Lack of freedom in the Arab media was one of the hottest topics discussed at the Arab and World Media Conference 2005, which came to a close on Tuesday.

More than 1,000 media delegates from around the world gathered in Dubai for the conference, under the theme “Arab and World Media: Getting it Right.”

Delegates discussed the lack of freedom in the Arab media which they said restricted the media’s role.

According to reports, discussions at the conference underscored the gap between the perception of the Arab media and the Western media toward issues such as terrorism.

Western media figures and media experts said the Arab media only labels as terrorism acts carried out on Arab soil and not on foreign soil, the Khaleej Times reported.

The conference was jointly organized by the Arab Thought Foundation and the Dubai Press Club.

Secretary General of the Arab League 'Amru Mousa said Arabs need to correct misconceptions about their culture and religion in the Western media, which wrongly links Arabs to terrorism. He said the Western press would ease criticism of Arab governments if these regimes implemented political reform and combated radical interpretations of Islam.

Saudi Prince Walid Bin Talal said the Arab world is not explaining itself properly to the foreign media.

( http://themedialine.org)