Islamophobia: Western Media Contribution to Hate on Islam - Coursework Example

Islamophobia Islamophobia Introduction According to Diamond & Plattner (2008), the word Islam is an Arabic word that refers to commitment and submission to God’s will. Within Islam, the understanding of the will of God brings forth many disagreements. Since the bombing of the twin towers in September 2001, conflict between the western and Islamic democracy has been debated a lot. In Russia, recurrent conflict in Chechnya has played a major role in promoting Islamophobia. Islamophobia is unfounded and unfair opinion formed against Islam and Muslims mostly without factual evidence. This word describes the negative feeling of some groups of people towards Islam which reflects to the way they respond to Muslims and engage with them. According to Allen (2010), the influential report by Runneymede in the year 1997 marked the beginning of Islamophobia. Peoples view of Islam Christians Despite both Christians and Muslims believing in God as being supreme and above everything, most Christians feel that Muslims are routinely inviting and enrolling people in Islam so that Islam can become the dominant religion. Christians have always felt that Islam is their major competitor (Kidd, 2009). This feeling of competition brings forth the tension between Christians and Muslims. Women According to Roald (2003), bias towards interpreting the religious text is strongly felt in Islam than any other religion. The author feels that there is much reference to the Koranic verse on the position of man and woman in a family than any other verse whenever issues of marriage are discussed. Emphasis on this verse underlines the position of women in Islam. Many people view Muslims as people who have negative perceptions towards women and people who don’t appreciate equality. However, women are respected and encouraged to adhere to Islamic teachings. Democracy According to Diamond & Plattner (2008), the people who prefer secular democracy and those who prefer Islamic democracy have very few differences. Those who prefer secular democracy would be open to permit a norm that is in line with democratic values while those who prefer Islamic democracy will have minor differences. Many Arabs they also agree that public opinion surveys are not very much welcomed in the Muslim world. Some Muslim countries forbid the surveys in totality. Killings According to Neuman & Jake (2009), honor killings, which are performed by some families in the Muslim community to maintain the honor of the family continues to paint a bad picture of Islam. This is mainly because after performing the honor killings, these families use Islam and Koran to defend themselves. Western Media contribution to hate on Islam Myths and reality According to Asadulla (2008), misrepresentation of Islam by the western media continues to be a main complain among Muslims. Muslims feel that occurrences of crimes perpetrated by individuals end up being generalized thus tainting the image of Islam. The media fails to be clear on issues faced thus leaving space for suspicion among the general public. The media befits from increased revenue by increasing their sales while riding on fear (Asadulla, 2008). This fear originates from the media portraying Islam in a scary manner. Bias The media covers the Muslim in a biased manner. Crimes performed by an individual or a group of individual is covered by the media and generalized to the Muslim community. This in turn brings forth a paranoid nationalism (Rane, Ewart & Abdalla, 2010). When it gets to this level, the contribution of Muslims in the society becomes overshadowed by their negative coverage. This threatens to tear apart the nation and cause divisions among the citizens. There is need for the media to be objective in their reporting and highlight factual information that are not misleading. Islamism The media has strived to portray Muslims as a community of people who seek to ensure their religion becomes the dominant religion in the world and will go to extreme events to ensure this comes to pass. The political mobilization of Muslims so as to be better placed to solicit political strength and relevance continues to attract much attention from the media. Unlike other similar activities by minority groups, the media uses this without factual evidence to raise panic and unnecessary anxiety among the general public (Waal, 2004). Madrassas After the bombing of the twin tower in the year 2011, the media paid much attention to the expansive religious education for children also known as Madrassas. Madrassas were especially paid much attention after this period and viewed as a tool of coercion. The existence of the religious schools dates back in history of Islam. The media, without factual information causes concern to the general public about the growth and expansive network of these schools (Hefner & Zaman, 2010). These religious schools have however been in existence long before the attack and are meant to prepare the young in faith and teach them about the religion. Media and Islam Paranoid Nationalism The media has made the community to view Muslims with a lot of suspicion and lack of trust. According to Rane, Ewart & Abdalla (2010), the media portrays that the Muslim and Islam do not conform to democracy and western democracy. This is because the Muslims do not conform to secular modernity thus claiming that they are reluctant to integrate with the rest of the society. Many Muslims as a result face unemployment and affiliation to crime. Distortion of Image According to Asadulla (2008), where else only a few extreme Muslims are accustomed to fanaticism, all Muslims are portrayed as fanatics. Many Muslims practice moderation and don’t entertain extremism. The media has strived to spoil the image of Muslims and making the society to be uneasy to relate with them. Many Muslims suffer discrimination due to this bad image and most of them lack opportunities that they would otherwise have. Many suffer from lack of employment due to this negative image. War on terror versus war on Islam According to Majid (2012), United States president Obama declared that his nation would never be against Islam. The president emphasized this so as to categorize the war on terror and disassociate terrorists from Muslims. The media on the other hand strives to link terrorists to Islam. This recognition that terrorists are just extreme minority plays a major role in integration of the community regardless of religion. Trust There still is trust between Muslims and other groups of the society. The media has strived to extinguish this trust by generalizing crimes. The society so far has managed to differentiate and separate the extreme from the regular and more moderate Muslims. Terrorists have since shed that skin of Islam and are being viewed as terrorists and nothing else. According to Majid (2012), the election of Obama, who has Islamic affiliations as the president of United States created a chance for the Americans to create interest to better understand Muslims. While the media is busy linking the terrorists to Islam, the Americans continue to enjoy proper leadership from a man who has affiliations with Islam. This clearly shows that there are some Muslims who are not extreme and can be trusted with even the most delicate and sensitive matters. Even as president, Obama has continued to emphasize on the fight against terror and the need to avoid, curb and manage cases of extreme uprising from the minority extremists. Battle against Islam Even with the continued negative coverage against Islam, there still is trust among the society members regardless of religion. The media has threatened to enhance suspicion of Muslims in the community. The media however is failing in its efforts to taint Islam in a bad image, with the community coming to believe that only a few are to blame and not all Muslims. Respect Muslims continue to enjoy the fundamental freedom and human rights. The rights of affiliation and worship of Muslim is respected and they feel part of the community. With the negative media coverage, Muslims stood a chance to be viewed as outcast and antihuman. This has however not been the case. Governments acknowledge that it is only a few extremist who operate terror. These few don’t stand a chance to taint the image of the many who have participated in different areas of national building. According to Gushee et al (2013), it was very effective when turkey emphasized on human rights and economic development for the Kurds to distance the Kurdish people from terrorists when PKK terrorists were seeking independence from Muslim Kurds. This proved there was need and benefit to give equal rights and opportunities to communities where extremists live in so as to fight terror effectively. The effectiveness of this strategy was much greater than the United States declaration of war on Iran and Russia declaring war on Chechnya. Many nations have so far appreciated the fruits of empowering vulnerable communities with more opportunities. Contribution and participation on war on terror Many Muslims have come out to participate in the war on terror. According to Wade & Maljević (2010), Muslims continue to play a major role in war on terror. They get involved in military operations against terrorist activities and go to an extent of identifying their own that has turned to extremism. This participation plays a major role in increasing trust among them and the general population. Governments understand that the most effective way to fight terror is to actively involve and engage the community where they live in. References Asadulla, A. (2008). Ismam vs. West: Fact or fiction? New York [NY: IUniverse. Diamond, L. J., & Plattner, M. F. (2008) how people view democracy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Gushee, D. P., World Evangelical Alliance., Fellowship of Reconciliation (U.S.), Holy Land Trust., Sojourners Fellowship., Yale Center for Faith and Culture., & Evangelicals for Peace: A Summit on Christian Moral Responsibility in the 21st Century. (2013). Evangelical peacemakers: Gospel engagement in a war-torn world. Eugene, Or: Cascade Books. Hefner, R. W., & Zaman, M. Q. (2010) Schooling Islam: The Culture and Politics of Modern Muslim Education. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Kidd, T. S. (2009). American Christians and Islam: Evangelical culture and Muslims from the colonial period to the age of terrorism. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. Majid, A. (2012). Islam and America: Building a future without prejudice. Neuman, Jake. (2009). Islam: Evil in the Name of God. Gardners Books Rane, H., Ewart, J., & Abdalla, M. (2010) Islam and the Australian news media Carlton, Vic: Melbourne University Publishing Roald, A.-S (2003). Women in Islam: The Western Experience. 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxford: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group Ltd. Waal, A (2004) Islamism and its enemies in the Horn of Africa Bloomington [u.a.: Indiana Univ. Press. Wade, M., & Maljević, A. (2009) A war on terror?: The European stance on a new threat, changing laws and human rights implications. New York: Springer. Read More