Impact of Al-Jazeera’s Portrayal of Sufferings of Women and Children in the 2023/2024 Israeli-Hamas War on Christian/Muslim Relationship in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Since Israel began the occupation of “Palestinian territories” in 1967 following her victory in the ‘Six-Day Arab War’, Gaza has witnessed many conflicts and instances of civilian suffering. The 2023/2024 Israeli-Hamas war appears the most devastating. International media, including Al Jazeera, extensively covered the conflict.

Objectives: This study investigated the perceived implication of Al Jazeera’s representation of the sufferings of women and children in the Gaza Strip in the 2023/2024 Israel-Hamas war on the Christian/Muslim relationship in Nigeria.

Method: The study adopted the descriptive survey research design and sampled 384 participants using purposive and multistage sampling techniques. The participants were sampled from six out of the twelve districts that make up the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC). The six districts are Asokoro, Gwarimpa, Maitama, Wuse, Garki, and Utako. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire which had a consistency coefficient of 0.85. Analyses were done using descriptive statistics and summarised using frequency tables.

 

Results: Most participants reported that they were regular viewers of Al Jazeera news networks, and had followed up with the Isreal-Hamas war on the station since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. The participants also reported that Al Jazeera’s reports of the 2023/2024 Israel-Hamas war depicted the conflict as an injustice and humanitarian crisis consciously inflicted on ‘innocent victims’ and that Al Jazeera represented the war as a conflict between Christianity and the West versus Islam and the Arab world. The participants expressed concerns that such representation could potentially increase interfaith suspicions and religious tensions in the studied area.

Conclusion: This study concludes that the manner in which Al Jazeera represented the sufferings of women and children in the 2023/2024 Israeli-Hamas war has negative implications on the Christian/Muslim relationship in Nigeria.

Unique contribution: This study has offered a fresh perspective that could help improve how wars are reported in the media without potentially fanning the flames of violence across distant geographical locations among persons emotionally connected to distant victims of wars.

Key recommendation: Proactive measures should be taken to monitor the public's media content, counter any incitement to violence, and promote peaceful coexistence among different religious and ethnic groups in Nigeria.