Monday, December 07, 2015

Wahhabiyyah in Persian

"Even if the Saudis focus on the very narrow domain of news and current affairs, there still exist obstacles that are difficult to overcome. First, the Persian-language media market is saturated: there are hundreds of news websites and dozens of TV channels inside and outside Iran that provide news targeting an Iranian audience." "What if Saudi Arabia resorted to the sectarian card in the media game, seeking to stir anti-government sentiment through outlets targeting Iranian Sunnis? This would also not be anything new. Saudi-financed media organizations have been doing this for a long time through myriad approaches, including satellite TV channels in Persian such as Vesal, Kalemeh and Noor. Despite these efforts, the fact is that such channels have very limited influence in Iran. Iranian Sunnis have been vigilantly trying to dissociate themselves from Salafism to align their demands for civil rights with those of the broader Iranian human rights movement, which is largely secular." (thanks Amir)