The Hajj, as one of the five pillars of Islam, is an obligatory act on any Muslim who has the means to perform it. It is a once in a lifetime experience for many Muslim, especially the majority of those who will be going from Ghana, It is the largest collection of people in a single sacred location.
And for journalists who are given the rare privilege to cover the Hajj, it is important that they strive and wake up to the challenge of promoting a better understanding of the Hajj. Exercise.
Basically, the Core Ethics of journalism is the same and cuts across all genres of the profession.
They are therefore the same weather you are covering the parliamentary proceedings, the seat of government at the Jubilee House, the economy/business sector, environment or the coverage of the Hajj.
Fazakkir, Inna Zikra tanfa’ul Mu’minin.
Remind, Indeed rememberance benefits the believers
So the tenets of Editorial Independence, Accuracy and fairness, Respect for privacy, Decency, Privilege and Non-disclosure, Public Interest, and social responsibility all constitute what has been described and accepted as Ethics of journalism.
Underpinning these Ethics is that journalism entails and does require a high degree of public trust if we are to succeed as practitioners in these endeavours. To engender and sustain this trust, one thing is constant. And that constant is TRUTH.
Truth is the cornerstone of our profession. And it is the overriding pre occupation of all journalists to ascertain the truth of every event that happens or he or she comes across in the daily discharge of their duties.
In the search for this TRUTH, journalists must imbibe the concepts of fairness, balance and objective reportage of events and issues.
All journalists must distinguish between facts and comments. As the professional dictum goes, Facts are sacred while comments are free. Reporters are expected to go the extra length to cross check and double check facts before filing in their reports.
There are numerous examples in Islam, where these values, have roots; And Muslims, we are expected to abide by them in our individual dealings and dealings with one another.
Quran 9.119
Ya ayyuhal ladhina amanu ittaqul lah, wa kunu ma’as sadiqeen.
O you Who believe, Have FEAR of God, and be among the truthful.
And the Hadith of the Rasulillah (saw);
“Man kāna yu ‘minu billāhi wal yawmil ‘ākhir fal yaqual khayran au li yasmut….
Here the believers are instructed to look carefully into the news and reports that are given to us, in order to distinguish right from wrong, ahead of disseminating it to others. If we don’t do this, it becomes easy to distribute false information and this can harm those around us who may take the reports at face value.
Journalists who have been selected or have paid by their media houses to cover the Hajj exercise, have a responsibility to inform, educate and positively prepare pilgrims, many of whom may be going to the holy land for the first time, for the challenges of the Hajj, which to anyone who has been and participated in the pilgrimage, know are very many.
To effectively carry out this onerous responsibility, the journalists must him or herself be educated about the Hajj. For its only with knowledge, that one can effectively inform and educate. Journalists must go out of their way to study the Hajj process so that at their fingertips they know what the entire process entails from beginning to the end. That is the only way they can properly carry out these responsibilities.
This is where the pilgrims Affairs Office Of Ghana has an onerous responsibility. Officials must be very ready and handy with the latest information about their activities. For too long, crucial information is usually withheld from the intending pilgrims and the public at large.
This does not in any way assist in the overall management of the hajj exercise. While journalists covering are admonished to ensure fact-based reportage, this can only happen if PAOG is ready to carry the journalists as partners and also as confidants in all that they do.
Another critical issue that has gained currency in recent times is that of fake news and hate speech. Journalists covering the hajj must be on the lookout for fake news. Unscrupulous persons have impersonated government and other public officials through use of fake Twitter handles and Face book pages. We must therefore fact check every information that comes through to us via the social media or other sources before reportage or broadcast.
The Hajj exercise is of necessity an International event. Journalists must therefore understand that there are diplomatic niceties that should be observed in the reportage. Our main area of focus is to report the Ghanaian Hajj to Ghanaians and not to disrupt the otherwise cordial relations between Ghana and Saudi Arabia.
I hope that in this brief presentation, I have tried to present in a nutshell what reporters should abide by in the coverage of the Hajj exercise. Cooperation between PAOG who are the official government regulator for Hajj in this country and journalists, is crucial, if the nation is to witness another successful hajj exercise.
The PAOG under the present management must be commended for the great improvements in the conduct of pilgrimages in the country. They deserve the support of all, most especially members of the fourth estate of the realm to take it to the next level.
Wasalamu Alaikum
