notification that his application had been rejected.
"I read about it in the news," Moussawi says when asked how he learned about the ban. "I still haven't been given an official answer as to why I was rejected for the visa, although I've read articles in the Irish press that said that my visa had been rejected because I represent a security threat."
To hear Moussawi describe the experience, the campaign to prevent him from traveling to European countries sounds not unlike Oceania's attempts to stamp out "thoughtcrime" in George Orwell's novel, "1984."
"I'm only involved in academia and media," he says, adding that the only "crime" he has ever committed is to openly express his political views, which he insists remain within the boundaries of legitimate intellectual discourse.
"We should allow for open debate," he argues. "After all, I come and I only say words. If my words are worth hearing, people should give me the opportunity to speak. If my words are rubbish, it's worth the opportunity to refute what I say, and to undermine my logic if what I say is not logical."
Governments, Moussawi argues, "should not censor what people have to say and confiscate the right of intelligent people to decide what to hear or not to hear."
"I'm a staunch defender of political freedoms and freedom of speech," he adds.
Moussawi categorically denies the accusation that he has promoted "anti-Semitic" views. "I would challenge anyone to provide evidence of any word that I have said that is hateful or anti-Semitic," he says, adding that he himself has been a victim of discrimination and has therefore made a special effort to eschew any form of prejudice.
"I have nothing against Jews. I have nothing against any human being, whether because of religion, gender or political affiliation," he explains. "I'm a human being who believes in dignity, independence and freedom. I'm a bridge-builder and I've always been an advocate of dialogue and discussion."
Indeed, Moussawi's efforts to initiate dialogue have earned him a reputation as one of the more progressive voices in Hizbullah-affiliated media. In February 2005, just one week after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, he invited five Jewish rabbis to a conference in Beirut and hosted them as guests on his political talk show.
Moussawi's quest to expand dialogue has also taken him around the world to meet with peace activists who are promoting conflict-resolution at the grassroots level.
"I believe governments and politicians have failed to address the problems of the people," he explains. "I believe there is another role that we have to play at the grassroots level, as NGOs and as members of civil society. There is a lot of diplomacy that could go on at this level. We don't have to wait for officials to take the lead; we have seen what they have brought: nothing but disasters. So I want to highlight the need to interact at this level."
"I also want to refute this notion that there is a 'clash of civilization,'" Moussawi adds. "I believe that all over the world, people want the same things. We all want to be with our families; we all want to come back to our kids at the end of the day and bring bread to their tables and give them a good education, to live in harmony and peace."
"We can do a lot if we join efforts and pressure the politicians to adapt their policies to seek and to be able to reach justice, because justice is the thing that we should seek to reach," he says.
One thing that Moussawi seeks to combat is the very notion that Hizbullah is a terrorist organization.
"I would say that we are in the midst of a war of terminology," he says. "It is a war of definitions that we should pay attention to."
Far from being a terrorist outfit, he argues, Hizbullah is a legitimate resistance group that is fighting to regain occupied land like the Shebaa Farms and to secure the return of prisoners held by "Israel".
"Many people try to demonize the resistance, but resistance is the right of people under occupation," Moussawi says, a claim supported by the UN Charter.
"If there wasn't an occupation, there wouldn't be resistance," he adds. "I would support any nation or people if they were occupied and exercising their right to resist an occupying force."
"I don't believe anyone wants to have wars," Moussawi says. "But in this part of the world, we have for decades been the victims of occupation and war.
"We want to tell people that it's not what you hear, that we like wars, or whatever. We really want peace. We are the true and genuine seekers of peace. But you cannot reach peace unless you address the core issues.
"We want a long-lasting peace, a genuine peace. We don't want a compromise or a settlement that would only last a few years and then have it break or collapse and return again to the vicious cycle of violence," he says.
A durable peace, Moussawi argues, "cannot happen unless the core issues are addressed in a just way."
In the end, Moussawi was permitted to attend the World Against War conference in London. However, his message to the gathering was largely drowned out by the media buzz that focused on the attempts to prevent him from entering the country.
And what was the crux of the message that Cameron and his party had thought the British people should be prevented from hearing?
"Yes, we believe in religion, but this does not bring us to a place where we do not respect others or we do not recognize others," Moussawi said at the conference. "If religion is not going to make me a better human being who cares for any human being, I don't need it. ... [Religion] is not to make me fanatic, irresponsible, or feel that I'm deemed to salvation while others are going to hell. No, this is not what we want. If you are really a true believer, you should care for any human being, whoever he is, wherever he lives."
During his speech, Moussawi also had a response for those who would question the idea of inviting a Hizbullah media man to an anti-war event.
"Who can talk about [the need to] stop the wars and [achieve] peace more than those who are suffering from the occupation and the atrocities and the massacres and the aggressions?" he asked. "We want genuine peace. We don't want compromises and we don't want to go again and again to the same vicious cycle every 10 years or five years, where you make a temporary settlement and you end up with another war coming. The roots of the problem, the roots of the cause of the problem, should be addressed."
