Steve Inskeep talks to Ramez Maluf, journalism professor at the Lebanese American University, about how the Arab media is covering the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Maluf says Arab television featured longer excerpts of the trial, which may have left viewers with a different impression of the proceedings.
STEVE INSKEEP, host: Many people across the Middle East watched the trial of Saddam Hussein as      it began yesterday.  Despite technical difficulties and poor sound      quality, television viewers caught a rare glimpse of the former Iraqi      dictator and seven other members of his regime.  They were seated within      white metal barriers in the courtroom.  Now from time to time, we      listened in on the Arab media with the help of Ramez Maluf.  He is a      professor of journalism at the Lebanese American University.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: Welcome to the program.</s>Professor RAMEZ MALUF (Lebanese American University): Well, my pleasure.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: Give us a sense, if you can, of how the Arab language media in      general covered this trial in ways that was different from the American      media.</s>Professor RAMEZ MALUF (Lebanese American University): One thing that struck me, yesterday in particular, was that      I had read earlier that Saddam Hussein had appeared in court and was very      defiant and questioned the legality of the court.  And if you just read      that, you would get the impression that Saddam had the upper hand in      these proceedings.  But those of us on Arab television saw longer      excerpts from the court trial, saw a very quiet Saddam Hussein listening      to the prosecutor going on and on about the crimes he had committed.  And      I think this left us with a very different impression of how the trial,      that first day went.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: And across the Arab world, you could get full coverage?</s>Professor RAMEZ MALUF (Lebanese American University): Well, long excerpts from the trial were aired on a number      of television stations.  One of them, for example, was Saudi satellite      television which very rarely does that sort of thing.  I think a lot of      stations owned by governments that have traditionally been unkind to      Saddam Hussein made a point of running these long excerpts from the      trial.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: What's some of the commentary that you've heard or read about      the trial, either in Arabic language newspapers or on Arab television?</s>Professor RAMEZ MALUF (Lebanese American University): Well, there's a very strong undercurrent of cynicism      towards the trial.  Remember that this is happening against a background      of people in the region being suspicious of court trials, of political      court trials as a rule.  The separation of the judiciary from the      executive power in most of the countries in the Arab world is not very      clear.  People tend to look at any trial that has political implications      with a lot of skepticism.  Al-Hayat newspaper yesterday had a cartoon      showing Saddam sitting at the trial but the chair that he was sitting on      was actually an electric chair with a wire connecting him to the judge      where he could just press the button and have him electrocuted.  And the      chair had a sign on it saying `Gift from George Bush.' So I think even      Al-Hayat, which is a rather moderate newspaper showed that skepticism.  A      vote on aljazeera.net in Arabic asking people to vote whether Saddam      would receive a fair trial or not.  This morning, out of about 32,000      people who voted, 81 percent said he would not get a fair trial.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: That's not a scientific result, we should say, but it is the      result of thousands of people...</s>Professor RAMEZ MALUF (Lebanese American University): Right.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: ...writing in.</s>Professor RAMEZ MALUF (Lebanese American University): My guess is that it pretty much reflects, you know, popular      opinion.  Now this was not to say that people do not think that Saddam is      guilty of his crimes.  I think there was a lot of footage yesterday on      Kuwait TV, for example, about the crimes he had committed against Kuwaiti      citizens during his invasion in 1990, '91.  There was a lot of footage      about mass graves, so there's no love lost between Arab public opinion of      Saddam Hussein, but the legality of the trial, the fact that it's      happening under a regime that not yet has a constitution, this is not      lost on people, that this was a trial that's happening by a government      that was put in place by an occupation.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: Is there any sense of, well, appreciation for the fact that a      man is being put on trial who is believed to be responsible for the      deaths of thousands and thousands of Muslims?</s>Professor RAMEZ MALUF (Lebanese American University): I think this is the key issue here.  Will this be a      learning experience for the Arab world?  I think it will all depend on      how this trial is actually perceived, how it's played, how public it is      and so forth.  There was a piece in Al-Hayat to that regard that this was      an opportunity that should not be lost, to make a point that criminals      can be brought to justice in the Arab world.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: We've been speaking once again with Ramez Maluf.  He's a      professor of journalism at Lebanese American University in Beirut.      Thanks.</s>Professor RAMEZ MALUF (Lebanese American University): My pleasure.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News.