On January 7 2015, two men arrived at 6 Rue Nicolas-Appert and realized they were at the wrong location. In their search for Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper in Paris, they had gone to the archives location rather than the magazine’s headquarters. The brothers Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, after locating their intended target, gunned down Stéphane “Charb” Charbonnier and 10 of his coworkers in the Charlie Hebdo office. Before opening fire, they yelled out Charb to point out the intended target of their attack. The brothers killed 11 people as well as a French National Police officer and injured 11 others. The gunman claimed to belong to the Islamist terrorist group AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula). The Islamic group asserted responsibility …show more content…
One of the most controversial has been the public jeering towards the prophet Muhammad. The attack targeting Charb was claimed to be in response to the printing of these particular cartoons. According to David Cook’s Understanding Jihad, “attacks upon Western targets during the past ten years have focused on cultural and boundary issues, especially the portrayal of Muhammad” (page x). This attack of terror reiterated the incompatibility between Islam and the Western affinity for freedom of expression. This, coupled with the stereotyping of Muslims, which has lead to anti-immigration sentiments throughout Europe, culminated in the Charlie Hebdo attacks (Najimdeen 88). Islamic terrorism differs from secular terrorist attacks because the enemy is different. Islamic terrorists, such as AQAP, do not have a clear-cut definition, but rather target those that for example fall into a category of “jahiliyya” or pre-Islamic ignorance (Fine). This ignorance makes Western nations a constant target for jihad, because their way of being directly threatens Islamic …show more content…
The escapes lead to the presence of Yemen’s first substantial Al Qaeda presence and seven months later, they launched their first attack. AQAP quickly differentiated themselves from Islamic Jihad in Yemen and the Army of Aden Abyan through the intricacy of their attacks. They fought to be the most “legitimate means for expressing discontent with the political status quo” in Yemen (Koehler-Derrick 43). The group’s main goal is to defend ordinary Yemenis and it “has positioned itself not as an organization distinct from, but rather a reflection of the local population and the global community of subjugated Muslims” (Koehler-Derrick
Lewis says, “Most Muslims are not fundamentalists, and most fundamentalists are not terrorists, but most present-day terrorists are Muslims and proudly identify themselves as such.” He also expertly points out, “Terrorism requires only a few. Obviously, the West must defend itself by whatever means will be effective. But in devising means to fight the terrorists, it would surely be useful to understand the forces that drive them. ”(Lewis.
On September 11, 2001, since the terrorist attacks, many American Muslims have been stereotyped negatively in the United States. Salma, a Muslim woman, says that the way Muslims have been recognized in the media has played a big role in the antagonism directed at her. “I don’t know how many times I heard my classmates accuse me of being al-Qaeda or a terrorist” (Mayton 2013). Salma, along with other Muslims, even after a decade, are still struggling with trying to find their “American” and “Islamic” identities, while facing verbal attacks for their ethnicity. Too often, the general Muslim population gets lumped in with the immoral acts of a few because of the lack of knowledge about their culture.
Roggio, Bill. "US Drones Kill 2 AQAP Fighters in Eastern Yemen." The Long War Journal. The
The terrorist attacks of September 9/11 brought the Muslim people along with Islam into the spotlight all over the world. The terrorist attacks did have a huge impact on the Muslim community.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Islam is portrayed and is commonly accepted as the most violent and largest direct threat to the West. This is a generalization made by most of the West, but it is not particularly the West or the Islamic people’s fault. There is constant turmoil in Islamic countries in the Middle East and these conflicts are what make the news in the West. The only representation in the media that the Islamic nation gets is that of war. Though most Islamic people are not violent, the select few that do participate in terrorist groups give the rest of the Islam nation a bad image.
Islam in America has historically been misunderstood, and this is due to the misconception of culture and religion as well as lack of education and incorrect portrayal in the media, which gives a skewed idea of Islam. Especially in the United States, Islam has been seen as the “terrorist religion” or a religion for the extremists and a religion in which freedom is not an option. Among the countless misconceptions, the basis of stereotypes by Americans is due to the mix up between religion and culture. Furthermore, the media only fuels fire to these misunderstandings and lack of factual information about Islam causing Americans to lash out on American Muslims without reason.
Muslims have been facing propaganda by media of the western world since many decades. Western media spreads any negative incident in which Muslims are involved very quickly. Many people have developed such an understanding due to this stigmatization that they normally think of terrorism, violence and other extreme things when they hear about Islam and Muslims. One major incident behind such stigmatization is the 9/11 attacks on America.
Yahya al-Houthi, brother of rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi stated, “We are not anti-American per se. Rest assured that we do not have any issues with the American people, but we disapprove of some of their government’s foreign policy in the Middle East. Like many people in the Middle East of all faiths, we were opposed to the US led invasion of Iraq and the subsequent killing of civilians” (Novack, 2009). The Houthis’ goals in their revolution are inherently religious, not political, focused mainly on combating the rising Salafi presence in the Northern Province of Yemen. The conflict has been ongoing since the 1990s and continues to threaten the stability of Yemen, causing periods of extremely violent clashes with the government. The Houthis are not trying to secede from Yemen. They are not at war with the American people, they are pushing back against western policy in Yemen, while also fighting for their religious beliefs to be recognized. The Houthis maintain that their goal is not to secede or overthrow the country; however, they are destabilizing the Yemeni government by stretching it thin, and forcing Yemen to fight multiple problems across the country. If left unresolved, the current state of the Houthi movement will destabilize Yemen and potentially draw in more support from other countries, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, which could evolve into a deadly conflict if a peaceful resolution cannot not be reached.
Terrorism has been around for centuries and religion-based violence has been around just as long. (Hoffman, 2). The violence was never referred to as terrorism though. Only up to the nineteenth century has religion been able to justify terrorism (Hoffman, 2). Since then, religious terrorism became motivated and inspired by the ideological view (Hoffman, 3). Therefore, it has turned against the main focus of religion and more towards the views of the extremist and what is happening politically (Winchester, 4).
Al Qaeda is a terrorist organization established in Peshawar, Pakistan, between 1988 or 1989 by Osama bin laden and his teacher Abullah Yusuf Azzam. Al-Qaeda is an international terrorist network that considered the top terrorist threat to the United States. Al Qaeda is seeking to get rid of all westerns from Muslims territory and replace their own Islamic regime. They are a group of people who work to gather to plan act of terrorism against Muslim and non Muslim especially United State. Al Qaeda believes that they are fighting a holy war against enemy of their religion. People from many countries have joined this group including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Britain. This paper is going to present a brief historical background of Al Qaeda that how it emerged with their ideology, view, believe, and goals they have and also it presents the Activities which this group has been done before and after the very massive attack they had in US in September 11, 2001 and the international responses to this act of violence. Finally this paper will end up with comparing this Organization (Al Qaeda) with Reverend Mike Bray the Christian terrorist.
Many terrorists believe that their religion is the only true religion, and they use it to justify violence (“Islamic Terrorism”). Most Muslim terrorists follow Jihad. Jihad is an Islamic perception that the way to integrate their religion is by massive force (“Of True Muslims and Terrorists”). Jihad is considered the “sixth pillar” of faith in Islam because it is the constant fight towards good. It is the idea of focusing on God and turning away from those that oppose God (David E. Long, 91). The terrorists believe that their religion is what everyone should follow, so they would naturally require personnel in power in Muslim states to either convert to their religion or resign from their terms. They will first threaten a leader that if they do not change, the terrorists will use violence. Sometimes, violent acts come about without any warning or previous threats (“Of True Muslims and Terrorists”). Islam is a proselytizing religion, which means it uses violence to convert people to its faith. This is because, in the ...
As it was stated later in the media the terrorists attacked the office because the cartoonists released, on several occasions, cartoons with the Prophet Muhammad (depicting him in an improper for the believers
In the essay, the writer acknowledges the misunderstandings that come from media images by explaining the contrasts between these images and the teachings of the faith to support her claim that fear is the reason for this misconception. The conception that many people have of Muslims is that they are terrorists, anti-Semites, and fanatics. This conception exsists because television news and newspapers support that stereotype. The broadcast of such stereotypes encourages fear and accusations of the Islamic relegion's teachings. The writer explains that Islam teaches peace, tolerance, and equality. She further states that Muslims shown in the media have violated these teachings ...
After 9/11 has induced negative attitudes towards Muslim peoples who tend to be strongly associated with any act of terrorism. The media has played a colossal role in developing such negative association wherein it constantly portrays Muslim people in combination with violent terrorist acts. It does so in a way that they both go hand-and-hand. In other words, it has made it as though the Islamic religion is synonymous with terrorism. The media has perpetuated Muslim stereotypes over the years that followed the 9/11 incident. Because of this, society has developed, and still has developed, this prejudiced mindset about the Islamic religion and the Muslim communities around the world. People immediately assume that any violent act being depicted through the media is the direct result of Muslims. They automatically generate this idea that the act was performed by a Muslim terrorist even when they were not involved whatsoever. Regardless of whether it was true or not, Islamic religion and its Muslim adherents are at the top of societies’ agenda just waiting for the evidence to be generated so that they can then safely blame them for such world affairs. Again, this has led to the attack on the Islamic religion itself wherein people have come to postulate Islam as an act of oppression, violence and hatred towards non-Muslims. Anti-Muslim sentiments and campaigns have resulted from such misinformation the media has been generating and feeding its viewers.
We live in an age and time where media influence is at its highest. The media has an impact on us as an audience through every possible medium including both television and print media. As scientists find and cure diseases, as America finds a new country to invade, as the European markets fluctuate, there has been one constant subject prevalent in the Western media- Islam. 1.6 billion people in the world are of the Muslim religion (Desilver 2013), making it the world’s second largest religion, second to Christianity. Even prior to the events of 9/11, the religion of Islam has been under scrutiny by the media. Edward Said, infamous for his works on Orientalism has greatly contributed to our understanding of the Western misunderstanding of the Eastern based religion. Said has defined Orientalism as the Western’s style of domination, reconstruction, and authority over the Orient (Said 1978: 3). Orientalism has observable effects in the most forms of media. As a result, and irrational fear of Islam and those that practice the religion began-Islamophobia. As defined by the International Civil Liberties Alliance, Islamophobia is “a term which is widely used by NGOs and frequently appears in the media, tends to denote fear, hatred or prejudice against Islam and Muslim” (ICLA 2013). This project will attempt to understand what the audience perception is about Islamophobia in the media. It will aim to uncover the ways in which television channels amplify common misperceptions about Islam. As a Muslim myself, this is an area that has always been of interest to me, and like many audiences I have been able to witness the dimensions of Islamophobia s depicted by the western media. After the events of September 2001, the fears of Islam and ...