DUBAI: An Iraqi female would-be suicide bomber is paraded on television showing her explosives-laden belt. New Lebanese pop sensation Dominique flaunts her bikini-clad body under a waterfall in her latest video.

Two totally different images that have planted themselves in the minds of millions of Arabs after tumultuous weeks that saw the Nov 9 attacks in Jordan shatter the calm of one of the region’s most stable states.

For many reformists, the existence of such gaping cultural extremes in one region is an unhealthy sign that the Arab world’s young and sometimes disaffected population has yet to find a moderate means of expression.

“Our societies are in transition and unsettled. We are searching for our identity,” said Ahmed al-Rubiy, a reform-minded former Kuwaiti education minister.

“Eventually, and after a period of trial and error, we will find our way and rid ourselves of these social extremes.”

The woman paraded on television with a malfunctioning suicide belt was the accomplice and wife of one of the three Al-Qaeda-linked Iraqi perpetrators of the attacks that killed 59 people. She was later captured.

Within days of the bombings, Jordan’s ruling elite were speaking about “the increasing polarisation” in society and the need to combat the martyrdom culture.

Commentators on Jordanian television urged those in society who looked favourably upon Iraqi insurgents and the Al-Qaeda terror network to rethink their attitudes about “jihad,” the holy fight.

For Rubiy, the root of terror lies in a flawed and extremist interpretation of Islam by some hardline mosque preachers and religious school teachers. He is calling for an overhaul of educational curriculae across the region.

But another reformist argues “the region’s repressive regimes and institutions” have driven “disenchanted” Arab masses to immerse themselves in Al-Qaeda’s ideology or hang out in cafes glued to Arabic music CDs.

“There are no channels for healthy political and social expression in our countries,” says Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Qasim, a Riyadh-based moderate cleric who was jailed by Saudi authorities for four years in 1994.

“Add to that failing economic policies, inequality, corruption and anger towards America’s war in Iraq and its support of Israel.”

In addition to the popularity of Qatar-based news channel Al-Jazeera, many young Arabs have been increasingly turning to the mushrooming Arab music television channels.

Huge screens showing the latest video clips by Arab singers, mostly Lebanese and Egyptian, are a common sight in coffee shops and restaurants from Damascus to Dubai.

The largest producer and distributor of Arabic Music is Saudi-owned Rotana, which has now six satellite-broadcast music and movie channels.

The company is the brainchild of billionaire businessman and royal family member Prince Al-Walid bin Talal, a leading proponent for change in the conservative kingdom.

“We have to moderate our people, culture and way of thinking,” says Abdulatif al-Chalabi, a spokesman for the company, based in the Saudi Red Sea port city of Jeddah. company’s studios are in Beirut, where it has launched an academy for budding stars.—AFP