It is very obvious that the media are grossly disproportionate in their reporting of incidents caused by Muslims and those caused by other groups. It is not simply my speedy opinion as a student activist seeking to find an explanation for the events that took place. For example, a couple of weeks back a 75 year old Muslim man was stabbed to death outside a Mosque in Small Heath, Birmingham. But how many of us heard about this incident? Very few. [see article here: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/
Why? because it didn't match the media's status quo of representing the British Muslim population in a negative light that would cause suspicion and fear in British non-Muslims.
A study done by the University of Exeter (of which the findings were replicated by researcher Ahmad Jomaa, who has a degree in International relations and studied Security studies & Journalism. It was roughly replicated in a study on how Muslim students are represented in the British press) demonstrates the media's extremely distorted misrepresentation of Muslims. In short, the most prominent themes that were discovered were that Muslims were represented in the media in the prism of; Security risks, terrorism, extremism, unable to integrate into British society, violent, and that they are just 'different'. The adjectives that were mostly attributed to Muslims were as such; militant, extremist, cleric, violent and the list goes on, with scarcely anything neutral or positive.
Professor Paddy Hillyard, a Northern Irish professor wrote a book during the 1970's called ‘The Suspect Communities’. He was referring to the Northern Irish communities in Britain in the aftermath of the IRA bombing campaign and the crude process of the victims in the way they were treated- how they were treated with absolute suspicion. He went on to say some years later that the new suspect community was the Muslim community. [Transcribed from Carl Arrindell's speech at the House of Lords].
I'm not denying that there is extremism, if anything I believe that whenever there is a sign of such, preventative measures have to be taken by the Muslims within that community together. What I'm saying is that it is much lower than what the media amplifies it to be. More Britons are killed in road accidents every year (approx 1900 deaths) than from terror attacks. More Britons die from cancer every year with over 135,000 deaths. And it is certainly not the "greatest threat of the 21st century". Leaving the British non-Muslim population in fear and suspicion. How irresponsible on the part of the mass media. One might argue that this is due to the amount of terror plots that were foiled. Well, I think that there is a play on discourse here. There may a group of Muslim men who are plotting a terror attack, but what about individuals from other groups who are already involved in organised crime? Similarly there have been reports of WHITE BRITISH citizens who have plotted the same terror attacks such as Neil Lewington who was charged for using tennis ball bombs. But yet again, very few of us heard about this incident. Because it doesn't match the status quo of the media.
Look around you to see how many Muslims are contributing to the well being of society. In the heavily populated Muslim areas you will find many- especially in Bristol; policemen, community leaders, Councillors, doctors, teacher. My mother is an English teacher, my father is an engineer, I'm a psychology student in UWE and my brother is a Physics student in Bristol University. Not so 'different' or 'strange' are we.
So of course when the British population look at the British Muslim population through the lens of the media, they will have an extremely distorted picture, not the reality. The media are far from being a moderate conveyor of messages.
taken from http://th02.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2011/100/d/e/mr__tv_head_by_perfectlypunky-d3dq2qu.jpg
well said. This is exactly what need to be discussed and debated. We are normal human beings but the media alienation of Muslims have gone far and need to be challenged. Our issue is that we don't have enough people in media and politics and hence we are not decision makers. This play has to be stopped. We Muslims activists will stop it inshaAllah.
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