Islam( in the Eyes of Western Media)
ISLAM
(THROUGH THE EYES OF WESTERN MEDIA)
By
Jasmine Bhangoo
The worldwide Islamic revival of the 1970s and the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States have prompted many to predict that the two cultures are on a major collision course. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the
West. Nevertheless, the West has many stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam that are due to the media, prejudice, and ignorance. Islam is often looked upon as a
"extremist", "terrorist", or "fundamental" religion. Many people hate Islam and do not want to acknowledge its true teachings. In many cases, the media 's reports about Islam are incorrect due to ignorance. This is one of the reasons why the West often hates Islam. In contrast to what many
Westerners think of Islam, Islam is a peaceful religion, which does not promote any forms of uncalled for fighting or "terrorist" actions.
Today, the West, with little or no understanding of Islamic history, has identified a new enemy, "a new demon that has replaced the Red menace of the Cold war,
i.e., radical Islam" (Agha 6). This "radical Islam", a stereotype common to
Western thought, portrays Muslims as fundamentalists or potential terrorists. Some of these ideas that the Western people have about Islam are due to the mass media of the West. Reporters who cover the Muslim world often know very little details about it. The media then develops a distorted image of Islam that Western culture adopts (Agha 2).
A major factor which contributes to Islamic stereotyping in the West is due to the media 's ignorance of selecting their words that describe Muslims.
Some common names heard or seen in the news about Muslims are "extremist" or
"terrorist". These words are misleading and are mainly anti-Islamic. The media rarely uses more neutral terms such as "revivalist" or "progressives"
(Hassan 2).
Just for political reasons, the US officials repeatedly claim that the issue
is
(THROUGH THE EYES OF WESTERN MEDIA)
By
Jasmine Bhangoo
The worldwide Islamic revival of the 1970s and the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States have prompted many to predict that the two cultures are on a major collision course. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the
West. Nevertheless, the West has many stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam that are due to the media, prejudice, and ignorance. Islam is often looked upon as a
"extremist", "terrorist", or "fundamental" religion. Many people hate Islam and do not want to acknowledge its true teachings. In many cases, the media 's reports about Islam are incorrect due to ignorance. This is one of the reasons why the West often hates Islam. In contrast to what many
Westerners think of Islam, Islam is a peaceful religion, which does not promote any forms of uncalled for fighting or "terrorist" actions.
Today, the West, with little or no understanding of Islamic history, has identified a new enemy, "a new demon that has replaced the Red menace of the Cold war,
i.e., radical Islam" (Agha 6). This "radical Islam", a stereotype common to
Western thought, portrays Muslims as fundamentalists or potential terrorists. Some of these ideas that the Western people have about Islam are due to the mass media of the West. Reporters who cover the Muslim world often know very little details about it. The media then develops a distorted image of Islam that Western culture adopts (Agha 2).
A major factor which contributes to Islamic stereotyping in the West is due to the media 's ignorance of selecting their words that describe Muslims.
Some common names heard or seen in the news about Muslims are "extremist" or
"terrorist". These words are misleading and are mainly anti-Islamic. The media rarely uses more neutral terms such as "revivalist" or "progressives"
(Hassan 2).
Just for political reasons, the US officials repeatedly claim that the issue
is
Cited: Emerson, Steven. "The Other Fundamentalist". New Republic. June 12, 1995. Greenblatt, A. (2003). Race in America. The CQ Researcher, 13, 593 624