AWR shows the wide variety in sentiments in the Arab media that reflects general sentiments in society. Western students and writers should not only be aware of those sentiments when writing about any issue related to Arab-West relations but also make an effort to understand them. AWR helps readers to do this. AWR also investigates and provides details that are available nowhere else. This makes AWR a unique organization that is playing a tremendously important role in seeking to create genuine understanding and mutual respect between the Arab World and the West.

The Arab World and the West have a long history of both cooperation and conflict. In recent years, the emphasis has been on conflict. Muslims often refer to the Crusades, Western colonialism in the 19th and 20th century, Western self-interest in relating to the Arab world, biased standards in dealing with Israel and the Palestinians, a long history of anti-Islamic statements by Western leaders and authors, and most recently the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq based on a deception (Iraq appears to have had no weapons of mass destruction nor was it tied to the events of September 11).
Commentators from the West often refer to the Islamic conquest of areas which were historically Christian, the dhimmi status of minorities, calls for jihad, Muslim extremists, September 11, the Taleban regime and the terrorist network of Al-Qaeda.

It is certainly true that Arabs and Western peoples have a long history of misinterpreting the culture of the "Other." This is reflected in the media of today. Both Arab and Western writers tend to focus on the negative aspects of the other and to treat these as the essential qualities which will never change. Many journalists are guilty of focusing attention on what has happened but not on the underlying causes of events.

Media reporting can act as a boomerang. Media in the West have selected incidents from the Arab world or statements from Arab media and provided this to a Western public out of context. The consequence is that these incidents and statements are misinterpreted, leading to radically erroneous conclusions. In turn, biased Western articles are often reported in the Arab media and believed to be representative for Western thought, increasing the existing anger and distrust in the Arab world about the West.

We all tend to extrapolate backwards when thinking about history. In this case, we are living through a period in which there are some who wish to pit religion against religion and allege that co-existence is impossible, and that non-Muslims can expect only persecution and oppression from Muslim leaders. The historical record shows us that this is a false and misleading generalization. It is perfectly clear that there have been significant periods of the past when the various religious communities of the West and the Middle East were able live together in relative harmony.

As the great Muslim historian Ibn Khaldoun wrote, it is dangerous to judge the past by the present. Profound changes have occurred through history, often gradually and imperceptibly. It is even more dangerous to use elements from the past out of context and use this to prove a point for today.

It is in this context that I believe the work of AWR is extremely important. AWR shows the wide variety in sentiments in the Arab media that reflects general sentiments in society. Western students and writers should not only be aware of those sentiments when writing about any issue related to Arab-West relations but also make an effort to understand them. AWR helps readers to do this. AWR also investigates and provides details that are available nowhere else. This makes AWR a unique organization that is playing a tremendously important role in seeking to create genuine understanding and mutual respect between the Arab World and the West.