Al-Jazeera viewers ‘hopeful for North’

VIEWERS of the Al-Jazeera news channel, which dominates debate in the Arabic-speaking world, look on events in Northern Ireland with hope, according to the network’s London editor, Bedri Nacer.

Though the conflicts engulfing Iraq and Palestine are far more complex, according to Mr Nacer, the underlying reasons are the same as in the North — politics disguised as religion.

“All regional conflicts are different. The situation in the Middle East is more complicated than Northern Ireland. But both conflicts see people using religion as an excuse to wage war for other reasons.

“People tend to forget that what is happening in the Middle East is due to politics, not religion, and it is the same in Ireland.

“People in the Middle East look at Northern Ireland in a positive way. When I was there reporting the elections, there was a delegation from Algeria, which has been in intense conflict,” he said.