What if there was no Al Jazeera?

Imagine living in a world where you only hear one side of the story. A world where the media is controlled by a few powerful interests that dictate what you see, hear, and think. A world where the voices of the oppressed, the marginalised, and the diverse are silenced or ignored—a world where you are […]

Imagine living in a world where you only hear one side of the story. A world where the media is controlled by a few powerful interests that dictate what you see, hear, and think. A world where the voices of the oppressed, the marginalised, and the diverse are silenced or ignored—a world where you are not represented or respected as a human being.

This is the world that Al Jazeera challenges every day. And you don’t need to go beyond the current conflict in Gaza, which has killed nearly 20,000 Palestinians – most of them women and children – to notice that. The majority of the global media has turned its back on the Palestinians and sided with Israel. They give emphasis to less critical issues and ignore the constant and indiscriminate shelling and murder of defenceless women and children, allowing Israel and its partner in the genocide, the United States, to continue to manipulate the opinion of the unsuspecting public in Western capitals. Only Al Jazeera, a few other outlets, and local citizen journalists dare to tell the real story. But they do so at a considerable cost.

For almost three decades, the Qatar-based network has been a global leader in journalism, covering stories that others shy away from, giving voice to the voiceless, exposing injustices, and holding the powerful to account. It has also been a target of censorship, harassment, and violence from those who fear its influence and independence.

When the monarchy-ruling the tiny desert nation of Qatar decided to establish the Al Jazeera Television Network in November 1996, I doubt if they had anticipated the enormous power and influence it would have. Nearly three decades later, the station has produced some of the most outstanding journalism and documented the most touching stories of underserved communities. It has given voices to some of the most voiceless and marginalised societies, like the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and exposed the atrocities committed by the US-led coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in the Palestinian territories, to name a few.

From the interview with Osama Bin Laden, the coverage of Arab Spring, sanctions, and censorship to the failed mission to set up the Americas network, the station’s journey has been that of resilience, innovation, and constant belief. There are five major turning points in Al Jazeera’s journey:

The Afghanistan War**: Al Jazeera was the only international media outlet to have access to the Taliban and al-Qaeda during the US-led invasion in 2001. It broadcasts exclusive interviews and footage that challenged the official narrative and showed the human cost of the war.

The Iraq War: Al Jazeera had a strong presence in Iraq before and during the 2003 US-led invasion. It reported from the ground, showing the realities of the war and the suffering of the Iraqi people. It also faced attacks from the US forces, who bombed its offices in Kabul and Baghdad and killed one of its journalists.

Al Jazeera English**: Al Jazeera launched its English-language channel in 2006, expanding its reach and audience to new regions and markets. It brought its distinctive brand of journalism to a broader global audience, offering alternative perspectives and diverse voices. However, it also faced resistance and sabotage, especially in its attempt to establish Al Jazeera America, which was shut down in 2016.

Qatar’s Diplomatic Row with the Gulf States**: Al Jazeera faced fierce opposition from some Arab countries, who saw it as threatening their authoritarian rule. They shut down its offices, arrested its journalists, and demanded that Qatar stop funding it as part of the conditions for lifting a diplomatic blockade imposed on Qatar from 2017 to 2020. It survived the onslaughts.

The conflict in Gaza**: Al Jazeera has been at the forefront of covering the Israel-Palestine conflict, especially the recent escalation of violence in Gaza. It has deployed its reporters, producers, and local sources to provide first-hand reporting of the situation, showing the impact of the Israeli airstrikes and the resistance of the Palestinian people. It has also faced direct threats from the Israeli forces, who have targeted its journalists and their families not only for being journalists but specifically for working for the station and providing alternative narratives.

These fearless journalists like Shireen Abu Akleh, whose brutal murder by the IDF in May last year sparked global outrage, and Samer Abudaqa, who was targeted and murdered by an Israel drone on the December 16 while filming an attack on a residential building in Gaza, continue to risk their lives to tell the stories of devastation and genocide that only Al Jazeera can afford to cover. Samer’s colleague and Gaza bureau chief, Wael al-Dahdouh, who had earlier lost his wife, son, daughter, and grandchild in November, narrowly survived the attack. One of the most vibrant female reporters, Youmna ElSayed’s family, got a direct call from the IDF that she and her family must evacuate from their home within hours. She told the network in a live interview that “we had nowhere to go. Nowhere is safe in Gaza”. This is the condition that Aljazeera and other local journalists find themselves in as they struggle to tell the world what is happening there.

While the physical battle is being fought on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank, another set of army is battling to control the narrative on our TV and mobile phone screens. The media space is full of fake and manipulated accounts of the events, some of it orchestrated by state-sponsored campaigns through influential individuals, groups or by profoundly ideological and partisan media outlets. Western intelligence agencies connived with their media outlets to shield Israel from the possible war crime indictment after it shelled al-Ahly Arab Hospital on October 17, only for Al Jazeera to debunk their false claims with uncontested evidence.

The gap Al Jazeera is filling is not for the Qataris alone; they could have sat down and enjoyed their enormous wealth while the world is being controlled and manipulated by very few media outlets. However, while it’s fair to say the network has provided Qatar with soft power and enabled it to become a critical regional and global player, as evidenced by its role in the US-Taliban negotiation and the release of some hostages by Hamas, the public, especially we, in the global south, are the primary beneficiaries.