In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in the United States, IPC held a media round-table that reviewed media coverage of the incident nationally and internationally. Of concern to some of the participants was the lopsided nature of the reportage such that sections of the third world media merely repeated or parroted the foreign media. In the process prejudices of some of these international media crept into reports by the third world media, one of the most noticeable being the tendency thereafter to label religion related protests, especially by adherents of  Islam, as acts of terrorism.

Following observations like the above, the round-table reached the conclusion that the media needs strengthened capacity and enhanced professional skills to be able to report conflicts, especially religious ones, with the appropriate balance and objectivity.  The round table had actually also noted that conflicts were bound to escalate in the international arena in the post-9/11 era.

As envisaged, the conflicts have indeed escalated across the globe and many more battles have been and are still being fought - US/Britain versus Iraq; NATO versus the Taliban in Afghanistan, Israel versus Hamas, Hezbollah versus Israel etc -. And then the alleged acts of terrorism have not abated, as daily seen in the killing fields of Iraq and Palestine. And neither those attitudes and prejudices that fuel religious crises. We should bring the media in here.

In 2002, a female reporter for Nigeria’s ThisDay newspaper had wondered what all the opposition by Muslims to the hosting of the pageant especially during Ramadan was all about whereas the Holy Prophet Mohammed would have probably gladly chosen one of them as spouse were he to be alive to witness the event. Predictably, there was bedlam, protests and violent demonstrations and invariably the pageant was shifted to the United Kingdom. The verdict was equally predictable – the media through ThisDay had stoked the fire that consumed the beauty contest.

For the records, it should be re-stated that IPC also held a round table on that year’s Miss World Crisis, the communiqué of which again reiterated the need for the media to report conflicts with appropriate sensibility. It was explained that the ethical framework for this is contained in the Code of Ethics of Nigerian Journalists as well as the International principles for the conduct of journalists as articulated by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). 

Back to the present: Among the ways by which 2006 might end up being labeled or characterized is ‘the year of the Danish Cartoons’. The Editors that authored and authorized the cartoons that so infuriated many Muslims in the manner of the portrayal of the Holy Prophet Mohammed, have been consistently passionate in defending their position on the basis of the right to free speech. But elementary knowledge and common sense teach that there is no right without responsibility, certainly not for the media whose freedom, in any case, arises from the privileges conferred on it by the society to be its watch dog.

Indeed what history will remember that incident about will most likely be less about free speech but more about professional indiscretion that caused protests, demonstrations, violence and death.       

Still, there is a positive side to the Danish cartoon crisis and its extension to Nigeria where deaths were also recorded. It jolted us to the urgency of making the issue of media reporting of religion-related conflicts, an   agenda for the moment. That agenda-setting goal to which IPC has been devoted from inception led to the collaboration between it and the Heinrich Boll Foundation to work on the project: Media, Religion and Conflicts – Promoting Tolerance Reporting and Conflict Resolution.

The project has as its main objectives the following:
To increase the capacity of media practitioners especially reporters and editors to report religious conflict in Nigeria responsibly
To emphasise that the media has a role to play in the de-escalation of religion-related violent conflicts
To highlight the role and social responsibility of the media in the resolution and management of conflicts
To emphasize the ethical imperatives for the media and journalists to be agents of conflict resolution
To promote tolerance reporting as a mechanism for responsible and positive intervention in an age of common conflicts like religion conflicts, communal conflicts etc
To strengthen the capacity of the media and journalists to report conflicts by equipping them with relevant tools and resources and reviewing journalism/mass communication teaching curriculum
To provide useful and practical guides for practicing journalists and mass communication/journalism students on issues relating to tolerance reporting, conflict management and resolution and media social responsibilities
To introduce journalists to tools and resources for reporting religion conflicts and conflicts in general
To recommend ethical and professional management of information through editorial independence and diversity as  basis for responsible reporting of religion conflicts
To diversify the curriculum of schools of journalism and department of mass communication through the introduction of tolerance reporting course
To establish a sustained relationship and partnership between the media and advocacy groups concerned with conflict resolution