Modern Australia news media is a direct result of the
Colonial era, where mediated ideologies were designed by European power
(Isakhan, 2009). In other words, this period saw the West approach the East
with a sense of superiority (Isakhan, 2009). This predominant picture of Islam
and the Middle East can be seen to privilege the kind of racialist discourse
that is indicative of Orientalism. Orientalism is the character or culture of
the peoples of the East. It is an ideological fantasy that bore no relation to
the reality of Middle Eastern Society (Isakhan, 2009). It served to stereotype
according to fairly negative terms, developing an unquestioned tendency to view
the people of the Orient as deficient ‘others.’ This, therefore, marginalises
and silences the histories and cultures of the Middle Eastern and Islamic
people. As Isakhan (2009) foregrounds, these people were “‘rarely seen or
looked at; they were seen through, analysed not as citizens, or even people,
but as problems to be solved or confined or – taken over.” Thus, people’s views
on Muslims were constructed by European power, or the West’s desire to take
over and remain superior to the East.
The history and tradition of the Western media continually
uses an ideological tool to maintain the separation between East and West (Isakhan,
2009). With the beginning of political printing press in the 15th
century, we see the first use of media technology to propagate these
Orientalist discourses previously mentioned (Isakhan, 2009). The relationship
between media and Orientalism sees the printing press legitimizing and
propagating the Oriental world view that came with the colonial era (Isakhan,
2009). This relationship has an impact on early Australian news media. This racialist
history of news media sets a precedent for the Orientalist stereotypes evident
on Islam and the Middle East in Australia today.
Islamic followers continue to endure political and social
hatred for their religious beliefs (Ibrahim, 2010). This is because of the
media’s choice to perpetuate dominant images of violence over images of
diversity (Ibrahim, 2010). Why does the media keep doing this? What is so wrong
with showing positive and peaceful imagery of this religion? News media
primarily focuses on the extraordinary and shocking, excluding any other
perspectives. Thus, the media plays a major role in Islam’s negative
stereotyping. The reporting of Islam is often fuelled by hysterical fear and
violence, focusing on crisis coverage, such as September 11 (Ibrahim, 2010).
Within mainstream media representations, the Islamic
religion is usually treated negatively and associated with terrorism, war,
fundamentalism and repression of women. For instance, post the September 11 attacks,
there was an increase in hate crimes towards Muslims due to condescending and
disparaging news coverage of the event (Ibrahim, 2010). Muslims everywhere
became potential suspects, where people were murdered, harassed and threatened
(Ibrahim, 2010). From this, two differing media ideologies arose. It is due to
these hate crimes that American Muslims were depicted as people of peace in the
media following the September 11 attack. Media coverage deemed it unacceptable for
people to hate against Arabs and Muslims living in America, broadcasting
internal (living within the US) Islamic followers as peaceful. On the other
hand, any external (living outside the US) followers were represented as a
violent threat, visualising gun carrying, angry men (Ibrahim, 2010). Therefore,
Islam as a religion of peace was broadcasted alongside the representation of
Islam as violent. Televisions showed American Muslim’s waving their flag,
whilst other Muslims seemingly burnt it (Ibrahim, 2010).
The media tends to portray a narrow segment of Muslim
activity, a marginal knowledge of the Muslim world and a focus on extremists
and more radical followers. For instance, John Miller, ABC journalist,
interviewed Osama bin Laden (Ibrahim, 2010). He foregrounded that killing
Americans is the core of the Islamic faith (Ibrahim, 2010). This one extremist’s
view is reported as the undisputed truth about Islam, framing the religion as
an inherently violent faith. This notion is casually accepted by Journalists as
the truth (Ibrahim, 2010). Thus, in news media, Islam is mainly represented as
an angry religion through imagery of crises and violence.
Journalists are continually portrayed as being ignorant or indifferent
to religion, lacking in a basic understand of religion matters and covering
religion only when the subject involves conflict (Underwood, 2002). This
foregrounds the media’s problematic aspect of Islam, being the lack of knowledge
of its context and background (Ibrahim, 2010). It is quite daunting to think
that journalists and news people even consider writing stories or creating news
items on Islam based primarily on a violent bias. Why does an intelligent and
modern society choose to marginalize and silence the good in this religion? The
Majority of stories reflecting on Islam do not distinguish between its various
branches (Ibrahim, 2010). Why does the media not educate people on the
diversity of Islam’s various sects and instead focus on one broad term? Why
does it choose to focus only on the bad? Further transparency and knowledge is
required when journalists are reporting on a faith that their audience and
themselves know very little about. What gives journalists, people who have no
background in history or theology, the right to express to the world racist
ideologies of this particular religion? Lack of understanding and ill
information contributes to Muslim’s negative imagery.
References:
Ibrahim, D. 2010. The Framing of Islam on Network News Following the September 11Th Attacks. International Communication Gazette (72: 111). DOI: 10.1177/1748048509350342
Isakhan B. 2009. Orientalism and the Australian News Media. Origins and Questions. In Rane H., J. Ewart and M. Abdalla, Eds., Islam and the Australian News Media. Carlton: Melbourne University Press. Ch. 1, 3-25. (RL)
Underwood D. 2002. I will show you my faith by what I do. A
survey of the religious beliefs of journalists and journalists' faith put into
action. In From Yahweh to Yahoo! the religious roots of the secular press.
Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. Ch. 9, 130-147, RL.
Image Source:
My own drawing of the marginalised sects of Islam.
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