Al Jazeera: A Global Bridge
the United States went to war against a movement that used religion to justify violence against innocent civilians. Al-Qaeda’s leader, Osama bin Laden, regularly dispatched recorded messages through a courier network to Al Jazeera, which broadcast them to the world. Covering a global and regional challenge from every point of view is the definition of independent journalism. Discomforting, yes. Controversial, yes. Courageous, yes, and necessary. The world has changed dramatically across these 25 years. In many ways, it seems smaller. Who could have envisioned that the emergence of a novel coronavirus in a market in Wuhan, China could impact every community on earth so profoundly. We are all different people living different lives than we were even a year ago. And that’s the point. At any time, something that happens a world away can change everything. Wherever we live, we need bridges that can transport us around the world we all share. We need reporters that help us understand events and trends that have the ability to reshape the world. This is what Al Jazeera has done, and why it continues to be important.
and Jordan in establishing normal diplomatic relations with the State of Israel. But Al Jazeera long ago established a bureau in Jerusalem, adding an Israeli perspective to the ongoing debate about the region’s future. Al Jazeera’s coverage of the uprisings across the Middle East in 2011 was so powerful and insightful that regional governments cracked down on the network in the aftermath. A number of journalists were jailed, not because they were doing something wrong, but because they were doing what independent media are supposed to do. Some countries advocated shutting down the network entirely as a condition of future normal relations. Qatar was right to refuse. Here in the United States, the importance, impact and value of Al Jazeera was quickly felt but not universally appreciated. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks that struck the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon,
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