On December 22, Reuters reported that Al-Jazeera has stopped broadcast of its Egypt-focussed channel, Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr. Although the media company released a statement saying that it has stopped broadcast only because it was waiting for permits for a new channel, the timing of the move, as Cairo and Doha (where the channel is headquartered) are reportedly seeking to improve ties, has come under scanner. The new channel, Al Jazeera claimed in the statement, would report live from all over the world and would replace the current Egypt-centric one.

It must be mentioned here that Qatar (whose capital is Doha) was an active supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was ousted last year by the current dispensation led by the military ruler, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.  Al Jazeera’s coverage of the “Arab Spring”, which led to the fall of the then ruler, Hosni Mobark and the installation of the Brotherhood’s Mohammad Morsi as President a year later, was more than sympathetic towards the latter. In fact, when Sisi ousted Morsi in yet another political upheaval a year after that, Al Jazeera called it a military “coup” that ousted a “democratically-elected” leader.

Following Sisi’s ascent to power, things have been rocky for the Qatari network.

Twenty-two journalists resigned, citing the channel’s biased coverage in favour of the Brotherhood. However, Al Jazeera has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying the journalists had quit out of concerns for their own safety. Soon after, on December 30, 2013, three Al Jazeera journalists Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were arrested from a five-star hotel in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on the charge of having links with the Muslim Brotherhood. The arrest order stated that the journalists had set up a media network that was “tarnishing Egypt’s image abroad and harming its political position” at the behest of the Brotherhood.

Although the network has always strongly denied being biased towards the Brotherhood, some of its coverage seems to suggest otherwise. Reports such as this (which claims that the “despite Sisi’s victory, the vote was seen as a blow to the military establishment, because of its low voter turnout, a fact noted by European Union observers”) and this (“the military-backed government has targeted and censored journalists”) are indicative of the line the channel took, following Sisi’s election.

Yotam Feldner, director of Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a Washington-based organisation that tracks the Arab media and describes itself as non-partisan, said that “it is clear that the channel was brought down as part of the reconciliation efforts that are underway between Egypt and Qatar, with Saudi mediation”.  According to Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat, Sisi is expected to meet Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in a summit hosted in Riyadh by King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz.

Speaking to Newslaundry, Feldner said, “To say that the channel was ‘biased’ towards the Muslim Brotherhood would be a serious understatement. The channel was dedicated to the discrediting of the Al-Sisi regime, and championed the cause of the dethroned Morsi.” Feldner also told Newslaundry that Al Jazeera-Live-Egypt TV was constantly broadcasting footage from pro-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrations throughout Egypt, and conducted interviews with Muslim Brotherhood leaders outside Egypt and Muslim Brotherhood supporters within Egypt.

According to the MEMRI website’s translation of a talk show that was broadcast on Al Jazeera-Live-Egypt TV in July, Sheik Yusef Qaradawi, whom the Washington Post described as “one of the main network’s signature personalities”, had supposedly said that Christians had participated in the military’s crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood supporters in which hundreds of Muslims were killed.

(However, MEMRI’s assertion of being non-partisan has been contested by many – according to a report in Guardian, “items highlighted by Memri are those that suit its agenda”.)

Al-Jazeera hasn’t responded to the any of our queries regarding MEMRI’s allegations at the time of uploading this story. The story will be updated if and when we get a response.

Al Jazeera’s “objective” credentials apropos the Muslim Brotherhood may be questionable, there is little debate over the fact that press freedom is in a shambles in Egypt. According to the latest Reporters Without Borders report, Egypt lies at a lowly 159 among 180 countries inspected. In fact, Al Jazeera’s move may well be to secure the release of its journalists who have been languishing in Egyptian prison for more than a year now.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera has issued a statement saying that it will soon start a new channel, Al Jazeera Mubasher Al-‘Amma in the region, which will “rely much on viewer suggestions rather than a traditional pattern of fixed transmission grid”.