Media can serve as bridge in fight against Islamophobia, Hürriyet chairwoman says

WASHINGTON

Media organs can serve as a bridge in the fight against Islamophobia, Hürriyet chairwoman and deputy chairwoman of the Aydın Doğan Foundation Vuslat Doğan Sabancı said on Oct. 19, commenting on two international events organized by Doğan Group in Washington.

“Our intention is to bring the continuity [of the issue of Islamophobia] and try to keep it on the agenda in other fields as well. A major duty falls to the media on this issue. Misinformation should be corrected. We want to cooperate with the Western media on this issue. The media can serve as a bridge and a sincere and authentic conversation can be initiated for this,” Doğan Sabancı told private broadcaster CNN Türk on Oct. 19 live from Washington.

She noted that anti-Islam perceptions in the West had recently gained momentum amid terrorist attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadist group.

“The Doğan Group has been working on this issue over the past year. Islamophobia is an issue that has been on the agenda for a long time. However, anti-Islam thoughts in the West began to gain momentum as Deash’s [ISIL] terror attacks increased. We thought we could not remain indifferent to this issue,” Doğan Sabancı said.

The Doğan Group, which owns media outlets including the Hürriyet Daily News, evaluated options for organizing an event regarding Islamophobia, which coincides with the controversial U.S. presidential campaign of Republican candidate Donald Trump and the global threat posed by ISIL.

“We evaluated what we could do at a time when the U.S. has entered an election environment. We have organized a panel with the Atlantic Council, one of Washington’s most active think tanks, as well as an exhibition with the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s most significant museum group. In the audience at the panel will be the most active institutions of Washington, non-governmental organizations, and of course the U.S. media,” Doğan Sabancı said.

The panel, titled “Islamophobia: Overcoming Myths and Engaging in a Better Conversation,” will be held on Oct. 20 in the U.S. capital.

Doğan Sabancı will deliver the opening speech of the panel, which was moderated by the president and CEO of the Atlantic Council, Frederick Kempe.