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False perceptions media has about islam
Essay on Stereotypes of Muslims
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Misconceptions of Muslims About a couple of weeks ago, I overheard a conversation that was going on between two individuals. A guy and a lady were having a lengthy discussion about religions the guy opened up the topic about Islam which, he started to talk about how Islam is a not peaceful religion in anyway he spoke about Islam in such bad ways it got me very upset not because I am of that religion but it was just rude and disrespectful to speak about anyone’s religion in such a way. I felt like intervening in the conversation to educate him more about Islam. Seeing and hearing things like these are very sad, to have a religion be bashed about negatively just because of the how the media portrays them and have people believing it. People …show more content…
An article written by Suleiman, Michael W titled “Islam, Muslims and Arabs in America: The Other of the Other of the Other....” talks about the Muslim and Arab Image in America. The author talks about and mentions all the negativity Muslims face and how they are presented in the Media (Sulieman). To assume all Muslims are bad when only a couple people claiming that religion are. There’s always bad in every religion or country, so to say everyone single one of them is bad and to generalize is not acceptable. “ Arabs and Muslims are usually depicted as inherently violent, religiously fanatic, hopelessly backward, dirty, lazy and anti-Western, and particularly anti-American. “They are people who mistreat and suppress their women” mention in the article of how Muslims are portrayed as. “The Arab/Muslim countries are often portrayed as price-gougers out to control the world economy and/or to destroy the West, particularly the United States. Violence and war mongering, terrorism and hatred of peace-loving peoples” Sulieman continues to show why we are imaged in such …show more content…
Islam comes from the root word ‘silm’, which means “submission” or “surrender”. A Muslim is one who submits to the one and only God. Muslims believe that there is only one God and that Muhammad was the last and final Prophet of God. When Muslims say Allah that is just Arabic for God. Basically, Islam is just a religion that helps you get closer to God. Muslims do not worship Muhammad nor is Muhammad a founder of this religion. Muhammad is simple a respected Prophet just like previous prophets that came before him such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses & Jesus. Islam is misunderstood by many, the media portrays Islam to be a religion of hatred, violence and terrorism. Instead, Islam is a religion of peace, equality and faith. For example, Muslims greet each other by saying “peace be upon you”. So how can a religion, in which the first thing followers of that religion would say to one another is “peace” be a religion of such hatred and
The media has been known to portray or show many “Muslims” as terrorists, and several times they fail to show the peaceful Muslims. Furthermore, the media affects the perception of many Americans, and when they portray Muslims as scary and dangerous people, this causes many stereotypes to form. This in turn, makes it common for people to accept and believe in the various stereotypes of Muslims. Also, countless Muslims are ethnically profiled based on their religious appearance. To be more specific, numerous Muslims are stereotyped due to their long beards and cultural robes. Stereotypes, such as these, are affected by the descriptions of other notorious terrorists, such as Osama Bin Laden, who was well known for his long beard. Additionally, a number of people have become irrational and unreasonable when it comes to preventing Muslims to affect America, such as many protests “to ban Sharia law in any American court” (Azlan). Sharia is basically the law of an Islamic government, and the protest is illogical, since Sharia law has never been practiced in any American court and there is no indication, that there will be (Azlan). Many of these labels are unfair, and the media unjustly portrays and connects innocent American Muslims to terrorists which is
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.
Islam is a monotheistic religion which is originated from the Middle East or more specifically in the Arabian Peninsula early in the 7th century. This religion was founded on the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed who named this religion after the Arabic word acceptance. Islam has 2 major sects the Sunni and Shi’a. This split occurred when Mohammed died. The Sunni believed that the new leader of Islam should be determined through election but the Shi’a thought that the new leader should be Imam Ali a cousin and son in law of Mohammed. Another branch of Islam is Druze but only a small minority of Muslims who live in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine are followers of this sect (3 Faiths with One God - Islam, Arab American National Museum).
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.
Instead of just highlighting one perspective on which Islam and Muslims have been misrepresented, this paper will illustrate the different tactics that the media use to misrepresent Muslims as a whole. This aims to serve as an outline for the many effects that the media had on Islam and Muslims after 9/11. The study begins by giving a detailed overview of how agenda setting theory directly relates to the rationale of this paper. Next, it will provide examples of the specific terminology used by the media to influence the perception of Muslims. In addition, it will attempt to contrast the proliferation of hate crimes pertaining to Muslims that took place before and after 9/11. Then, by analyzing how the media played a significant role in illustrating a radical Islam for its audience. Moreover, it will analyze the ways in which the cartoon depictions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad were discussed in the media. Finally, this paper will conclude by presenting multiple solutions on media biases and how we, as a nation, can further prevent ourselves from the influence of the
Islam is a religion that is based on the submission oneself to the will of God, who is called Allah. Muslims are the people believe in that, regardless of their culture, background or ethnicity. It is believed that God’s prophets brought a message for the people to worship one God without intermediaries and that prophet Muhammad was the end of G...
the individual that makes that decision. Islam can literally be translated to mean submission to God and is derived from the root word meaning peace. One should always remember to go to the true source of Islam and separate what the true religion of Islam from what is portrayed in the media. Many consider Islam an exotic religion or even too extreme for the modern world. But this is because religion does not dominate everyday life in the West, where as, Islam is considered a way of life for many Muslims who are from the teachings of the Quran have learned to balance their material and spiritual life.
A lot of people believe that Muslims, Islam, and/or the Holy Quran encourages killing, fighting, and terrorism. Events such as the 9/11 attack in the United States, the Boston Marathon Bombing, and conflicts in the Middle East causes the media to label Muslims as terrorists. When a specific group of people cause violence to another group it is categorized as ‘hate crime’, but if a Muslim does the same act, the media immediately labels it as ‘terrorism’ (Frater, 2009). As a matter of fact, regarding to the attacks of the mosques in Israel, the media did not use the acts to victimize or stereotype Judaism. Moreover, some extremist groups use Islam as a tactic to gain followers even though a lot of their practices go against the teachings of the Quran. A person would not be considered a Muslim if they spread fear or terrorize others. The Quran clearly states, “You shall not take life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law.” (Quran, 6:151). Islam is against any force or violence towards another person. Often the word ‘Jihad’ is taken out of context by violent militants; it means to strive or struggle for the sake of ones’ self improvement with respect to their spirituality. Religious and political groups use Jihad to justify ...
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.
This word originated in Arabia where this whole culture developed (BBC “Islam”). Islam followers, or Muslims, were introduced to their culture by the Prophet Muhammad (BBC “Islam”). The word Islam comes up very often, but who knows what it means? It is said to be the “submission to the will of God (BBC “Islam”).” The majority of the U.S. population today see Muslims as bad people only because a certain group attacked the United States.
The Issue With the Western View of Muslims September 11, 2001, was a day that changed the lives of those who lived in the United States (US). What may have previously been considered far off, was now at the front door of America. Radical Islamic terrorism had become a real and dangerous threat and due to the actions of a few Muslims, the perspective of the West was changed forever. Out of the countless issues that could be named concerning the Western view of Muslims, the significant are that despite the general assumption not all Arabs are Muslim, neither are all Muslims devout much less terrorists, and the West has caused an almost equal amount of destruction as many Middle Eastern countries, therefore giving it the possibility of being labeled as terroristic. Muslims subjected to such labeling have been affected in numerous ways.
Islam is often viewed as a religious tradition which originates from the seventh century. An important part of Islam is based on the prophet Muhammad, and the great revelations in which he received from God, according to the Quran. However, it is most important to realize that Muslims do not view Islam as a new religion. Muslims believe that Allah is the same God who revealed himself to Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Therefore, Jews, Christians, and Muslims are all followers of the same living God. Muslims believe that the Quran is the final and complete revelation of God to all people. It is not easy for some people to accept the fact that God exists when there have been so many throughout history. You cannot also say if someone’s religion is right or wrong or the God they believe in is a “Supreme” god. Why Islam and not Christianity? Why Hinduism and not Judaism? Every one of them different and they vary from one another; they have different rules and are all passionate about their belief. But the fact still remains that there is one who is above all and he is God. God is Omnipresent, omnipotent, and Benevolent.