Final A2 Critical Investigation Essay Complete Islamphobia

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 are 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” . Post 9/11 Muslims have been negatively represented in the British media, the role that Muslims play has changed, the group was historically marginalised as “distorted” and “an extremist, fundamentalist religion” , but the coverage of the war on terrorism has led to Muslims now being further demonised. According to Petely, “Since 9/11, Islam has rarely left the headlines in the UK, with one leading newspaper describing the Muslim community as a "troublesome minority." Due to 9/11 the representation of Muslims in the media has changed significantly. Using contemporary media texts such as four lions (2010) and citizen khan (2012), as well as other texts this essay will explore the representations and stereotypes given by mainstream British media before and after the September 11 attacks. After 9/11 westernization has become the dominant ideology when representing Muslims. After years of scrutiny, they had come to a conclusion that the Islamic radical terrorists, ‘Al Qaeda’ were to blame. 9/11 had changed “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”. As expected this was covered by the media, however most institutions took full advantage of this news and had published headlines such as “Traitor Muslims must not be let back into Britain.” As a result, one can infer that the negativitynews value (Galtung and Ruge) represented in the media has caused moral panic (Stanley Cohen) , as the media have now created a specific label given to Muslims. This stereotype is also exploited by film industries, such as Hollywood. There has been a significant increase in Muslim characters in Hollywood, mainly playing the villain. A key example of this is action adventure franchise Die Hard. In the 2013 movie “A good day to die hard” which is the fifth sequence to the successful Die Hard Movies, there is a Russian Muslim male villain, who plays a terrorist who’s plan is to cause an explosion with nuclear weapons. The film plot is similar to real life events such as 9/11 and the 2013 Boston marathon explosions. The stereotype of Muslims and Islamphobia was further fuelled in 2005, a BBC report wrote: “four Muslim suicide bombers struck in central London on Thursday 7 July, killing 52 people and injuring more than 770.” “Research into one week's news coverage showed that 91% of articles in national newspapers about Muslims were negative.” However, ex London mayor, Ken Livingston suggested the findings were a "damning indictment" of the media and urged editors and programme makers to review the way they portray Muslims.” 2011 statistics showed, “unemployment of white men in the UK is 8.3%, whereas the unemployment rate for Pakistani men is 12.8%.” The reason for this stat perhaps may be due to the constant negative portrayal of Muslims in the mass media, employers may feel the media has influenced them negatively in some sort of slight way when recruiting which has gradually damaged the statistics of employment across ethnicity’s. Despite the prejudice and stereotypical representation, “83% of Muslims are proud to be British citizens, compared to 79% of the general public.” Nonetheless, “47% of Britons see Muslims as a threat and 58% of Britons associate Islam with extremism.” This perception of Muslims is perhaps due to headlines from tabloids such as the Sun, “Muslim fanatics set free to rant against freedom“ and from the evening standard “Muslim raped women for being out late” . Programmes such as BBC One panorama have also played a huge “Investigation which uncovers disturbing evidence that some Muslim children are being exposed to extremist preachers and fundamentalist Islamic groups” and Channel Four dispatches “Pakistani Rape-Gangs Targeting Young White Girls in the UK” Consequently, people such as Kashif Hussein do “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.” Thus, this further suggests that the stereotypes presented in the media affect Muslims in that they feel the need to make an effort in order to detach themselves from the media portrayal. Some may argue that this is where the (Hypodermic needle theory) appears, arguing that the media has got immediate mass power over its audiences which may be the cause for this behaviour and attitude towards Muslims. However, others argue that this theory is outdated and audiences are now much smarter and can make decisions themselves without believing what the media has to say, therefore there may be other reasons Muslims feel they are getting treated differently from others. In 2011 the conservative MP Baroness Warsi was forced to step down as the party’s co-chair leader. This caused controversy as many people had thought the government targeted Warsi because of her religion. This issue was further highlighted as “a recent parliamentary report found that Muslim women often feel pressured to change their appearance or anglicise their name in order to access employment.” This demonstrates the impact the media have not only on non-Muslims but also the people of the Islamic faith; they are portrayed negatively and thus victimise by the dominant ideology. The case of extremist Abu Hamza however can infer that Muslims themselves are adhering to this stereotype and so they will always be attached to this stigma. The “Egyptian-born and former imam, who has preached Islamic fundamentalism and militant Islamism and jihad” has been the in the news in recent years for his radical preaching, British tabloids have been targeting Hamza with headlines such as “See you later, Britain hater” . “This shows that “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.” Hamza’s mere appearance fits the stereotype and so it allows the representation to be exploited. The idea that Islamphobia is due to the media is also shared with the British public, as a survey showed “of the following groups who do you think is most to blame for Islamphobia in the UK", 29% of people blamed the media.” As the issue of the ‘war on terror’ is popular, the media have taken advantage of it, however the consequence has victimised Muslims. This is further supported by the leader of the Muslim council of Britain Dr Bari, who told the Sunday telegraph “sections of the media are demonising Muslims, treating them as if they're all terrorists — and that encourages other people to do the same.” To emphasise the victimisation of the Muslim community," when the IRA was blowing people up, the entire Catholic population of Britain was not demonised, so why is it happening to the Muslim community?" The headlines used for this attack by the Sun were “Real IRA bombs found: man held” , whereas headlines involving Muslims were “Three Brit Muslims plotted slaughter worse than 7/7.” This contrast shows that when non-Muslims are involved the media will not pick out the religion, the person who is involved will be stated by their gender, but if a Muslim is involved then the media deliberately state the religion so it can catch the audience’s attention. Therefore it can be said 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." Four Lions is a British film which was released in 2010,Four Lions is a black comedy which was brought to the British cinema screens by Chris Morris an English satirist who is known for his controversial comedies,the film came Ten years after 9/11 which touched on the issue of Islamic ideologies and terrorism. The film is made to make people laugh but the topic is extremely sensitive. Ten years after the terrorist attacks in the United States, some argue that society has now learnt to take an easier approach on the subjectof terrorism and films such as Four Lions are created for us to escape from real life problems and issues. This clip shows a Muslim male who is dressed to be a “radical Muslim”, wearing Islamic clothing, has a full grown beard and is shown with a firearms weapon in his hand shooting it into the sky. According to the cultivation theory , this would lead passive audience members into believing that the stereotypical views and representations shown in the media are true. This satirical comedy shows stereotypes rather than representations of Muslims which has been influenced by the British media, for example the character holding a weapon which shows danger. The accent of the character is a northern English accent, 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, this can signify the hatred the film is trying to portray by stereotypes created that Muslims hate Western countries. The stereotypical views in this film are made up of a chunk of what the media have gradually represented Muslims to be. Muslim audiences may agree with these stereotypes as being fair by seeing the funny side to the stereotypes which are being created. “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” . 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." This again argues the point of should the regulatory bodies or authority 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? As life becomes more stressful and working hours increase, society is now looking for certain things which create escapism (users and gratification theory) . On the other hand others argue that surely audiences must acknowledge that the film is satire and that Chris Morris is actually highlighting the issue that the British media is at fault for creating these false stereotypes. This film is being used a tool to attract passive audiences to wake up and stop believing what the media has to say. Another representation of Muslims was made recently in 2012 with a family - based comedy sitcom called Citizen Khan which was brought to British television screens on public broadcaster BBC 1. It is set in Sparkhill, Birmingham, described by its lead character Mr Khan 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.” The representation given by the BBC to Mr Khan is a devoted Muslim, who follows British ideologies such as purchasing the newspaper every morning, which is seen to be a British tradition. “Some British Muslims have claimed that the show "ridicules" and "insults" Islam.” 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, that 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 mobile phone and taking off her headscarf. So this representation shows that Muslim’s may still find it hard to completely change to western characteristics. On the other hand there is an argument that producer and director Adil Ray deserve credit for offering a modern, multicultural representation of Muslim Pakistanis. The sense of Mr Khan being modern such as following British Ideologies but at the same time being a devoted Muslim is what Muslims in the UK need, for audiences to accept Islam and Islamphobia. By this British Muslims gradually need to understand that they need to develop British values to fit in and then be able to speak. However, due to the main character being of an Asian background, it allows Asian characters to be more than just a token which is rarely seen in the media. This promotes multiculturalism and even though differences are shown between the two, it allows the audience to create similarities between themselves and Pakistani’s. There is a point where one can argue, do you have to be famous for the British media to accept you? For a Muslim to be accepted by today’s British society they must ensurethey 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. Some may argue that this shows a different representation by the British media as Amir Khan is represented as the nation’s hero for winning bronze at the 2004 Olympics. 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.” As user generate content continues, the stereotypes and representation of Muslims in the British media may change and become positive over the years to come. 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 person being captured doing something which audiences would want to see, for example saving someone’s life in a train station. Social networking can also fit in to this, all it takes is a group of Muslims to create an online campaign to create awareness, being that what people read or watch in the media is not always true. The campaign can promote and influence audiences to think before they believe something and not to be passive, it can also give out messages that not all Muslim’s are terrorist or dangerous which may spread and decrease Islamphobia. Even though user generated content is growing, the main media such as new stations and tabloids will always remain key to viewers to refer and relate to something to what they feel is real, reliable and professional. To conclude, the representation of Muslims post 9/11 has been strongly negative outweighing the positives.Before 9/11, Muslim’s were under-represented in the media. As they were not recognised as members of the British society, however, post 9/11 the representation of Muslim’s changed. Muslims have now become the Proppian villain of the modern media landscape and the central representation of them are as terrorists and people who refuse to adapt to Western ideologies. For a Muslim to be accepted by today’s society, they would have to have more Western qualities than the characteristics of their ethnic background. Word count: 3,071 Fredman, S. (2001).P. 121 Laughey, Dan. (2009). P. 88 Ibid Petely, J(2011) p. 74 Poole, E p.4 http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/177329/Traitor-Muslims-must-not-be-let-back-into-Britain.html http://heworthmediastudies.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/galtung-and-ruge-news-values-theory.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_panic http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/uk/05/london_blasts/what_happened/html/ http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/14/pressandpublishing.religion?INTCMP=SRCH Ibid http://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/publications/pdfs/APPGfemaleunemploymentReport-2012.pdf http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2012/jul/03/muslims-integrated-britain Ibid http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2804150/Muslim-fanatics-set-freeto-rant-against-freedom.html http://www.standard.co.uk/news/muslim-raped-women-for-being-out-late-7311612.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00w8kwz http://www.answeringmuslims.com/2011/11/dispatches-pakistani-rape-gangs.html http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/01/knee-jerk-islamophobia-why-trevor-kavanagh-wrong-about-british-muslims http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Mass%20Media/Hypodermic_Needle_Theory.doc/ Ibid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Hamza_al-Masri http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4249571/See-you-later-Britain-hater.html Allen, C (2010) p. 87 http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2011/07/22/media-blamed-for-islamophobia-in-britain http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1528485/Media-contributing-to-rise-of-Islamophobia.html Ibid http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/151555/Real-IRA-bombs-man-held.html http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4807237/Three-Brit-Muslims-plotted-slaughter-worse-than-77.html Ibid http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/cultiv.html http://muslimvoices.org/word-islam-meaning/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/sheffield/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8678000/8678570.stm http://www.slideshare.net/savannahmartina/uses-and-gratifications-theory-5876323 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Khan Ibid Ibid Abbas, T. (2001) p.32 Work Cited Books/Journals Fredman, Sandra, Discrimination and human rights: the case of racism Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2001 Petely, Julian,Pointing the finger: Islam and Muslims in the British media, Oxford: Oneworld, 2011 Allen, Christopher, Islamophobia; Farnham, Surrey ; Burlington, Vt. : Ashgate, 2010 Abbas, Tahir, Media Capital and the Representation of South Asian Muslims in the British Press: New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2004 Laughey, Dan, Media studies: theories and approaches, England: Kamera Books, 2009. Internet/Newspapers & Magazines Poole, Elizabeth Change and Continuity in the Representation of British Muslims Before and After 9/11 p.4 http://www.gmj.uottawa.ca/1102/v4i2_poole.pdf London 7/7 Bombing Attacks http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/uk/05/london_blasts/what_happened/html/ Ken Livingston View On Poll http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/14/pressandpublishing.religion?INTCMP=SRCH Proud British Muslims Survey http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2012/jul/03/muslims-integrated-britain Quote From Uni Student About Being A British Muslim http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/01/knee-jerk-islamophobia-why-trevor-kavanagh-wrong-about-british-muslims Saeeda Warsi http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/sep/05/bradford-response-cabinet-reshuffle Abu Hamza http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Hamza_al-Masri Media Blamed For Islamophobia http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2011/07/22/media-blamed-for-islamophobia-in-britain Dr Bari , Muslim Council http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1528485/Media-contributing-to-rise-of-Islamophobia.html Meaning of Islam http://muslimvoices.org/word-islam-meaning/ Review on 4 lions http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/sheffield/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8678000/8678570.stm Citizen Khan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Khan Muslim Women Prejudice http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/10/muslim-women-prejudice-getting-job Unemployment rate http://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/publications/pdfs/APPGfemaleunemploymentReport-2012.pdf News value theory http://heworthmediastudies.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/galtung-and-ruge-news-values-theory.html Moral panic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_panic Muslim Fanatics http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2804150/Muslim-fanatics-set-freeto-rant-against-freedom.html Hypodermic Theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypodermic_needle_model Muslim Raped Women http://www.standard.co.uk/news/muslim-raped-women-for-being-out-late-7311612.html4 Panorama http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00w8kwz Dispatches http://www.answeringmuslims.com/2011/11/dispatches-pakistani-rape-gangs.html Abu Hamza http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4249571/See-you-later-Britain-hater.html Traitor Muslims http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/177329/Traitor-Muslims-must-not-be-let-back-into-Britain.html London Bomb Blasts http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/uk/05/london_blasts/what_happened/html/ IRA http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/151555/Real-IRA-bombs-man-held.html Muslim Bombers http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4807237/Three-Brit-Muslims-plotted-slaughter-worse-than-77.html Escapism http://www.slideshare.net/savannahmartina/uses-and-gratifications-theory-5876323 Cultivation theory http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/cultiv.html Moving Image Texts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5-LkJzhQrQ&feature=player_embedded 4 Lions Clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bs4UvAHPvU&feature=player_embedded Citizen Khan Clip Work Consulted Books/Journals Sheehi,Stephen Islamophobia : the ideological campaign against Muslims;Atlanta, GA : Clarity Press, 2011 Ansari, Humayun :Hafez, Farid; From the Far Right to the Mainstream, Islamophobia in Party Politics and the Media; Frankfurt ; New York : Campus, 2012 Internet/Newspapers & Magazines Islamaphobia http://www.channel4.com/search/?q=islamophobia Citizen Khan Blog Offensive http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/08/29/citizen-khan-is-not-just-outdated-but-lazy-and-offensive/ Moving Image Texts Tell Mama EDL Islamaphobia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luzMCi920J4&safe=active Is Islamaphobia Acceptable http://www.channel4.com/news/is-islamaphobia-becoming-acceptable Undercover Islamic Extremists http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01n8zwn/Week_In_Week_Out_Undercover_Islamic_Extremists/ Western media insult Islam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUjUtdktExY Channel 4 Documentary Insults Islam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NVPNKCzWcI

Learning Response For 1st Draft

the grade i am aiming for in my second draft is a low B , which is level 3 and i want my mark to be 34. 

include theories
include more of my own analysis
include more footnotes such as books and internet
include more

1st draft self evalution

level: 3
mark: 29
grade: C

WWW:
good reference to research
explained how the media has stereotyped Muslims
covered primary texts
conclusion given.

EBI:
more reference to moving image research such as documentaries
go over the work as some parts don't make sense
re arrange some references
put in more footnotes and references
add more up to date research

Work Cited & Consulted

Work Cited

Books/Journals

Fredman, Sandra, Discrimination and human rights: the case of racism Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2001

Petely, Julian, Pointing the finger: Islam and Muslims in the British media, Oxford: Oneworld, 2011

Allen, Christopher, Islamophobia; Farnham, Surrey ; Burlington, Vt. : Ashgate, 2010

Abbas, Tahir, Media Capital and the Representation of South Asian Muslims in the British Press: New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2004

Internet/ Newspapers & Magazines

Poole, Elizabeth Change and Continuity in the Representation of British Muslims Before and After 9/11 p.4 http://www.gmj.uottawa.ca/1102/v4i2_poole.pdf

London 7/7 Bombing Attacks http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/uk/05/london_blasts/what_happened/html/

Ken Livingston View On Poll http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/14/pressandpublishing.religion?INTCMP=SRCH

Proud British Muslims Survey

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2012/jul/03/muslims-integrated-britain

Quote From Uni Student About Being A British Muslim

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/01/knee-jerk-islamophobia-why-trevor-kavanagh-wrong-about-british-muslims

Saeeda Warsi

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/sep/05/bradford-response-cabinet-reshuffle

Abu Hamza

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Hamza_al-Masri

Media Blamed For Islamophobia

http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2011/07/22/media-blamed-for-islamophobia-in-britain

 Dr Bari , Muslim Council

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1528485/Media-contributing-to-rise-of-Islamophobia.html

Meaning of Islam

http://muslimvoices.org/word-islam-meaning/

Review on 4 lions http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/sheffield/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8678000/8678570.stm

Citizen Khan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Khan

Moving Image Texts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5-LkJzhQrQ&feature=player_embedded 4 Lions Clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bs4UvAHPvU&feature=player_embedded Citizen Khan Clip

Work Consulted

Books/Journals

Sheehi , Stephen Islamophobia : the ideological campaign against Muslims ;Atlanta, GA : Clarity Press, 2011

Gottschalk ,Peter; Greenberg , Gabriel; Islamophobia Making Muslims the enemy; Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008

Ansari,  Humayun : Hafez, Farid; From the Far Right to the Mainstream, Islamophobia in Party Politics and the Media; Frankfurt ; New York : Campus, 2012

Esposito , John L., Kalin , Ibrahim; Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century; Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2011.

Internet/ Newspapers & Magazines

Islamaphobia

http://www.channel4.com/search/?q=islamophobia

Citizen Khan Blog Offensive

http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/08/29/citizen-khan-is-not-just-outdated-but-lazy-and-offensive/

Moving Image Texts

Tell Mama EDL Islamaphobia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luzMCi920J4&safe=active

Is Islamaphobia Acceptable

http://www.channel4.com/news/is-islamaphobia-becoming-acceptable

Undercover Islamic Extremists

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01n8zwn/Week_In_Week_Out_Undercover_Islamic_Extremists/

Western media insult Islam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUjUtdktExY

Channel 4 Documentary Insults Islam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NVPNKCzWcI

Case Study Islamophobia 1st Draft

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.

 Dr Bari who is the leader of the Muslim council of Britain told The Sunday Telegraph. “But some police officers and sections of the media are demonising Muslims, treating them as if they're all terrorists — and that encourages other people to do the same”[13]. In the 20^th century "When the IRA was blowing people up, the entire Catholic population of Britain was not demonised, so why is it happening to the Muslim community?"[14] This is a very good point made by Dr Bari, how is it that Muslims have to face all of the negative press, when it is just a small group causing the problem.

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

[4] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/uk/05/london_blasts/what_happened/html/

[5] http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/14/pressandpublishing.religion?INTCMP=SRCH

[6] http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2012/jul/03/muslims-integrated-britain

[7] Ibid

[8] http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/01/knee-jerk-islamophobia-why-trevor-kavanagh-wrong-about-british-muslims

[9] http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/sep/05/bradford-response-cabinet-reshuffle

[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Hamza_al-Masri

[11] Allen, Christopher: Islamophobia in the Media since 9/11 p. 87

[12] http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2011/07/22/media-blamed-for-islamophobia-in-britain

[13] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1528485/Media-contributing-to-rise-of-Islamophobia.html

[14] Ibid

[15] Ibid

[16] http://muslimvoices.org/word-islam-meaning/                                                  

[17]http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/sheffield/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8678000/8678570.stm

[18] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Khan

[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

#task6

 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?  

 
The words that come to mind when brainstorming Islam or Muslim most americans had given were accoiciated with violence : Osama Bin laden, 9/11, Suicide bombers, jihad, veiling, islamic laws, saudi arabia, iraq, iran and muhammed ali. (1)

It's 2013 and muslims are still being represented as terrorists, the headscarf is a symbol of threat to the western world. The British media is good at making small issues into breaking news headline, making the topic of the water cooler "did you hear what them muslim men done the other day?"






1) Peter Gottschalk: Islamophobia, Making Muslims the Enemy BOOK