Al-Jazeera’s international English language news service will be previewed at the Dubai-based Media and Marketing Show 2005 later this week. The new channel has made headlines with high-profile hirings intended to make it more palatable to viewers and advertisers in the West. The team includes a veteran BBC correspondent, David Frost; a former American military spokesman, Josh Rushing, and a former CNN anchor, Riz Khan.

On August 4, 2004, this column detailed the arguments over Al-Jazeera’s role in inciting its viewers to violence. In addition to receiving alleged tips on impending terrorist attacks (in order to tape them for broadcast); the channel continues to highlight graphic terrorist activities, such as beheadings, on the air. Of late, Al-Jazeera has repeatedly shown killings of American soldiers in Iraq, almost on a daily basis.

Last summer’s column also noted that Al-Jazeera correspondents have been arrested worldwide for connections to terrorist activities. A notable example is Tayseer Alouni who was first arrested by Spanish authorities on September 5, 2003, for “furnishing Al Qaeda with funds.” Mr. Alouni interviewed Osama bin Laden shortly after September 11, 2001, and just weeks ago received a seven-year jail sentence in Spain for alleged collaboration with Al Qaeda.

It should be noted that the second “Sout Al-Khilafa,” Al Qaeda’s Internet news broadcast, from September 28, 2005, included a segment on Mr. Alouni. The Al Qaeda anchor urged viewers to mobilize public opinion in favor of the jailed journalist.

The anchor stated: “According to the breaking news … the Spanish court deliberating the case of our Muslim brother, Tayseer Alouni, sentenced him to seven years in prison. The Sout Al-Khilafa media company released a communique over the Internet, harshly condemning the conduct of the Spanish Crusader infidel court towards the Muslim journalist Tayseer Alouni … The communique expressed complete solidarity with our brother Tayseer Alouni in this crisis and in light of the injustice from which he is suffering because of his reliable and completely objective reporting, which complied with the internationally accepted journalistic standards.”

Al-Jazeera has been under scrutiny by American government officials including Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, who has accused it of promoting terrorism on multiple occasions. A former ABC News producer who has worked for both Bush administrations, J. Dorrance Smith, is currently up for the chief Pentagon spokesman position. On April 25, 2005, he wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal titled, “The Enemy on Our Airwaves,” which criticized American networks for rushing to air news segments from Al-Jazeera, saying “this is a powerful tool for the terrorists.”

Mr. Smith also brought up many questions about “the precise terms” of the relationship between Al-Jazeera and terrorists: “When the terrorists want to broadcast something that helps their cause, they have immediate and reliable access to Al-Jazeera. This relationship – in a time of war – raises some important questions: What does Al-Jazeera promise the terrorist organizations in order to get consistent access to their video? Does it pay for material? Is it promised safety and protection if it continues to air unedited tapes? (No Al-Jazeera employee has been killed or taken hostage by the terrorists) … Does Al-Jazeera promise the terrorists that it won’t reveal their whereabouts and techniques as a quid pro quo for doing business?”

While the debate surrounding the reported connections of Al-Jazeera to terrorism rages, the network continues to show objectionable programming. One recent example was a special called “The Truth Behind 9/11.” Part Four appeared on September 30, 2005, and was devoted to detailing the Mossad’s involvement in the attacks of September 11, 2001. One person interviewed was the editor in chief of the London Arabic daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Abd Al-Bari Atwan.

As MEMRI documented in an Al-Jazeera special two months before September 11, Mr. Atwan was among those who appeared justifying Osama bin Laden’s actions at that time, and claimed that Mr. bin Laden has no intention of destroying America.

The coming English Al-Jazeera network should be expected to continue airing such programs.

Mr. Stalinsky is the executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute.