Facts and Fictions

IN Media Practice | 17/09/2005

By Shubha Singh

Preconceived notions and a slightly skewed reading of events can easily rev up a storm in the headlines. Reports in the British press proclaimed: ‘Islamic stance on women can be oppressive says, Cherie’, ‘Cherie puts foot in it again, says she has problems with Islamic views about women’ and ‘Cherie Booth leaves Blair behind.’ These were the headlines about remarks reportedly made by the British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s wife, Cherie Blair, during a luncheon meeting at the Indian Women’s Press Corps in New Delhi. But oddly enough the reportage in Delhi newspapers on September 8 by those present at the lunch meeting made no reference to any controversial remarks on Islam. 

Cherie Booth Blair (a well regarded lawyer and Queen’s Counsel, she uses her maiden name Booth for professional work) was meeting women journalists; the occasion was not a press conference and it was understood that no notes were to be taken during the lunch. The event was reported in the next day’s newspapers as a "mood piece" without the faintest hint of controversy.

The British newspapers, however, carried stories a day after the reports in the Indian media, based on what was obviously second hand information spiced up with a bit of creative interpretation. Two days later, the London correspondent of The Asian Age, Aditi Khanna, reported on the furore in the British media over Cherie Blair’s remarks. Khanna wrote that Britain`s First Lady Cherie Blair, who was known for her knack of making unguarded statements that cause embarrassment to her husband`s government, had created a stir from India this time. "Accompanying British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the India-EU summit in New Delhi, Ms Blair is believed to have criticised Islam and its treatment of women in a private off-the-record meeting. Besides the Indian media, the British press has now reproduced her remarks as yet another sign of her gaffe-prone image. Ms Blair, a Roman Catholic, risked controversy when she said she did not agree with the way Islam was interpreted in some parts of the world." Her comments are bound to cause some discomfort to the government, the Age reported.

As a person with an active professional life, who has stepped out of the usual role assigned to a Prime Minister’s spouse, Cherie Blair draws a good deal of media attention in Britain. At the joint press conference on September 8 after the summit meeting between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Tony Blair was taken aback at a question from a British journalist, who was part of the accompanying media contingent, about his wife’s reported comments on Islam. Mr Blair finally responded saying that he did not know what had been said. "I was not at the lunch and I have not spoken to Cherie, so I don’t want to comment," he said.

After the press conference, three Indian journalists who had been present at the luncheon meeting with Cherie Blair sought to explain to the group of British journalists the gist of what the British Prime Minister’s wife had said and the context in which the remarks were made. They said that Cherie Blair had not criticised Islam and in fact had said that she was fascinated by the religion, which had a deep, philosophical base.

The next day’s British papers reported that Cherie Blair had described ‘Islam as anachronistic’, and the tenor of most of the news reports was of yet another bloomer by the Prime Minister’s outspoken wife. The Daily Telegraph wrote: "Cherie Blair yesterday was critical of the way men in many parts of the Islamic world have used their religion to justify the oppression of women. The Prime Minister’s wife said she was fascinated with Islam, but added she did not agree with the way it was interpreted in some countries." The Independent carried a story from its Deputy Political Editor, Colin Brown with the headline ‘Cherie puts foot in it again, says she has problems with Islamic views about women’. In the story, Brown said that the remarks were potentially embarrassing for Mr Blair as he seeks to win over Muslim hearts and minds against terrorism.

According to Andrew Sparrow in The Telegraph, "Mrs Blair had, since the dawn of the New Labour era, carried the capacity to cause discomfort to her husband and his political advisers". The Prime Minister`s wife had said that she was fascinated by Islam, but had added that she did not agree with the way it was interpreted in some countries, calling it ‘an anachronism’, the report said. Sparrow added that there are more than 100 million Muslims in India and, with the British Government trying to improve its relations with Muslims at home and abroad, Mrs Blair may be criticised for not being more diplomatic. It was not the first time that her unguarded moments have caused embarrassment to her husband’s government, most notably in 2002 when she said that young Palestinians had no hope but to blow themselves up, only hours after 19 Israelis had died in a suicide bomb attack, he wrote.

The report in The Independent also said: "However, journalists who were present at the lunch said later that Mrs Blair had never intended any insult to Islam. "She never said, ‘I don’t like the way Islam treats women,’ said one journalist who was there. "Mrs Blair said - I am fascinated with Islam. The religion has a deep, philosophical base. But there are some interpretations by certain groups, especially about women, that I have some problems with," according to the news report.

The Financial Times article described the event without any prickly overtones. It said: ‘‘Stung, perhaps, by criticism of her lucrative speaking gig when accompanying Tony Blair in Washington, the British Prime Minister`s wife Cherie played safe in New Delhi this week. She met members of the Indian Women’s Press Corps at their genteel Lutyens’ bungalow for an informal chat - no speeches. Catering was modest, with everyone chipping in for a takeaway.’’ 

It was the single remark on her fascination with Islam and its interpretations that were taken as controversial criticism of the religion by the British press. Based on hearsay with two slightly differing versions, the comment came to be construed as a criticism of Islam and its treatment of women and allowed a recapitulation of earlier gaffes by the Prime Minister’s wife, which formed a large part of the story.

It was finally left to John Hall, writing a letter to the editor published in The Independent of September 13 to put the so-called controversial remark in its proper perspective.  Hall wrote: "Your report headed, ‘Cherie puts foot in it again’, quotes Mrs Blair as saying, ‘There are some interpretations by some groups, especially about women, that I have some problems with.’ You think she caused embarrassment to her husband because of his negotiations with Muslims. I would have thought that the groups she was referring to are exactly the groups that this country needs to get rid of, not the ones he’s negotiating with. I think that a large majority of the population, and that includes Muslims, would agree with her reservations."