The Role of Media in The Spread of Islamophobia

Discrimination, based on religious, racial and ethnic differences, is being gradually intensified and largely spread among nations. Religious affiliation may be a stronger predictor of prejudice than others can do. Islamophobia is a type of religious discrimination that is defined as a way of referring to dread or hatred of Islam and therefore fear or dislike of Muslims. Despite it is a well-known word first appeared in 1991, it gains its significance post 11th September 2001. Its contents continuously being shared on the Internet and via emails and text messages, as well as via more traditional hate crime methods such as abusive telephone calls, messages left on cars, and anonymous mail sent to private homes, mosques, and Islamic cultural centers.

The media has had a negative portrayal of Islam and Muslims over the past few years for it doesn’t come as a surprise nowadays when offensive, biased and stigmatized news reports are published regarding the Muslim faith. This obsession in mainstream media pertaining to the Islamic faith and its relationship with the western culture is marred with negative comments from the global media portrayal of the Islamic faith depicting Muslims as violent beings/ extremists and terrorists. Who are diametrically opposed to western influence? These reports tend to impact the day to day life of any Muslim worldwide as they play a huge role in how Muslims carry out themselves.

The fear of Islam and people of the Islamic faith, also known as Islamophobia has rapidly intensified with the emergence of the self-proclaimed outlaw group known as the Islamic state group who keep posting videos online of their prisoners beheading who mostly tourists and journalists are working in n foreign soul. The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, Charlie Hebdo attack in France, the Westgate mall attack in Kenya and the emergence of the Taliban’s restrictions all round in Afghanistan. It would be true saying that Islamophobia has become the mainstream media discourse. In Great Britain, the media occasionally makes distinctions between radical Muslim actions and moderate Muslims beliefs making it appear as if there are both good and bad Muslims in this society. For instance, Muslim women are often portrayed as being oppressed for there is always a greater focus on their physical and outer appearances due to their hijabs which have long been portrayed as a symbol of oppression.

After these attacks, which induced negative feelings concerning Muslims worldwide, the media has for a while now played a vital role in creating all these negative associations whereby the media constantly portrays the Muslim faithful with violent terrorist acts. This has made it sound as though the Islamic religion is colluding with terrorism. The society, in general, has developed this mindset concerning the Islamic religion as a whole and Muslim communities worldwide this was made possible due to the fact that the media has for a while now over the years perpetuated Muslim stereotypes ever since the 9/11 bombings witnessed in the United States. This has led to people assuming automatically that any violent act carried out worldwide shown through mass media is as a result of Muslim faithful’s though they were not involved in any way possible. This has further led in attacks on the Islamic religion whereby people have come to crucify the Islamic religion as an act of violence, hatred, and oppression towards non-Muslim individuals. Such Anti-Muslim campaigns and sentiments are because of misappropriation of information by the media to its subscribers.

Islamophobia has become a new topic of interest among social sciences, political leaders and media commentators. People amongst society have developed this phobia towards Islamic religion and people. It has become a novel “form of racism in Europe and American based on discrimination

In the United States, young Muslim Americans’ identification with their American and Muslim identities or just Muslim identities get to change over time due to discrimination and negative media coverage of Islam as a religion. An aid to this could be negative comments made by US presidential aspirants in their various campaigns especially as seen in the year two thousand and sixteen. This, in turn, gets to increase the media’s salience in citizen’s minds living in the US as well as increased group discrimination. The portrayal of Muslims in mass media as radical extremists and terrorists gets to affect them directly as they tend to distance themselves in trusting political institutions in the US as well as interaction with the American population.

In Britain, the British government legislations seem to stir up an environment whereby discrimination, abuse, and assault are common practices among Muslims living in the United Kingdom. A study carried out by an independent oversight, the Islamic Human Rights Group into the day-to-day life experiences of British Muslims, a rapid increase in the number of people reporting on verbal abuse and an increase in physical attacks too. This has been witnessed since the early two thousand and ten the last time the survey was conducted. This has led to Muslims in the United Kingdom feel insecure as they are targets of the media and political institutions which in according to their understanding do weigh in heavily on them not feeling safe in their own country as most Muslims feel more hated now than compared before.

Modern anti-Muslim propaganda is spread through the merging of two discourses and they include modern terror and historical Orientalism which was a method used by the Roman Catholic church as early as the 12th century with the main objective of influencing the Islamic religion negatively so as to curb on its widespread all through Europe.

This method did spread all through Europe so much that it has been adopted into the society that an individual might fail in noticing it’s impacts worldwide. The latest addition is the modern idea of terrorism whereby accusers get rid of proof of guilt or wrongdoing for these modern anti-Muslimism sentiments are often propelled to fame by mass media who tend to sensationalize events worldwide.

A proposed solution to the present difficulties faced by Muslims all over the world can be found within the Islamic teachings and its praxis especially the concept of tawhid which actually calls for the unity of all living beings and equality. The idea of the concept tawhid is meant to remind all Muslim faithful’s that all human beings are equal and entitled to their own share of dignity and respect.

In conclusion, Islamophobia is an old act that was intensified since September 11th. The evidence suggests that religion, in this case, Islam, may be a more important determinant of discrimination than is race or ethnicity. After the events of September 11th, 2001, some Muslims may have developed a heightened awareness of public reaction to them, recognizing subtle discrimination that they may not have noticed before. Despite the concurrent rise in interest in Islamic culture, this found to be not adequate to increase the understanding or acceptance of Islam.

References

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