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Britons at Al-Jazeera TV station rapped for 'drinking binges'
Last updated at 11:22am on 14.11.06
AJI has signed up broadcasters including Sir David Frost, Rageh Omaar and Darren Jordon, to help attract a worldwide audience
British staff working for the new English language Al-Jazeera channel drank so much alcohol that they were ordered to undergo special "cultural awareness" training on how to behave in a Muslim country.
Presenters and producers hired on massive taxfree salaries to launch Al-Jazeera International (AJI) were lectured by Islamic groups on " appropriate behaviour" after a series of marathon drinking sessions in Qatar, where the new service is based.
The channel's owner, the Emir of Qatar, is understood to have personally ordered the move.
AJI has signed up broadcasters including Sir David Frost, Rageh Omaar and Darren Jordon, to help attract a worldwide audience.
It is not known whether any of the more famous presenters had been singled out as being involved in the boozing.
Sources based at Al-Jazeera's Doha headquarters say that a clash of cultures is causing a damaging rift between the largely-Muslim workforce on the Arabic service and the predominantly-British recruits to AJI.
A source said: "There are people who have come over to Doha to work for Al-Jazeera and they do not understand and respect the customs of living in a Muslim country. While the launch was being delayed they would just spend their time getting drunk in the hotel bars. They were drinking too much and behaving inappropriately, so they were put on cultural awareness courses.
"There were Islamic groups lecturing them on how to behave in a Muslim country - it was embarrassing for the whole network." AJI, which launches tomorrow, is the English language version of the Arabic channel which made its name broadcasting footage released by al Qaeda, including videos of Osama Bin Laden and 7/7 bomber Shehzad Tanweer.
The 24-hour news channel is the world's first English news channel to have its headquarters in the Middle East. The Emir of Qatar has bold ambitions for the new service which he hopes will challenge the traditional networks.
But AJI has already faced accusations of "selling its soul" to the West.
A growing list of critics including former employees, Right and Leftwing bloggers and Muslim commentators, have all predicted a disastrous future for the fledgling channel as it attempts to crossover into the mainstream. The Arabic channel controversially refers to Palestinian suicide bombers as "shaheeds" (martyrs) and has been accused by the Bush administration of being an Islamist propaganda tool.
Yvonne Ridley, political editor of the Islam Channel and former Al-Jazeera employee, said: "Al-Jazeera led the way 10 years ago with its heroic style of journalism reporting without fear or favour.
"This brand of journalism cost some of their staff their lives but if the English version opts for a more glamorous approach, then I know that viewers will switch off."
Sir David will launch his new programme Frost Around The World On Friday with an interview with Tony Blair.
