Transcript Muslims in the media

Muslims in the Media
Inventions from the Middle
East
• Coffee, chess, toothbrushes,
disinfectants, cat gut to stitch wounds,
universities, algebra, hospitals, optics,
pin-hole camera, forceps and caesarean
surgery, windmills, watermills, rocket
driven torpedoes from horseback, the
wheel, guitars and lutes, the first
parachute, Earth was a sphere, gardens
for leisure.
*Middle
East
Muslims 3 billion world
wide
2nd largest religion in the
world
Picture Match
• Mosque- place of worship
• Founder Mohammed (570- 632 AD)
• Koran or Qu’ran- holy book (50 people in
common with scripture) also includes an
Alexander the Great figure
• Mecca, Saudi Arabia- place of
pilgrimage
• Call God Allah
History
• Split (632-650AD)
• Sunni (Imams are the leaders) Father in
law
• Shiite (10%)- Iran, Iraq and Yemen
believe Muhammad designated his
successor (Mujtahids are the leaders)
• cousin
What do you know about Muslims and Islam? Where
did you get this understanding from?
Many non-Muslim Australians get their
understanding of Islam from the media. While it
is important that the media keeps all Australians
informed about issues and events that occur, the
media is also responsible for deciding what and
how news will be reported. While the media
sometimes promotes Islam and Muslims
positively, some people believe that Islam and
Muslims are not represented fairly by the media.
*Understand the terms
• Islam: Islam is a religion. The word
Islam is used in the same way as the
term Christianity or Buddhism.
• Muslim: A Muslim is a person who
follows Islam. The word Muslim is used
in the same way as the term Christian or
Buddhist.
*September 11, 2001
• The events of September 11, 2001,
thrust Islam into the global media
forefront: not only did coverage of
Islam drastically increase, particularly
in news and entertainment media, but
the way in which Islam was framed by
the media changed as well.
• US and West began War on Terrorism
*Islamic Stereotype
• Radical Muslim insurgent, bent on waging
jihad, or holy war, against the West
• Represents violence as an inseparable
part of being Muslim
• Religion as justification for
violent actions.
Now watch the following video in which a
Muslim Imam discusses how he thinks the media
portrays Islam and Muslims.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedd
ed&v=Tlr6WmMk_9w
• Australian news and current affairs television programs
generally 'represent Australia as an 'Anglo' nation‘
• Ethnic minorities are shown as threatening and
menacing to the Anglo mainstream.' (Phillips, 2011).
*Gallup Report
* Report issued by Gallup in 2009, found:
• Islam is the most frequently mentioned religion in television
news.
• The tone of the media coverage of Islam was negative 40%
of the time, while statements about Christianity were
negative 20% of the time.
• Two-thirds of the television coverage about Islam associates
Muslims with extremism
• * Islamophobia is close-minded prejudice
against or hatred of Islam and Muslims.
• An Islamophobe is an individual who holds a
closed-minded view of Islam and promotes
prejudice against or hatred of Muslims.
www.cair.com
Headlines which claim Muslims are a
threat to British way of life….
What are the consequences of such
racist headlines in the tabloids?
Are minorities always
portrayed negatively?
• 1993 Murder of Black teenager,
Stephen Lawrence by white racists.
Media coverage was very good and
highlighted the racist actions of the
police in their investigation of the
murder.
• Adam Goodes
• Race Riots- Cronulla
Wahleed Aly
Journalist, Lawyer, Academic,
Muslim
Channel 10’sThe Project
How are other religious groups portrayed
in the media?
*Not Without My Daughter
• Anti-muslim bias.
• Set 1984- 1986
• Iran during the Iran/Iraq conflict
*Iranian Revolution (1979)
• Overthrow of the Mohammad Reza Shah
Pahlavi, supported by the US
• Replaced with Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini, supported by leftist and
Islamic organizations[and Iranian
student movements.
• Demonstrations against the Shah
commenced in October 1977, developing
into a campaign of civil resistance
*Iran–Iraq War, First
Persian Gulf War
• September 1980 to August 1988
• 20th century's longest conventional war.
• Iraq invaded Iran via air and land on 22
September 1980
• long history of border disputes
• Iraq feared the Iranian
Revolution (1979) would inspire uprising
of Iraq's long-suppressed Shia majority
*
• Half a million Iraqi/Iranian soldiers died
• Half a million civilians died
• Large-scale trench warfare with barbed
wire stretched across trenches
• Machine-gun posts, bayonet
charges, human wave attacks across
a no-man's land
• Chemical weapons (mustard gas )by the
Iraqi government against Iranian
troops, civilians, and Iraqi Kurds.
• Look at the following six headlines and article
introductions that represent a selection of news
items related to Islam. Some of these headlines
and introductions may work to reinforce
stereotypical, or simplified views about Muslims
and Islam. Others may challenge more
commonly held perceptions.
• While each of these articles is about a specific
person or event, generalised ideas about
Muslims and Islam may also be perceived by
readers. What conclusions about Islam and
Muslims might a reader draw from looking at
each of these articles?
Refer to the two handouts, each consisting
of two articles. Having read the articles
you need to answer the following
questions in your exercise books:
What stereotypes about Islam and Muslims
are reinforced or challenged by these two
articles?
Assessment
• View the film ‘Not Without My Daughter’
• After viewing the film your task will be to write
two 300 word newspaper articles.
– One will need to reflect on the events of the film from the
American perspective
– One will need to reflect on the events of the film from the
Iranian perspective
You are to use your knowledge of bias and racial
stereotypes to use appropriate (somewhat persuasive)
vocabulary to report the events.