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LONDON: An Arab News panel discussion on UK attitudes toward the Middle East held Monday heard how Brits have a “colossal gap” in understanding about the region.
The event was held in London to unveil the results of an Arab News/YouGov survey, conducted in conjunction with the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), which found that 81 percent of the UK population said they know little or nothing about the Arab world.
“We have collectively to address this colossal gap in awareness of the ‘other’ and this mutual misunderstanding,” Chris Doyle, director of CAABU, told the panel discussion.
Faisal J. Abbas, editor in chief of Arab News, said he was not shocked by the UK public’s apparent lack of interest in, or knowledge of, the Arab world. “Why would you want to hear a constant drip of negative news from the region?” he told the panel.
Abbas urged media organizations to report on cultural news from the region and not just focus on “bullets and bombs.”
Over half of the respondents to the “UK attitudes toward the Arab world” poll said that British foreign policy in the Arab world has been largely ineffective in upholding human rights and upholding global security. More than 80 percent said Britain was wrong to go to war in Iraq in 2003.
Doyle said there needs to be a “resetting of British foreign policy” in order to “move away from always thinking about military options to resolve issues.”
The Arab News/YouGov poll was conducted between Aug. 16 and 17 and surveyed 2,142 adults. The results of the survey, published yesterday, were covered by global news outlets including The Guardian, The Independent and BBC.