• Ahmad Al-Tayeb decries Israel’s ‘deliberate’ killing of journalists
• Lauds Arab govts for helping to highlight the plight of Palestinians

Dalal Awienat

DUBAI: Arab media has the “biggest role” in showing injustices in Gaza, said the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayeb on Tuesday.

“Thousands of journalists in Gaza are being martyred and more injured and lost their homes and families. This deliberate targeting of journalists aims to silence the truth and to stop the reality of the atrocities in Gaza being broadcast to the world,” he said.

“I call on all media professionals to establish a joint Arab media strategy that will be a shield to protect the truth and our Arab identity,” he said.

Al-Tayeb said Arabs and Muslims suffer from media misinformation and disinformation in the West.

“We as Arab and Muslims have suffered from media damage after being accused of terrorism and being unfair to women and linking Islam to these extremist ideologies,” said Al-Tayeb.

Al-Tayeb said the late Palestinian intellectual Edward Said had demonstrated convincingly how Western cultural production is used to vilify Arabs, Islam and Muslims.

He added: “The destruction happening in Gaza is being criticized by all people of the world but it has been ongoing for 19 months.

“The Arab media has the biggest role in disclosing and showing how the people in Gaza are being treated and keeping the Palestinian cause at the front of everyone’s minds.”

“We are witnessing the change of stances in many EU countries for the Palestinian cause and standing up for the atrocities that Gaza is facing. I would like to thank the efforts of the Arab governments in facilitating the delivery and providing of aid to the people in Gaza,” he said.

Al-Tayeb said many have refused to speak out about the atrocities in Gaza. “Those who criticized us and claimed to care about human principles stayed silent to the injustices in Gaza,” he said.

Al-Tayeb said Al-Azhar had discussions with the late Pope Francis and the Vatican to create an artificial intelligence project that protects the interests of the public.

“The project was almost finalized, however, the pope passed before we had finished and now we are in communication with the Vatican to hopefully finalize the work,” he said.

“The use of AI should be regulated and practiced with morality and ethical considerations in order to avoid it turning into a monster,” he said.