Muslims and the Media Post 9/11 - Research Paper Example

Muslims and the Media Post 9/11 Introduction:- Shoaib was a patriotic American who had the American dream of making it big one day. His family had moved in from Pakistan to New York before his birth. He was working his way up and was about to graduate from law school when the twin towers were attacked by terrorists. He was saddened by the incident but couldn’t have imagined the impact it would have on his life. , two years later Shoaib was suspected of involvement in a terrorism plot and sent to Guantanamo bay, where he committed suicide. This is just one of the many stories of Muslims in America post 9/11. September 11th 2001 completely changed the political and religious landscape of the world. The attack on the twin towers, which was later termed as a ‘signal of war’ by the then president George W Bush, started a chain of events that have had a gigantic political, economic, religious and social impact on the entire world, more specifically America and the Muslim world [Rab04]. For a long period of time after the attacks on the twin towers, Muslims all around the world have been ‘marginalized’ and blamed for terrorism across the globe. The fact that militant organizations like Al Qaeda and Taliban consist, primarily, of Muslims aggravates the call of people against Islam and Muslims. However media of all forms, all across the world, has moved on to intentionally target the Muslim population and generalize the perception of Muslims, akin to these violent black sheep, by using derogatory terms such as ‘Islam-O-Phobia’, ‘Islamist Terrorists’, ‘Muslim Terrorists’, ‘Extremists’ and so forth [Abd08]. Ironically, the term most commonly used as a synonym for Muslim terrorism, i.e. ‘Jihad’, is the Arabic word for struggling, or striving. The misinterpretation of this term, however, is very common not only among non Muslims but Muslims themselves[Abd08] This paper shall analyze the authenticity of such content emerging from the media, the state of Muslims across the world, specifically the USA and the tactics used by the media to achieve the objective of marginalizing this community. We shall also discuss latest discourse on the subject that has deviated from the past and takes a slightly more holistic approach when explaining issues [Hal02]. Thesis Statement:- This study seeks to find out how the western media has been marginalizing Muslims all across the world post 9/11 and whether there has been a change in discourse in recent years. Contextualizing the situation:- Thorough investigation and blunt confessions point out that Al Qaeda (A Muslim dominated militant organization) was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. This fact itself plants a negative first impression of Muslims for the observer. The inhumane attack by the Al Qaeda, however, was followed by the controversial invasion of Afghanistan, which led to the killing of hundreds of thousands of Muslims. Situation between Muslims and the west exacerbated when the United States invaded Iraq on the pretext of weapons of mass destruction, which led to killing of a huge number of Muslims and alienated the Muslim worth from the West even further. This, along with the continuous violence between Israel (America’s spoilt kid) and Palestine, created gaps which will take decades to fill between the two communities[Abd]. Under such circumstances, it is not difficult for members of a specific community to perceive someone from the opposite as an enemy, or an adversary, and catch on to the first negative piece of information. Such negative perceptions only help to strengthen the Media’s tirade against Muslims[Abd08]. Estimates suggest that Islam is the most common non Christian religion in the US. Despite that however, 60% Americans claim to have never met a Muslim. It is not surprising then, that such misconceptions are embedded in the audience’s minds so easily[Rez07]. However, it is incorrect to generalize the entire Muslim population based on some black sheep organizations that seek to achieve their own objectives in the name of God and religion. History between the west and Muslims dates back then that. One of the main responses of Muslims to Colonialism and Orientalism was Muslim Nationalism which took two forms: Secular Nationalism and Religious Nationalism, religious nationalism was termed by the west as fundamentalism[Ame04]. Globalization has also strengthened religious nationalism of Muslims across the globe. The fact that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the US suggests the global outreach of Muslims and the inability of any force to curtail this fact[Ame04]. Tactics Used by the Media:- Small targets are set, and psychological principles are put into play when shaping human perceptions[Nor02]. The media continuously uses its power to marginalize Muslims and slander them. This phenomenon of continuous vilification of Islam and likening it with terrorism and extremist is what scholars refer to as ‘Islamophobia’. The former president of the United States, George W Bush, has been criticized for using derogatory terms when referring to Muslims [Rab04]. The Media works to differentiate the target from normal human beings such that normal emotions of sympathy and pity are completely removed when relating to the target. This is the process of dehumanizing/demonizing the enemy. Wars, confrontations and invasions in the past decade have had a monumental impact on the relationship between Muslims and the west. As explained earlier, these events have already created a negative impression among both the nations about each other. These perceptions are further consolidated by a process of dehumanizing nations to allow for biased, violent and negative perceptions to prevail. This process involves the use of all forms of messages to create observations that are negative and judgmental. The acclaimed TV series ‘24’ has been highly criticized for its role in dehumanizing Muslims by portraying them as ‘terrorists next door’[Abd08]. Critiques also point out to subliminal messages in cartoons and movies that create negative perceptions about Arabs, ‘the real bad Arabs’ being the most potent. This negative stereotyping is evident in books, comics, stories, movies, cartoons and other forms of main stream media. Some of this is subliminal while other is very potent[Abd08]. In recent years, the main stream media has taken upon itself the task of convicting a suspect. This process takes much shorter time when the suspect is a Muslim. The state of the western media can be portrayed by this interesting comparison: If a non Muslim American person kills a dog, he may be termed as a hero who saved the master, while if the same act is performed by a Muslim, the headlines may read that ‘Muslim terrorist kills innocent dog’. Such is the distinction set in by the media between human beings solely on the basis of race and religion. The media reached a new low when some sections supported Republican campaign for presidency by ‘vilifying’ Barack Obama as a Muslim. The republican presidential candidate, when asked whether Obama was a Muslim, was quoted as saying, ‘No he is not an Arab, he is a respectable, normal human being’[Reu11]. This quote, shockingly, implies that an Arab is not a normal or respectable human being in the ordinary course of life. The way most of Europe reacted to the 9/11 disaster has been considerably different however. Distinguished Muslims from across Europe have been recognized for their achievements. Furthermore, comprehensive programs on politics, cultural diversity and representation have driven the Muslim community forward despite the chaos surrounding some of its fortress nations[Ric03]. The latest incident in this series of reports concerns mass killings in Norway. On the 22nd of July 2011, Anders Behring Breivik killed 76 people in Norway. The instant reaction of the media, however, was linking the attacks to Muslims, specifically the terrorist organization of Al-Qaeda [Uja11]. When news broke that the terror suspect was not Muslim, channels across America started to give less airtime to the news and newspapers shifted the story from the front page to somewhere in the middle pages. This incident is just one of many stories which surface on the mainstream media without proper investigation and when the actual convict is apprehended, the story becomes a back pager if it is not a Muslim. Reaction of Muslims:- The Muslim community in America must be appreciated for its patience despite being targeted. The community at large has continued to play its role as responsible members of the society. Several arts and science initiatives taken up by Muslims portray a lighter image of Muslims across America. Furthermore, initiatives taken in collaboration with governments of Muslim countries such as US student exchange programs serve the key function of spreading cultural diversity in the American youth[VOA06]. It must be acknowledged, however, that violent terrorist groups do not welcome the continuous tirade and often react in ways that further exacerbate the situation. Such is true especially in Muslim countries that are allies of the United states in the war against terror. These states are the targets of terrorists because they are considered ‘traitors’ by these militant groups[Ame04]. Consequences of the Tirade:- Many traditional Muslim organizations were closed down after being investigated for crime scenes over and over again. The continuous link drawn between terrorism and Muslims by the media led to an increase in surveillance and stricter codes on religious practices. Mosques, educational ‘madarsas’ and other institutes were replaced or destroyed as a result[VOA06]. The American notion of religious freedom did not hold true for Muslims after 9/11. Several Muslim Americans protested the continuous searches and bans and called for equal treatment of Muslims. Although the government acknowledged the rights of the Muslims, state representatives made call for active participation of them to fight terrorism[Reu11]. The situation took a intriguing turn when the proposed nine zero mosques was met with strong media tirades and public disapproval. The situation was very threatening as it rekindled the emotions of 9/11 victim families and freshened the biased perspective towards Muslims post 9/11[And11]. There were some surprising repercussions of the continuous coverage of Muslims in the mainstream media. Most Americans were indifferent to Islam before 9/11 however the bombardment of the terms ‘Islam’and ‘Muslims’ led plenty of people to research the religion and know the facts through its scriptures. Many non-muslims opted to take up the faith as a result and there was a significant rise in the number of Muslim converts in America. These converts, however, face identity crises in the United States due to their transformed way of living[Jod01]. Despite this fact, many non Muslims in America are moving towards a more research oriented approach and not drawing conclusions from media reports. This has been one of the reasons why the number of converts has increased so significantly in the past decade when compared to pre 9/11. There has also been a huge rise in surveillance for Muslims on airports, bus stations and all other security checks. Several state representatives, media anchors and opinion makers have gone so far as to categorically state that the identification and specific checking of Muslims at airports is necessary to ensure that the terrorist attacks are not repeated. A Pleasant change in Discourse? There has been considerable debate over whether there has been a change in discourse of the media when addressing Muslims due to the increasing number of Muslims living in America. This theory is complemented by the argument over how the media has differentiated discourses now for Fundamental Muslims and Secular Muslims[Hal02]. Even before 9/11, the gulf crisis was of significant importance and a force that had Muslims in the eye of the public for a long period of time. Furthermore, the world trade center attack of 1993 and the embassy bombing of 1998 further exacerbated the image of Muslims in front of Americans. The attack on the world trade center however, topped all of this and bought Muslims into the public’s eyes like never before. The west’s problems have been primarily with the elements of the Muslim community it is not willing to own, or the ‘others’[Hal02]. These include organizations such as Al Qaeda and Taliban. The Muslim community, however, has not been able to clearly distinguish the ‘others’ from it and suffers an identity crisis. The argument that most Muslims come up with is that these ‘black sheep’ do not represent us and we are peace loving people, however they believe that some of the things these people preach are in line with Islam. Muslim scholars argue that interpretation plays a key role in deriving the message of the scriptures and that these terrorists twist the true message for their own advantage by quoting out of context[Zia11]. While most Muslims in the United States condemned the attacks on the world trade center, some had arguments that were controversial and subjective. Such arguments were interpreted as ‘fundamentalism’ or ‘intolerance’ by certain sections of the media. In recent times the media has taken up a more responsible role by differentiating the good Muslims from the bad Muslims and focusing on the black sheep as separate entities rather than addressing them with names such as Islamsits, or Muslim Fundamentalists. Although such instances are still found, the media that usually reports it in such a way is known to be right wing and is criticized for its content and non reliability, such as Fox News[Abd]. The performance of the media in the genocide in Oslo suggests that there is still a long way to go before the media reaches an optimal level of reliability. The tradition of coming to kneejerk conclusions continues and Muslims continue to be the target of irresponsible reporting. Conclusion: - It is fair to say that the relationship between Muslims and the west will take a lot of time to heal and the media will play a huge role in making that possible. While the media has taken small steps towards sanity, it needs to further check its work and rationalize its reporting rather than stereotyping a specific nation. The emergence of more positive terms such as ‘Islam: The fastest growing religion in the US’, ‘Muslim Sportsman’ and avoidance of derogatory terms by some section is the first step towards progress and needs to be continued to have a lasting impact. Such steps by the media must also be complemented by positive steps by the Muslim community in general which shall start with the unequivocal condemnation of terrorist forces that use the name of Muslim and Islam to justify war. Furthermore, contributions from Muslims in various fields such as science, arts, sports, etc can strengthen their dignity and respect and curtail the biasness that prevails as a result of a decade of harsh tirade[Nor02]. Bibliography Rab04: , (Rabasa, Bernard and Chalk), Abd08: , (Ghazali), Abd08: , (Ghazali), Hal02: , (Yenigun), Abd: , (Abdullah), Rez07: , (Aslan), Ame04: , (Bilici), Nor02: , (Norman), Reu11: , (Reuters), Ric03: , (Baltrop), Uja11: , (Sehgal), VOA06: , (VOA), And11: , (Stone), Jod01: , (Wilgoren), Hal02: , (Yenigun), Zia11: , (Sardar), Read More