Pre World War II Anti Semitic Movement - Essay Example

Compare and Contrast Pre World war II anti Semitic movement with that of approach towards Muslims: Before the Second World War, a comprehensive approach was initiated in the form of mass propaganda towards the Jews. This was done so through different means. These means ranged from use of radio, to publication, to political activities, social functions and isolation of the masses and Jews in large proportion. In modern digital world, the media serves as the basic element. It serves as the creator and builder of the opinion. It is part of every house and virtually every building. The purpose of publication and other sources so generated was to target the Jews in a direct and indirect manner. Isolation of the Jews in the social sphere, in the political sphere, and ultimately leading them to live of refugees, migrating to other parts of the world to seek shelter and refugee speaks of the concept of anti Semitic approach being adopted towards the Jews. One example that can be quoted in terms of the anti- Semitic views is that of the speech that has been subjected to relative controversy and objection in recent times. This letter comes in the form of writing from the then Prime Minister of Great Britain, Churchill. The content of the paper carry the words that Jews had part and contribution to the overall fate they suffered in those days (Reuters). An analogy is being drawn to the same events and accounts in modern times in the form of Muslims treatment. The case and scenario got further worse in the post September 11th 2001 events and incidents. The case of You tube with regard to the blasphemous content being placed on it led to harsh feelings and animosity of Muslims towards the Western media in particular and West in general. A more raw and scary comparison is being drawn by the experts of the field of Islamic rights protection on the grounds that concentration centers were built and developed towards the containing of the Jews and they were later assassinated and killed in the most inhumane manner. The event of Guantanamo containment center is also being compared to the events of those times. The usage of media to present those alleged individuals of being criminals and having had hand in terrorist activities has led the Muslim community to feeling being treated more bitterly overall. To Muslim followers, the image of Islam and its followers being hard liners and following the form of practical Jihad is another element that has been subjected to serious debates and discussion in the Western media. The scope of this concept is both political and social in nature. The agent and agency that has been used for the spread of this concept is media. Many a time the media has been seen to present views and opinions that are based on ethnocentric feelings, along with hatred and bias against one religion and favored oriented opinion and views towards the other. In the prevailing situation comparisons are drawn to as how the Jews were being targeted, how their views were being ridiculed and mocked and how they were socially isolated and side lined. Muslims have undergone the same fate and are subjected to large number of constraints in the same spectrum. How did the 9-11 Impact depiction of Muslims in American Media The 9-11 events changed the overall dynamics of the world and global politics. Since the events had taken place in U.S.A and the alleged attackers were Muslims, therefore a direct backlash fell upon the Muslims. As a result of this, the entire American society was divided from within. The Muslims saw no more accommodation and more absorption from within as compared to the previous decades and centuries. Islam phobia was clearly evident in the programs and overall manifesto of the channels and the agenda being carried by the American media. Ben Brumfield has taken up a case where the program and the host has been spotted and alleged to have crossed the line. The incident took place in one of the routine programs of the channel. The guest who was a Muslim and had complied a book about the works, contributions and life of Jesus, the host was time and again found to be in desire and demand to know how would and why must a Muslim writer write about Jesus. This has been reported to have raised concerns in different segments of society on the ground that it comes as clear obstruction of the free will, ideas and the desire to express them (Ben, 2013). The host was being grilled for the study and observation of a religion that was different to his views, with him being Muslim. It is the result of the negative image being presented by the media that the people gain a negative perception about the behavior and response towards Muslims. To a finding and study carried out by Evelyn Alsultany, the cases of crimes, hatred, and alleged separation and gulf building between the Muslims and other member of American society grew by a staggering figure. In these cases, the Muslims were subjected to various kinds of hatred related attitude, speech and expression. Christopher Smith conducted the study with regard to the role of media in United States of America in the post 9-11 scenario and he has established through number of studies that the overall rates and percentages of hatred that rose were due to the element of media portraying Muslims and religion Islam as hostile towards the West. This is far from true and in actual, all these actions are more or less oriented on the principles of political advantages and political maneuvering. They do not have any major ideological existence and stance to it and Islam therefore cannot be termed as responsible for the surge or the alleged attacks that were being carried out my set of Muslim individuals on the Twin towers in New York (Smith). With United States being a multi cultural, multi ethnic society, the need is to establish more harmony and benevolence between the different people and religious followers. Social media is another tool that has been alleged to have played a counter role and has not helped bridging the already extended gulf between the different members of American society. This was stated by Stephnie in her study where she studied the patterns between 2001 and 2008 and the alleged persecution being suffered by Muslims in one form of the other (Pappas). References: Ben, Brumfield Anti-Muslim slant by American media giants reaps criticism. 30 jULY 2013. 15 March 2014 . Pappas, Stephanie. Negative Portrayals of Muslims Get More Media Attention. 29 Nov 2012. 16 March 2014 . Reuters. Pre-WW2 Churchill article says Jews partly to blame for anti-Semitism. 11 March 2007. 15 March 2014 . Smith, Christopher. "Anti-Islamic Sentiment and Media Framing during the ." Religious/ Social. 2013. Read More