ABU DHABI Ñ The Gulf Cooperation Council is studying a proposal to establish an English-language channel to counter efforts to blacken the image of the Arabs in the West.

The proposal was submitted to GCC information ministers during their summit in Manama on Wednesday. The proposal would establish a satellite channel in English that would seek to battle Arab stereotypes in the West in the wake of the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on New York and Washington.

GCC secretary-general Jamil Hugaylan told GCC information ministers that so far the Arab media are meant to serve solely Arab audiences. Hugaylan said the Arab media must be also directed to the West.

The GCC meeting discussed the role of the media in battling terrorism and related issues. Bahraini Information Minister Nabil Al Humar call on Arab and Islamic media to cooperate. The cooperation, Al Humar said, would be come under the responsibility of the Arab League and Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Saudi Arabia is regarded as the key to the GCC media project. Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, calling on the Arab media to respond, has deplored what he termed a Western media campaign launched against the kingdom and Islam. At least eight of the 19 Islamic suicide attackers in the United States have been identified as Saudi nationals.

"The fierce campaign against Saudi Arabia by the Western media is a result of a hidden hatred against Islamic doctrine and the kingdom's commitment to it," Abdullah said. "Preserving religion and the nation is an issue on which there can be no haggling."

In Manama, GCC justice ministers ended their meeting with a statement that condemned terrorism and Israel.

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