How the Media in Germany and the UK Covered the Afghanistan Crisis
On August 15th, the Taliban captured the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, securing their takeover of the country. As reported by the BBC, this came after “foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan following a deal between the US and the Taliban, two decades after US forces removed the militants from power in 2001.” With the Taliban now in power, many Afghanis now face an uncertain future. There are particular worries about the rights of women and girls in the country, as well as other minorities such as Hazara and Shia communities. As the Taliban took charge in Kabul, many tried to flee. The US has said that they flew close to 80,000 civilians out of Kabul (of which 5,500 were American and 73,500 were foreign nationals including Afghans), and the UK has stated that it flew out around 15,000 people, of which around 8,000 were Afghans. Despite this, many are still trapped in the country in unsafe conditions. The United Nations has predicted that up to half a million Afghans could attempt to flee the country by the end of the year to escape the Taliban’s ruling.
Screenshot from Journalisten Watch
Screenshot from Journalisten Watch
The news of what was happening in Afghanistan dominated the news cycle for several days, with people around the world witnessing the horror of many in Afghanistan. Whilst much of the coverage was based in facts and showed sympathy for Afghanis, some news platforms took the opportunity to spread xenophobia and anti-Muslim hate. In Germany, news blog Journalisten Watch published several alarming pieces. In an article dated August 17th titled "Drunk on humanity and blind: 2015 will be repeated and no one considers the results for Germany”, the author claims that Afghani refugees are “too young, too undemocratic and won't be integrable culturally and mentally”, and continues by saying that the consequences for Germany for admitting refugees will be "Islamisation and that millions of orthodox Muslims will find a home in Germany”. In a similar vein, on August 15th Journalisten Watch released an article in which the author states: “because more and more refugees will come to Germany, the number of rapists and Islamic terrorists will rise too”. Both these articles rely on far-right stereotypes and narratives about refugees and migrants, specifically those with a Muslim background. The articles supply little evidence to support their alarmist claims, and instead just feed into dangerous tropes.
Screenshot from Spked Online
In the UK, BBC Radio 4 invited Khola Hasan, a member of the UK Islamic Sharia Council, as a guest on the show discussing the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. Hasan claimed that many British Muslims were pleased with the Taliban’s return to power: “Every single person that I know, as a Muslim, [is] celebrating and saying, give them a chance.” Hasan also claimed that the Taliban has “grown up”, and that its promises to protect women’s rights were “a good start”. She added: “They have been ruled by foreigners for 40 years, let the people of Afghanistan rule their own country and determine their own fate for a change.” Whilst it is good journalistic practice to platform different perspectives on an issue, many Muslims in Britain felt that they were misrepresented by Hasan’s claim, especially since their statement was aired without much counter-argument. Writing for the Daily Mail, Provost of the Oxford Institute for British Islam Dr Taj Hargey explained: “Even as she [Khola Hasan] was speaking, thousands of Afghans were trying to escape the country. People were being trampled to death in the stampede for places on flights out of Kabul airport. For Ms Hasan to proclaim that Muslims in the UK are united in welcoming this seizure of power by religious zealots, and the resulting chaos, is both obscene and an affront to the British Muslim community. It is insulting, a travesty and a sign of just how pitifully ignorant she is. But for the BBC to give her a platform to air her doctrinal falsehoods, without then demolishing them with the real facts, is unforgivable.”
With the situation in Afghanistan continues to evolve, it is essential for the media to stay focussed on monitoring the human rights situation in the country. Ethical reporting standards must be kept, and within the Get The Trolls Out! project we will continue to monitor for potential xenophobic and anti-Muslim coverage on the issue.
