I was digging through some jihadi chatrooms this morning gathering examples and information for my talk on the various Islamist and Arab responses to the Danish cartoons. While I found plenty of that, I also found this thread, which had over 140,000 page views and over 250 responses - making it far and away the hottest thread of the last few days:
"Picture of a drunk woman drinking whiskey on a Saudi station under the guidance of the Minister of Information."
Saudi TV One aired a scene in a serial with a woman drinking whiskey. It may not be the end of civilization, but it's close, evidently. Certainly, it's evidence of the craven failure of the Minister of Information to protect impressionable, pious Saudis from such horrors (not the first, either: the post lists 26 (!) different offenses against Islam in the Saudi media under his watch). A crisis generating more page views and comments than anything related to Denmark, Iraq, al-Qaeda, or Hamas. Culture wars, jihadi branch.... and one more instance of the contentious relationship between the jihadis and their "mainstream media." You should see the three minute MPEG clip making the rounds of the jihadi boards of outtakes of unveiled female al-Arabiya news presenters flipping their hair, fixing their makeup, singing, and flirting with the camera... and the overheated denunciations of readers who evidently were so upset that they had to watch it at least three times...
I love the last bit there in your post, but it would be even better if you could link to the mpeg. Is that possible?
Posted by: monkey knife fight | February 28, 2006 at 11:27 PM
I agree with Monkey Knife Fight, please link to that mpeg! I am shocked at such perversity and need to establish just how perverse it is by viewing it myself.
Posted by: Jose | March 01, 2006 at 04:34 AM
Abu Aardvark would you mind offering your opinion on this blog post: http://stupidevilbastard.com/index/seb/comments/arab_american_psychologist_wafa_sultan_tells_it_like_it_is/
Specifically I would like to hear your opinion on both the story itself and the fact that the blogger is shocked that al-jazeera is a legitimate news station that carries multiple points of view and not part of the vast monolithic Muslim plot detailed in the "Protocols of the Elders of Mecca" that far too many Americans seem to think exists.
Posted by: Mr. Alan Jones | March 02, 2006 at 12:16 PM
Sorry messed up the link.
Arab-American psychologist Wafa Sultan tells it like it is.
Posted by: Mr. Alan Jones | March 02, 2006 at 12:19 PM
Sorry, I feel funny about uploading the mpeg... for same reason I usually don't link to the jihadi forums I cite. It's nothing that would shock Western sensibilities, though, pretty much exactly like an ESPN out-takes reel. It's the response to it that's telling.
On the Wafa Sultan question - not surprising at all to see someone like her on al-Jazeera. She's the kind of figure likely to produce hot controversy and good television. Al-Jazeera - and especially Faisal al-Qassem's program, where she appeared - has been doing this kind of thing for a decade...
Posted by: aardvark | March 02, 2006 at 01:41 PM
I see where you are coming from, AA. I'm a sucker for those kinds of videos, is all. The public only gets one side of a newscaster: that authorative and trusted voice of worldly information at 6:00 sharp. Or 6:30, I can't remember which. So, it's always nice to see the...uuhhh...veil...of authority get pulled back and we see the coke-addled, alcoholic blowhard that the person really is. It's funny like that.
Posted by: monkey knife fight | March 02, 2006 at 02:31 PM
Thas really sad
Posted by: Talasim | March 05, 2006 at 09:21 AM