Aljazeera.com

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Please see the discussion on the talk page.

Aljazeera.com is an English language website for AlJazeera Magazine. It is not related to the Arabic satellite TV channel Al Jazeera, which operates websites in both Arabic (www.aljazeera.net) and English (english.aljazeera.net) or Al Jazeera Newspaper of Saudi Arabia. Aljazeera.com is significantly less popular than aljazeera.net.^[1] Aljazeera.com is operated by Aljazeera Publishing, described as an "independent media organisation" that presents "facts as they happen".

1 Domain name dispute
2 Website contents
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Domain name dispute

In 2005, the Al Jazeera TV channel unsuccessfully tried to obtain control of the aljazeera.com domain name.^[2]

In the Administrative Panel Decision, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center found the TV Channel to have brought the proceedings in bad faith and found it had abused the administrative proceedings. The TV channel was found guilty of illegally using AlJazeera Publishing's intellectual property.

As of 2006, Aljazeera.com write on their About page:

"Important note: Aljazeera Publishing and Aljazeera.com are not associated with any of the below organisations:

1. Al Jazeera Newspaper, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia whose website is al-jazirah.com

2. Al Jazeera Satellite Channel whose website is aljazeera.net.

3. Al Jazeera Information Centre who website is aljazeerah.info

Aljazeera Publishing disassociates itself from the views, opinions and broadcasts of these titles."^[3]

[edit] Website contents

The content on Aljazeera.com is organized by section. The following sections exist:

[edit] Middle East News

'Middle East News' contains the latest breaking Middle Eastern news - often with a focus on subjects with themes that portray the West, the USA and Israel disreputably. News articles often contain indirect quotes from familiar news outlets such as Associated Press and the BBC.

[edit] Review articles

'Review Articles' contains longer pieces about recent events. The editorial stance is one of rigorous opposition to the Iraq war, and the articles typically contain strong condemnations of American involvement in the Middle East and often reflect anti-Zionism in describing the state of Israel. One article (entitled "Iraq war: Crime against peace" claims that "it was a big lie and outright propaganda for the U.S. to say that it transferred 'sovereignty' to its puppet government". Another, entitled "The Neocons and Holocaust II" reads "A lot of Jewish people are still obsessed by the Holocaust myth and the specter of the return of violent anti-Semitism."

[edit] 'Let's Talk'

'Let's Talk' is a section hosted by Dr. Kareem Bin Jabbar and Sheikha Sajida. Readers send in questions or topics for discussion, which are published at the discretion of the site. Sajida's normally anti-Western theories (such as the notion that the kidnapping of Westerners in Iraq is carried out by agents of the US) [1] frequently stir up heated debate.

[edit] 'Conspiracy Theories'

Aljazeera.com contains a Conspiracy Theories section: [2]. This is not considered to be a reputable news practice, as the untrue info listed (much of which is highly inflammatory and likely to incite violence) is neither retracted nor corrected, but rather promoted.

Conspiracy theories promoted by the site include the notion that the September 11th attacks were carried out by Mossad [3], that recent taped statements from Osama Bin Laden are fake [4], or even that US dollar bills contain hidden images of the September 11th attacks [5]. User comments on these conspiracy theories are not permitted, but users are encouraged to vote on a poll with the options 'I believe it', 'These are lies' and 'I don't know'.

[edit] 'Reader Comments'

Readers can leave comments in all areas except for the Conspiracy Theories section. These comments can be rated from 'Excellent' to 'Very Bad' at the discretion of readers.