The Al Jazeera media channel, especially its Arabic version, has for years stoked the fires of sectarianism and terrorism in the Middle East, above all in Iraq.
One of the reasons why there was passive acceptance of ISIS in Sunni communities in Iraq when the terrorist group started taking over cities in a rapid fashion is because Al Jazeera and other politically-driven media channels had spread propaganda against the Iraqi government for several years. Alienated Sunnis were ripe for the taking in Iraq because they had been brainwashed by Al Jazeera.
The channel continuously framed political developments since the invasion in 2003 in such a negative way that ISIS was able to ride through on their white horses to save the day. So as long as Al Jazeera is allowed to operate in Iraq, the central government would find it hard to convince Sunnis back into the fold.
Of course, Shiite political leaders in Iraq are not without fault and they deserve to be criticized, but Al Jazeera and other media have not played a productive and positive role in Iraqi society by contributing to sectarianism and justifying terrorism.
Al Jazeera has also played a very destructive role in Syria, where it has helped to spread ISIS's propaganda that has been directed not just against the Assad regime but against Shiites in general. They don't disclose the fact that a good number of the Syrian army are Sunni, but instead repeatedly bring up the fact that Assad happens to belong to a Shiite offshoot sect. It is this type of language that allowed ISIS to grow so powerful.
Al Jazeera reports on these societies as if they're aliens on a tourist visit whose pro-violence and pro-sectarian programming won't come back to haunt them because they don't live there. Al Jazeera is based in tiny, safe, luxurious Qatar so it means nothing to them to spread chaos in Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Libya, etc.
Below is an excerpt from, "Iraq Sunni unrest prompts TV channel licence suspension" BBC, April 28, 2013:
The Iraqi Communication and Media Commission said in a statement that the satellite channels had "exaggerated things, given misinformation and called for breaking the law and attacking Iraqi security forces".Video Title: IS: How did the group come about? Source: Al Jazeera. Date Published: September 12, 2014:
The watchdog complained of a "sectarian tone" in the TV coverage and said "undisciplined media messages exceeded all reasonable limits" and threatened to "jeopardise the democratic process".
BBC Baghdad correspondent Rafid Jaboori says most of the 10 channels are Sunni-owned while Qatar-based al-Jazeera is perceived as more pro-Sunni in its Arabic-language reporting in Iraq.
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On Saturday, Mr Maliki appeared to blame the conflict in Syria for the surge in sectarianism as he warned of strife "knocking on the doors of everyone".
