Does the Media Encourage Islamphobia?
Does the British Media Encourage Islamophobia? How Do Texts Such As Citizen Khan & Four Lions Fit Into The Post-9/11 Media Landscape?
It has been a decade since the 9/11 attacks, however Muslims are still labelled as terrorists and extremists. The headscarf, the word ‘Sharia’, the mosque and many more connotations of Islam is seen as a threat to the western world, which has led to the fear of the religion.“Islamophobia is a prejudice against, or hatred or irrational fear of, Muslims”[1]. Ever since 9/11 took –place Muslims have been negatively represented in the British media. “Since 9/11, Islam has rarely left the headlines in the UK, with one leading newspaper describing the Muslim community as a "troublesome minority"[2]. This essay will cover every type of representations and stereotypes given by mainstream British media institutions to Muslims pre and post 9/11.
“9/11 is marked out as a significant event in the current political and historical context in that it signalled a discernible shift to a new politics categorised in specific “Western” countries by the “war on terror”. [3] Pre 9/11 Muslims were represented as immigrants, the media spotlight wasn’t on Muslims as the western world didn’t have a strong reason to why they should unfairly represent Muslims.
Post 9/11 Muslims have become the centre of attention; most Hollywood movies now have a Muslim villain, whose plan is to kill everyone. The British media always has an issue to pick up on, a small problem would be enlarged which would make news headlines right away gradually demonising Muslims.
In 2005 Britain woke up to a shock, “four suicide bombers struck in central London on Thursday 7 July, killing 52 people and injuring more than 770.” [4] After a short investigation it was found that all four attackers were Muslim. The British media used this case as a tool to attract readership but at the same time they were encouraging Islamphobia. “Research into one week's news coverage showed that 91% of articles in national newspapers about Muslims were negative. The London mayor, Ken Livingstone, who commissioned the study, said the findings were a "damning indictment" of the media and urged editors and programme makers to review the way they portray Muslims.”[5] Terrorist attacks have affected many British Muslims living in the UK, with some Muslims struggling to find senior level jobs and unemployment among Muslims being far higher than what the national average should be.
Despite British Muslims being attacked in the media on a regular basis polls still show “83% of Muslims are proud to be British citizens, compared to 79% of the general public” [6]
However on the other hand “47% of Britons see Muslims as a threat & 58% of Britons associate Islam with extremism” [7] Kashif Hussein, 21, a student at University College London, said: “I feel British and Muslim but since 9/11 we have to show it more, to interact more, to show that we’re not that stereotype.”[8]
Baroness Warsi was the first and only British Muslim woman to have a senior role in the conservative party; she was the political party’s co-chair leader. She was an inspiration for other Muslim females to follow her steps as she showed that it is possible to be Muslim and still have such a high-ranking role. “David Cameron saw her real value as someone who could prop up the image of a modern reformist party comfortable in its multi-cultural skin.”[9] In 2011 the conservative party had a reshuffle, removing Warsi from her current role; many argued that the government was pushing on the idea of Islamphobia as it was causing a decrease of the party’s status.
The British media have also used Abu Hamza “an Egyptian-born and former imam, who has preached Islamic fundamentalism and militant Islamism and jihad[10] and represent him in the news as a leader of the Muslim community, allowing gullible readers to believe he is a representation of Islamic beliefs and ideologies. “The media is seeking out those with the loudest voices who fit their own agenda rather than fitting the agenda around the more significant voices, deliberately suggesting a cynicism where all Muslims have synonymous views.” [11]
A survey in 2011 was commissioned about Islamphobia, using this academic research it is clear to understand that when Brits are put to the question “of the following groups who do you think is most to blame for Islamphobia in the UK", 29% of people blamed the media”. [12] This research is clear evidence that Muslims themselves don’t portray themselves negatively in person; it’s the media who mediate the story and blow up small issues onto a huge scale bombarding viewers with biased views and opinions, which create a negative hatred representation on Muslims which we now call Islamphobia.
The IRA was a large Irish republican army who caused much trouble and danger yet the media never thought to categorize the whole catholic community as “dangerous” or “trouble”, is this because there are not enough Muslim gatekeepers to speak out and stop the media from producing these texts that are progressively encouraging Islamphobia, or is it that the media have mercy on other religions. The problem with the British media is that it is “ridiculous that moderate Muslims had been accused of not speaking out. When we speak we are ignored by the media, but when Abu Hamza or Omar Bakri Mohammed says something they are all over the papers."[15] This is a prime example of the media causing moral panic for the public.
However in recent years many organizations have used the issue of terrorism and Islam as comedy. The perfect example is 2010 film, four lions this black comedy genre moving image text was brought to the British cinema screens 10 years after 9/11 which touched on the issue of Islam. This film is made to make people laugh but the topic is extremely important. 10 years after the terrorist attacks in the United States, some argue that society has now learnt to take an easier approach on the subject of terrorism and films like 4 lions are created for us to escape from real life problems and issues. There is a particular scene which pushes Islamphobia to the edge where non-Muslims may view and question that every Muslims mission is to kill people living in the western world which can cause moral panic.
This clip represents Muslims in a negative approach for example the character who is dressed to be a radical Muslim, wearing Islamic clothing, has a full grown beard and is shown with a gun in his hand firing it into the sky this clip can connote that all Muslims are on an undercover mission to be terrorists. The accent of the character is a northern English accent which gives a negative representation on Muslims living in the north of England. The use of the word “paki” is reminding audiences that the character is Muslim and it creates an image of all Pakistanis to be extremist and violent people. The character makes a joke about James bond which is associated with the western world.
The representation in this film is made by what the media have gradually represented all Muslims to be. Non-Muslims would say this representation is fair as they image Muslims as a threat, especially the ones living away from the western world. Muslim audiences will challenge this as an unfair representation as the religion of Islam is about peace even though it is a comedy, “In Arabic, the word “Islam” means submission or surrender – however, it was derived from the root word “salam”. From this root word, you can also derive the words with peace and safety”[16]. The film's controversy spread before it opened to the public; families of those killed in the London bomb attacks in 2005 appealed to cinemas to not show the film. “Four lads from the north, all with strong Yorkshire accents - and the bombers were from Yorkshire - travelling down to London. It's very specific. It's very aligned to what happened in 2005 and they talk about bombing in London. That's not parodying or being satirical about terrorists. It's making money about a specific attack."[17] This again argues the point of should the regulatory bodies or authority such as the government be allowing the media to take a mockery of terrorism to this extent where it can hurt family members who have lost loved ones in terrorist attacks, or has society just dumbed down and accepted to have a laugh about real life events?
Another representation of Muslims were made recently in 2012 with a family based comedy sitcom called Citizen Khan which was bought to the British nations television screens on public broadcaster BBC 1. “It is set in Sparkhill, Birmingham, described by its lead character Mr Khan (Adil Ray) as "the capital of British Pakistan." Citizen Khan follows the trials and tribulations of Mr Khan, a loud-mouthed, patriarchal, self-appointed community leader, and his long suffering wife.”[18] The representation given by the BBC to Mr Khan is a devoted Muslim, who follows British ideologies. “Some British Muslims have claimed that the show "ridicules" and "insults" Islam.”[19]. Throughout the text Mr Khan is wearing the Islamic religious headwear but at the same time is wearing a suit, this could allow personal identification for the viewers and show comparison of both Pakistani and British cultures. This could be a fair representation of the media showing audiences how Muslims want to start embracing British lifestyles but this representation isn’t shown all the time, the other representation that is showed a lot is how Mr Khans daughter is being a “bad Muslim” whenever her father is there she pretends to read the Quran or puts on her headscarf but once he is gone she goes to her British lifestyle such as going on her phone and taking off her headscarf. This could allow non-Muslims to feel and think that, all Muslim parents make their children study religion (Sharia law). This could be a threat for some people in relation to what they hear on the news or read in the newspapers which add to the panic of Islamphobia.
On the other hand there is a point where one can argue, do you have to be famous and contribute towards the country’s pride to be accepted. For a Muslim to be accepted by todays British society they must ensure they follow western qualities and ideologies. One example can be Amir Khan who is one of very few British Pakistani Muslim males who is a popular sporting icon and is praised by the British media for his work and is frequently appearing on many television shows. This shows a different representation by the British media as usually Muslims are represented as terrorist or immigrants whereas with Amir Khan he is represented as the nation’s hero for winning bronze at the 2004 Olympics. Amir Khan now in his professional boxing career at times decides to wear shorts which have both the Pakistan and Union Jack flag on the side; this is a way for him to represent his Muslim Pakistani roots and at the same time his place of birth which is in the United Kingdom.
As time moves on and we look into the future of new digital technology, with media consumers becoming media producers, there is a chance of hope for Muslims to stop being represented as “barbaric, ignorant, closed-minded semi-citizens, maddened terrorists or as intolerant religious zealots” [20] As UGC continues, the representation of Muslims may change and become positive. Consumers of the media can upload videos on to YouTube which can circulate around the world. All it takes is one video of a Muslim being captured doing something which audiences would want to see, for example saving someone’s life in a train station. Even though UGC is growing, the main media such as new stations and tabloids will always remain as viewers need to refer and relate to something they feel is real, reliable and professional.
To conclude, the representation of Muslims post 9/11 has been controversial and there have been many attempts to try and tackle the problem, gradually allowing society to have ease with the culture of Islam. However the media is a huge business who wants to entertain audiences which results to maximization of sales or readership which outcomes to huge profit margins for the institution. Even though the news is “thought” to be non-fiction, it is always mediated before it is sent out for audiences to access making some parts fictional. This is done to entertain and keep audiences watching which increases attraction. As a result of this the large media organizations will continue to stereotype and give false representation of Islam.
Word count: 2,316
[1] Fredman, Sandra (2001). Discrimination and human rights: the case of racism. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. p. 121
[2] Petely, Juilan Pointing the Finger p. 74
[3] Poole, Elizabeth Change and Continuity in the Representation of British Muslims Before and After 9/11 p.4
[7] Ibid
[8] http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/01/knee-jerk-islamophobia-why-trevor-kavanagh-wrong-about-british-muslims
[11] Allen, Christopher: Islamophobia in the Media since 9/11 p. 87
[14] Ibid
[15] Ibid
[17]http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/sheffield/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8678000/8678570.stm
[19] Ibid
[20] Abbas, Tahir. Media Capital and the Representation of South Asian Muslims in the British Press: An Ideological Analysis Journal 2001 p.32
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