In this time of heightened terrorist awareness, there is a growing focus on control and content of community media outlets, because the nature of community radio broadcasting potentially leaves stations open to manipulation by radical elements more easily than the tightly owned and controlled commercial and government sectors.
One recent series of events has thrown the community radio sector into the spotlight on this issue, and in television, ACMA is proposing new standards for subscription and open narrowcasting television services to reflect Commonwealth anti-terrorism laws.
The most prominent recent issue in the radio sector surrounds the Sydney high powered Islamic community radio station ‘Muslim Community Radio’ (2MFM 92.1) which has become the subject of various claims which began when Islamic Cleric Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali questioned whether key people at the station had links with a “Beirut-based Islamic sect and pro-Syrian political organisation [connected with] the bombing murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.”
The two people concerned have denied links with the terrorism.
Sources within Australia’s Muslim Community have told radioinfo the remarks are part of an ongoing campaign of destabilization against the Muslim Community Radio group which won the highly sought after high-powered community licence. Other Muslim groups, which bid against Muslim Community Radiko for the licence and were not successful at the time, have withdrawn support from the station since it was granted its licence in 2001. They say the station is not preaching correct religious philosophy.
radioinfo understands the Islamic Council recently purchased a 1 watt Low Powered Open Narrowcast licence (LPON) in Bankstown on 87.6 MHZ for several hundred thousand dollars to counter the influence of 2MFM and spread an alternative religious message to that of Muslim Community Radio.
Sources close to 2MFM say it attempts to avoid politics and prefers to concentrate on religious content, but the problem is the brand of religious teaching espoused by the station is not in keeping with the teachings of Sheik al-Hilali and his supporters.
Speaking in 2001 after receiving the licence, station President Mohammed Mehio told ABC Radio’s Religion Report: “We did not consider the Islamic Council as a competitor, we weren’t competing against them, we were competing against other aspirant radio stations that really were in the race… the Islamic Council is made up of 18 or 20 member associations. We already work with a number of them, and they’ve already expressed that they would like to work in with us, and we’ll gladly have them.”
Sitting outside the current conflicts between the Muslim broadcasting groups is Arabic language station 2ME, a non secular, Arabic Commercial broadcaster “which works without fear or favour,” according to owner Sid Merhi.
Merhi has told radioinfo the station’s motto is: “Get the breaking news first, confirm it from two sources and broadcast it.”
Merhi says he has “been approached by many people on many occasions over the last 10 years to take sides and skew 2ME’s content” and his response is: “Not a chance, this is not what 2ME is about! ”
He says a secular approach to religious differences within Arabic speaking groups would only diminish the credibility of his station, which is “the number one Arabic broadcaster across Australia” (source McNair Ingenuity research).
On 2ME this week, breakfast journalist Anis Ghanem explored the conflict, first with Sheik al-Hilali and, on the following day, with 2MFM representative Dr Gayath El Sheleh. These quotes have been translated from Arabic:
BROADCAST ON 2ME 15 NOVEMBER:
Anis: Certainly, before finishing this interview and we have not forgotten but we want to ask you about your request to the Australian Authorities to investigate into the Islamic Project Charitable Association in Australia and it’s connection with the mother association in Lebanon, which has been alleged in the Melhes Report that it has hand or indiction in its involvement in the subject of the assination of ex prime minister Rafeek Hareeri…
Hilaly: I would say that we do not want to distribute accusation indiscriminately but while we are speculating and taking care it is imperative to study the matters in all its aspects and if there was any indications in the country of Lebanon and that there was an accused man who arrived here we don’t accuse anyone and we do not direct accusations but we have to know and understand the aspects and the relationship and the support and communications between these groups and its source, head-office in Beirut.
Anis: They say the source of your call and its reason is that you are envious that they have achieved the success in Sydney.
Hilaly: Oh my God, the sorrow of my heart… No money… and not… I am jealous and I envy every person who offer their goods and become a small bridge to facilitate communication between communities but this one gives oneself the power to declare one as an infidel and distance people and also put obstacles and whistle and aim to apostate the Muslim from Islam. In addition, making the non-Muslim closer to Islam.
BROADCAST ON 2ME 16 NOVEMBER
Anis: After the interview conducted with Sheik Taj El Fin Hilaly, yesterday we received a call from the right to reply about the Islamic Project Charitable Association in Australia about its relation with the Lebanese Islamic Project Charitable Association which Sheik Taj El Din Hilaly had asked for an investigation in Australia to see if there is any relation between the two associations regarding to what was stated in Melhes report about accusations of the Lebanese Islamic Project Charitable Association.
We welcome Dr. Gayath El Sheleh- the president of the association in Sydney or we can say in Australia, we say Hello Doctor
The reply which Sheik Taj El Din said yesterday, we know that you have also answered back on his comments, we all listening…
Dr.: We follow the news from the media from Lebanon and also from Australia in which publicise against the Association in which these accusations are based on imagination and as we have said before that Mahmoud Abdel-aal has been mentioned in the report regarding to his calls with the Lebanese President. This thing which had been issued in the media as a true story and that makes negative propoganda against the association, is wrong.
Anis: On what basis did this propoganda occur?
Dr.: What we had received is that the association is radical and has background as well as connections with the killing and the destruction which had been occuring, and this is rejected because the association is well known in the past and in the present and in which the investigation is still proceeding…
This thing that Mr. Hilaly had mentioned yesterday is not good and this has negatively publicized the association and that the association is over all the accusations of Mr. Hilaly and had no connection with all that was alleged, that it was false, lies and came from bad intentions to scatter the Islamic community as well as the national line, that is what we can see.
The Islamic Project Charitable Association is not individual based organisation but community and its to serve the community and the youth and if you look towards its history you can see that, what the association has achieved and presented from schools and media and educational, yourg and scout and sport establishment organisations. Where is Hilaly recognizing all these things, yet he remains to negatively propogande against the association.
2ME has asked the two parties to debate their difference together on air in a future program.
ACMA is encouraging community stations to have adequate grievance procedures in place to attempt to resolve problems within stations where possible.
In recent months various ACMA rulings have sent strong messages about internal dispute resolution procedures, and again today, 2BCR Bankstown has been found to have breached the Community Broadcasting Codes of Practice “by not having in place a written policy and procedure for resolving conflict within the organisation.”
Grievences between community groups involved with radio stations is expected to be one of the important topics discussed at this weekend’s community radio conference in Fremantle.