Suicide or Martyrdom? People in the Middle East express their views

Rev. Dr. Andrea Z. Stephanous, Director of the Dar El Taqafa Communications House

By Julienne Munyaneza

Toronto, 14 March (ENI) -- A major multi-media initiative is underway in the Middle East to address the issue of violence in the Arab value system. The Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS), one of the largest non-governmental organizations in the Middle East, has launched a programme to increase the availability of Arab perspectives in international media via a series of six books by Arab scholars, TV documentaries and a website. Produced by CEOSS’s publishing house, Dar El Thaqafa, in partnership with the World Association for Christian Communication, the programme aims at contributing to peace-building by addressing stereotypes, fears and injustice and giving voice to a people who have had very little voice in public debates about significant issues affecting the region. The media initiative seeks to promote co-existence and mutual understanding between the Arab Islamic world and the Western world.

Dar El Taqafa Communications House, under the direction of the Rev. Dr. Andrea Z. Stephanous, has hired producer and script writer, Iad Abou Bakr, to develop a television documentary based on the first book in the publishing house’s proposed six-volume series. “Suicide or Martyrdom? The Arab Stance towards Violence” written by Dr. Wahid Abd El Majid, President of the General Egyptian Book Organization, addresses the issue of whether violence in the region like bombings and kidnapping are to be considered as suicide or martyrdom. Both the book and the docu-drama carry authentic Arab voices and analyse double standards on the issue of violence in the Arab value system. This first of the series of six 25-minute documentaries was developed for distribution via television stations in the Arab world but negotiations are also underway for broadcast on western television networks such as the BBC, TV5 and Deutsche Welle.

More information on this initiative can be found on CEOSS’s website: www.ceoss.org.eg or directly on the project’s website: www.arabperspectives.com.