Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Day 3: Al Arabiya

After our visit to the National newspaper headquarters in Abu Dhabi, we stopped at the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque, which is, I was told, the second largest mosque in the world. The first is in Pakistan.

The Grand Mosque "is probably the most imposing religious and national landmark in Abu Dhabi to date. It is also arguably one of the most important architectural treasures of contemporary UAE society."
The mosque was awe-inspiring to say the least and easily the most beautiful I have ever seen.

Afterward, we skipped back to Dubai for a visit to the Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC). This huge broadcasting group consists of many television stations, one of its most well known being Al Arabiya. We got a very thorough tour of the station and spoke with the Executive Editor, Dr. Nabil Khatib about Middle East media. One of the highlights, Dr. Khatib pointed out how public relations and public policy does very well in the US and yet we fail miserably in Foreign Policy. The US public is very watchful and critical of US domestic policies but it doesn't devote the same scrutiny to their country's foreign polices. Which I completely agree is true. I would say we fail miserably in public diplomacy as well, though maybe this falls under the rubric of foreign policy. Although, considering the health care drama, many would argue public policy isn't at its best at the moment either.

No comments: