Al Jazeera Watch
The Opposite Direction, hosted by Faisal al-Qassem, is the Arab world’s most popular program. Broadcast on al-Jazeera, Qassem’s debate show regularly pits two people against each other to discuss highly controversial topics. I’ve written about the show before, and noted that al-Jazeera, by facilitating such programs, has been an awesome force for change in the Middle East.
Recently, The Opposite Direction hosted a debate on this explosive question: do Islamists or secularists pose a greater threat to democracy? On one side was Hani al-Sibai, an influential salafi thinker. On the other, Sayid Qemni, a well-known Arab secularist. Where else but al-Jazeera can two intellectual heavy-weights like Qemni and Sibai debate such controversial issues? Where else in the region is there such a public forum for these views to be heard? Definitely not in the mainstream press.
A clip from the Sibai-Qemni debate isn’t up yet, but for a taste of The Opposite Direction, take a look at this segment of an earlier show:
