Fridays of Rage

<em>Fridays of Rage</em> reveals Al Jazeera's rise to that most respected of all Western media positions: the watchdog of democracy. Al Jazeera served as the nursery for the Arab world's democratic revolutions promoting Friday as a day of rage and popular protest. This book provides a glimpse into how Al Jazeera strategically cast its journalists as martyrs in the struggle for Arab freedom while promoting itself as the mouthpiece and advocate of the Arab public. <br> In addition to heralding a new era of Arab democracy Al Jazeera has become a major influence over Arab perceptions of American involvement in the Arab World the Arab-Israeli conflict the rise of global Islamic fundamentalism and the expansion of the political far right. Al Jazeera's blueprint for Muslim-democracy was part of a vision announced by the network during its earliest broadcasts. The network embarked upon a mission to reconstruct the Arab mindset and psyche. Al Jazeera introduced exiled Islamist leaders to the larger Arab public while also providing Muslim feminists a platform. <br> The inclusion and consideration of Westerners Israelis Hamas secularists and others earned the network a reputation for pluralism and inclusiveness. Al Jazeera presented a mirror to an Arab world afraid to examine itself and its democratic deficiencies. But rather than assuming that Al Jazeera is a monolithic force for positive transformation in Arab society <em>Fridays of Rage</em> examines the potentially dark implications of Al Jazeera's radical re-conceptualization of media as a strategic tool or weapon.<br> As a powerful and rapidly evolving source of global influence Al Jazeera embodies many paradoxes-the manifestations and effects of which we are likely only now becoming apparent. <em>Fridays of Rage</em> guides readers through this murky territory where journalists are martyrs words are weapons and facts are bullets.<br>