Takeaway messages

This morning's From Our Own Correspondent on Radio 4 covered a good deal of familiar territory in the familiar BBC way. 

As discussed in the comments section of the previous post, the BBC's Tim Whewell presented a piece about Belgium's 'Jihad Central', the district of Brussels called Molenbeek:

Anonymous28 November 2015 at 12:20 

Another one for your collection - Tim Whewell's PC venture into Mollenbeek on From Our Own Correspondent on the BBC.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06ppsp2 

It's an interesting case study in how to use narrative form, selective quotation, tone of voice, false equations, ellipsis, unverifiable assertions and biased selection of facts to create an impression. I am sure he is a very likeable guy - he seems so - and probably none of it is conscious plotting to distort the truth, but distort it he does.  

One of the unverifiable assertions was that journalists were chasing Muslims down the street looking crying out "Do you know any terrorists?" Really? It sounds improbable but it helps to create the impression that racist tabloids were encouraging group hate by calling Mollenbeek "Jihadi central". But take a look at this article from the sober-minded, pretty liberal and pro-migration Economist:  

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21678840-brussels-not-just-europes-political-and-military-capitalit-also-centre-its 

If somewhere produces a lot of steel then it's not unreasonable to call it "the steel capital of the world". If somewhere has a lot of film and rock stars it's not unreasonable to call it "the home of the stars". And if somewhere produces the highest per capita number of Jihadis in Europe it's not unreasonable to call it Jihadi Central.  

Anyway, have a listen if you can spare the time, as I say it is a marvellous piece in understanding how an impression is created: in this case, Muslim as nice, pro-integration victim. Whewell completely suspends all critical faculties: no interest in whether a substantial section of the Muslim population gives actual or tacit support to the Jihadis; no interest in whether other migrants to Belgium e.g. animists, Christians, Jews and Hindus suffer the same difficulties in integration; no interest in wondering whether non-Muslims, women especially, get hassled in Mollenbeek; and no interest in whether Sharia rules in Mollenbeek (are there Sharia courts for instance?). 

No, it was just a "mood music" piece designed to dull the senses.  

Craig28 November 2015 at 15:40 

I'd have hoped for better from Tim Whewell. He can be a fine reporter.

This, however, was just the usual BBC report, almost a paint-by-numbers affair, all about the sense of alienation and victimhood felt by the Muslims of Molenbeek.  

Reading about Molenbeek elsewhere, it certainly seems as if it's been heavily Islamised, with alcohol suppressed, women pressured to wear the veil and non-Islamic newspapers restricted. Non-Muslim women have been abused and spat at. The area's Jewish shopkeepers were terrorised and forced out; as was the local gay population. The area has become largely a monolithic, Moroccan-background immigrant district. 

http://www.politico.eu/article/molenbeek-broke-my-heart-radicalization-suburb-brussels-gentrification/ 

None of that came out in Tim Whewell's 'FOOC' report.

Besides this doubtless well-meaning but worryingly distorting piece there was also the BBC's David Shukman explaining why he's feeling guardedly "optimistic" about significant "advances" arising from the Paris conference on (what Kate Adie introduced as) "man-made global warming"....

...and an emotional piece from freelance reporter Chris Haslam on the plight of a newly-arrived Syrian refugee family in Berlin. 

He told the heart-rending story of a man called Malik from Latakia who is suffering from cancer. He received state support for his chemotherapy until (Chris told us) the Syrian police asked him to become an informer. If he became an informer, the police said, the Syrian state would continue to fund his treatment. So the man fled, taking his wife (Shabima) and three children (Omar, Seema and Anas) with him, arriving in Germany three weeks ago.

Chris Haslam worried about the dehumanising effects of Germany's asylum processes and, even more, about the Germans requiring asylum seekers to wear green armbands, which he said reminded him uncomfortably of the country's Nazi past. 

To give you a proper flavour of the report, here's just one extract from it:

After 40 days in the European wilderness they arrived in Berlin - another frightened, anonymous, desparate family who risked their lives on a one-way journey into the unknown. 

Look at your own family and ask yourself if you'd make it. 

If there's one thing you can say about From Our Own Correspondent is that it's rarely shy about giving Radio 4 audiences a strong takeaway message. Today's edition was  certainly no exception to that.