by Steven R. Corman Those whacky Palestinian Children’s TV programmers are at it again. First, they brought you story time with Sheikh Muhammad, telling the kids about a Jewish woman who tried to poison the Prophet. Next they created Farfour  the Mouse (a cheap imitation of Mickey) who squeaked about liberating the Muslim lands from [...]

by Steven R. Corman About a year ago, Ian Dirk did a post on COMOPS about a Palestinian children’s story hour where the featured stories included a tale of a Jewish woman who tried to poison the Prophet (moral: “the Jews are a people of treachery and betrayal.”), and the story of a little kid [...]

by Bud Goodall In a New York Times article today entitled “Violence Leaves Young Iraqis Doubting Clerics,” evidence gathered by investigative reporters on the scene strongly indicates that the appeal of violent extremism may be waning. Are we at a new “tipping point?” Reasons given in the article for believing we may be at a [...]

In the case of media messages and images that promote children suicide bombers, communication interventions into current programming practices would help to promote the well-being of children affected by recurrent conflicts.

This case illustrates the power of communication to divide audiences and create a systematic perturbance, opening opportunities to question those who advance the message.

The Middle East craves children’s programming, and programming that teaches acceptance by complicating polarizations could fill that void.