Western press often misrepresents the political and cultural situation in Arab countries, since they tend to disregard the opinions expressed in the local press. During my 5-week internship at the Center for Arab-West Understanding (CAWU) in Cairo I gained a comprehensive insight into the work of the center and the reasons why an English documentation center of Arab media is so vitally needed.
As a student of Islamic Studies who is interested in journalism, I had been searching for a non-governmental organisation willing to take in a student for practical training. Although it is not officially an obligatory requirement of my university subject, and I did not gain credits for my internship, (practical) experience in a country abroad is seriously recommended, both as a supplement to theoretical knowledge and as a chance to gain practical, hands-on work experience.
It was one of my university lecturers who drew my attention to Arab-West-Report and the work of CAWU. From the very beginning Drs. Cornelis Hulsman and his team of co-workers made me feel extremely welcome! What proved to be of even greater value to me was that my work was clearly appreciated and regarded as equally important to the work of the center. This quenched any doubts that I too was part of the project, and had assigned myself to promoting cultural understanding – providing non-Arab-speakers with an Arab (specifically Egyptian) perspective, by translating and commentating on media.
Throughout my stay I primarily edited data for the Electronic Documentation Centre, through which I acquired a fairly good picture of the scope of media in Egypt, specifically Muslim-Christian relations and the way the Egyptian press reports on this often controversial issue. Nevertheless I also had the chance to join the Austrian Inter-Religious Dialogue Group from Innsbruck on a two day excursion to Beni Suef, where we met with a local NGO developing health awareness and visited both Coptic and Muslim families in rural villages – the most direct way to learn about and experience the social situation. In Cairo my regular work was further diversified through a meeting with an Egyptian NGO and the opportunity to accompany the Austrian group to an Inter-Religious Dialogue Interchange with Shaykh Fawzī Zifzāf, head of the Permanent Dialogue Committee at the Azhar University.
I had a multitude of new experiences and met many interesting people and valuable contacts. Those five weeks confirmed to me that the only way towards better understanding between different (religious) cultures is not by studying foreign reports, but by looking at the self-image documented in Arab publications, and most importantly by communicating with individuals.
I am very glad to have had such an opportunity, and even more so to see the fruits of “our” work grow, as the data base will be launched in due time.
