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Portrayal of Muslims in Western Media

Introduction

"The media as an institution plays a significant and predominant role in the cultural
production of knowledge" Poole Elizabeth

In spite of globalization and modern technologies; most of the people do not travel globally;
rather, they draw their information about the other cultures or religious from the media reports.

According to McNally Izcaray (1986) “the mass media can contribute to people’s
understanding— or misunderstanding —of each other’s countries”
He added:
“More than seventy-five years ago; people get their information about the world outside
their community through the mass media”

needless to say it's still the same until our present day, mass media play a key role in constructing
the image of various cultures and their peoples, and some of these ideas that the Western people
have about Islam are due to the mass media; News anchors and editors who cover the Muslims
world often know nothing or very little about Islam; and In most cases they mixed up local
traditions of some Muslims societies with Islamic values.

Sir lecture: Portrayal of Muslims and Islam in Western Media.

Stereotype:
In social psychology, a stereotype is any thought widely adopted about specific types of
individuals or certain ways of behaving intended to represent the entire group of those
individuals or behaviors as a whole. These thoughts or beliefs may or may not accurately reflect
reality.

Othering: Clear divide between “Us” and “Others”

Orientalism: How west see east. Include Arab Muslim region.

Edward Said says:-

Orient is east of the world.

Oxidant is west of the world.

West says:-
East’s are ignorant; non-growth oriented etc and west is Modern, developed and democratic.
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Media Portray Islam:-

Media Portray Islam and Muslims as negative as possible they represents Muslims as ignorant,
negative, religious, fundamentalist. And Global Media represents Islam and Muslims as terrorists
and Extremist.

Media Cultivation Theory:-

 Media cultivates reality.
 Cultivation takes a lot of time.
 It is a well planned process.
 Media hits slowly.
 Media’s slow misrepresentation.
 Media’s slow monopoly.

3 Types of Reaction of Muslims upon Criticism.

1) Apologetic view point: Woh kehta hai toh theek hoga.

2) Radical/Vocal view point: Bura bhala kehna.
3) Terrorism: Its reaction violence.

Pre-text: is for designing war. It is a pre-planned process. Give reason for inveigh on other
country i.e. 9/11 was pre-text.

Islamophobia: Phobia is unreasoned fear. West generated this term. They are feared of
Muslims and about their increasingly population. All media are included in this i.e. literature,
comics, films, vlogs, blogs and games etc.

Two Types that West says:

1) Fundamentalist Islam: Rigid Muslims

2) Sufism Islam: Soft/absorbent.

Interfaith Dialogue: Jews and Christians dialogue with Muslims that, Muslims should leave
some of their faith and exercises.
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Jihad Concept: Jihad is a central concept/idea. Western media says us Jihadi. But Jihad in
actual is you stand against your ego is the basic concept of Jihad but Western media changes the
true meaning of Jihad into extremism and terrorism.

Final Project

Portrayal of Turkey in Western Media

Overview of Turkey:-

Republic of Turkey
Capital: Ankara
Largest city: Istanbul
Population: 79.5 million
Area: 779,452 sq km (300,948 sq miles)
Major language: Turkish (official).
Major religion: Islam
Life expectancy: 72 years (men), 79 (women)
Currency: Turkish lira

Turkey is described
as a country that is
not only
economically but
also culturally
different and
underdeveloped;
that is, it is seen as

Western Media Portrays Turkey as:-

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Whoever reads the British newspapers will face various descriptions of Turkey as a poor,
predominantly Muslim, culturally alien, over-crowded country with a population of 72 million; a
country with a shaky democracy and economy that lies geographically outside the boundaries of
Europe.

European attitudes toward Turkey’s Muslim majority seem to explain why Turkey has been
subjected to the toughest terms ever imposed on any EU applicant.
The other interesting point is that in the quotations from Abdullah
Gul, the foreign minister of Turkey, the phrase “inþallah” –meaning
Turkey is portrayed
God willing - is always placed in the sentences with inverted commas
as a country that
to indicate that Gul and his government are highly pro Islamic. Even
has no power or
though the Turkish foreign minister does use the term “inþallah”, the
journalist could have translated it into English as “hopefully”, which initiative to resist
is essentially what it has come to mean in Turkey today. But they EU regulations
preferred not to use the term ‘hopefully’. Such journalistic choices which are further
reinforce the discourse constructed by the British media which depicts presented as
Turkey as a predominantly Muslim country with a religious unalterable, and as
government. an ultimate series
of rules
Politics:-

Western media always covers the politics of Turkey as negative as

possible for them because the Leader of nation Erdogan stands for
Muslims rights worldwide he raised voice for Syria’s and Burma’s Muslims.

Regrettably, the situation in 2018 is not very different, as Western news reporting of the early
elections in Turkey tends to be biased, sensationalist, and at times, borderline defamatory.

For example, French weekly magazine Le Point published a cover article on May 24 with the
headline “Erdogan, the dictator.”

Turkey has always been Islamist in fact. From the middle age to this day, there has always been
domination of Islam in all aspects of life.

However, between 1923–2002 it has been ruled by secular governments exclusively. Now that
Islamist majority finally found a strong leader to represent itself, namely Erdogan, it has become
more powerful, self-confident and more interested in affairs of Islamic world. I can say this is
quite appreciated by the Islamic world in fact.

Since Turkey has always been one of the pioneers of Islamic culture, and one of the main
political and military powers of Islam.

In the West it sounds terrifying, since it may affect political interests. However, it is usually
portrayed by the western media as worse than it is.
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Economy:-
The economy of Turkey is defined as an emerging market economy by the IMF. Turkey is
among the world's developed countries according to the CIA World Fact book. Turkey is also
defined by economists and political scientists as one of the world's newly industrialized
countries. Turkey has the world's 17th-largest nominal GDP, and 13th-largest GDP by PPP. The
country is among the world's leading producers of agricultural products; textiles; motor vehicles,
ships and other transportation equipment; construction materials; consumer electronics and home
appliances.

Culture:-
Turkey is a mixed cultural country both European and Asian culture lies within the whole.
Istanbul is the cultural capital of Europe; it keeps many historical monuments which reflect the
rich history of the country. Istanbul is the most wealthy and commercial city of the country and
has the maximum population. Both Liberal and Islamic culture carried by its citizens. Mosques,
Churches, Clubs and bars all are there in this country at the same because it is the secular and
liberal country for both Muslims and Non-Muslims.

If you were dropped into the modern center of many of the major cities in Turkey you could very
easily assume that you were in Europe, in terms of the kinds of the attire of people walking past
you, the cultural offerings, economic development, and commercialization you see on the high
street. On the other hand, you could find plenty of villages and rural areas that seem to have
barely advanced beyond the middle ages; the same can be said of most of eastern and
southeastern Europe. Many Turks feel "European" and live "European" lives - whatever exactly
that means. Many Turks don't feel this way. Many surely don't think about the distinction.

It is important to note that the liberal establishment has, of late, felt under pressure in Turkey, and
the current government is fairly conservative culturally and may be pushing Turkey away from
Europe. On the other hand, Atatürk, the father of modern Turkey, pushed his country very openly
towards Europe and secularism in the early 20th century (for example, instituting women's
suffrage in 1934, before many European countries), and his legacy is still a gigantic influence in
Turkey today.

Tourism:-
Istanbul is the seventh touristic destination in the world with over 9.4 millions of visitors in
2011. Istanbul welcomed a large part of tourists who come in Turkey, in 2010. The city was also
designated Cultural capital of Europe in 2010.

Tourism in Turkey has experienced rapid growth in the last twenty years, and constitutes an
important part of the economy. The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism currently promotes
Turkish tourism under the Turkey Home name. At its height in 2014, Turkey attracted around 42
million foreign tourists, ranking as the 6th most popular tourist destination in the world. This
number however declined to around 36 million in 2015, deteriorated to around 25 million in
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2016 and still further in 2017, due to regional uncertainties, political tension with Russia,
terrorist attacks and the unfavorable Erdoğan regime image abroad.

Common Stereotypes:-

 Turkey is a Very Conservative Country

 Turkish Cuisine Consists Mainly of Kebab

 Turks Ride Camels

 Turkish Films are Just Cheap Remakes of Hollywood Movies

Conclusion:-
It has been observed that the relationship between Turkey and Europe dates back to the period of
the Ottoman Empire, and that the conflicts experienced then have created stereotypes and images
of Turkey in the memory of European nations. The discourse of the British media regarding
Turkey is not the reason for, but rather the result of, a deep-rooted Orientals discourse and it is
clear evidence that this discourse is still very effective in shaping texts about Turkey. For this
reason, Turkey should find a way to change the stereotypes that the European nations hold about
it. The EU media should abandon their habits of covering events from a negative approach which
create and sustain a negative image of Turkey in the European mind. European public opinion
regarding Turkey will not change unless the media abandons its biases and prejudices. Therefore,
the European media must be aware of their responsibilities before determining how to cover and
construct news events regarding a country which has strong and historical ties with European
countries. In short, the reason why Turkey’s entry to the EU is relatively more remote is due to
the effects of an Orientals discourse that describes Turkey as the ‘other’ in terms of cultural
differences.

2nd Country
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Overview:-

Capital: Islamabad

Largest city: Karachi

National Language: Urdu

Currency: Pakistani Rupee (Rs) (PKR)

Population: 212,742,631

Area: 881,913 Km

Western Media Portrays Pakistan as:-

Pakistan image remain controversial throughout its history. It becomes more critical during
dictatorship period. It has taken a steep downward after the event of 9/11 and General Musharaf
Coup. There are many reasons, which tarnished the image of Pakistan in western world especial
in America. Al-Qaida, Taliban, Military Coup and political instability in the Country are the main
reasons of poor image of the country in the world. Now a day’s Pakistan- U.S relations are in
great trouble. America criticized Pakistan’s; ISI, army, nuclear program, role in war on terror,
talban’s & al-Qaida’s presences in Pakistan and Pakistan criticize American’s drown attacks,
attitude toward Pakistan, policy of unequal relations and mistrust on Pakistan. But it is reality
that close relation with one another are in the favor of both countries. Western media portrays
Pakistan as terrorists, extremists and ignorant. They portray us as uneducated and non growth
oriented.

Politics:-
Politics is an important topic for every Pakistani and Western media also takes interest in politics
of Pakistan. The significance of media and news can’t be denied in information age. To
comprehend the international politics one need to closely monitor and analyze the international
media. In this context if we analyze the US media reporting about Pakistan, an evident bias can
be seen in US media reporting. US media portrays Pakistan as a terrorist state and extremist
society, while tending to portray those countries positively which are close to the interests of the
United States even when they represent non-democratic regimes.
Media construct news for the people in a given society. “News is a socially created product, not a
reflection of an objective reality. Ever since News is a socially constructed product. It is
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influenced by a number of factors, i.e., religion, political, economic, and ideological.

Pakistan is covered in the western media in terms of an overall frame of West versus Islam. This
apparent layer in the U.S. media about the coverage of Islam is product of the lack of journalist’s
knowledge and understanding about Islam and Muslim society. Not even Western media but also
our Pakistani media portrays our politics negative every channel has its own policy and every
matter is ruined over media channels like never before day by day the coverage of politics goes
on to extreme level i.e. Panama Case, rain forecast and flood situation, blaming on each another
so West take advantage of our owns media negligence.

Economy:-
Pakistan relies in the Third world according to the global divide. Pakistan’s economy is not
stronger than as much as India has. Pakistan is Underdeveloped country. West says us non
growth oriented. Some western media reports have also created hype about Pakistan’s inability to
service the accumulating debt. CPEC is the most important contract between China and Pakistan
but Western media and Indian Media also make it as a controversy. Pakistan despite the financial
constraints also had to divert huge funds to the war on terror. The economy reportedly also
suffered a loss of Rs.120 billion due its involvement in the fight against terrorism. The narrow
base of tax revenue is also one of the major factors necessitating borrowing for development
needs. In fact, Pakistan is one of the countries with the lowest rates of tax collection in the world.
It has long been troubled by the tax problem, which is one of the main reasons behind its fiscal
deficit.

Culture:-
European and American is slowly hitting our society. Extensive promotion of Western products
and brands, effect of local values and trends, language
changes and change in meal preferences has change our
perceptions about our culture and west’s culture. Western
media shows our culture very conservative and narrow
minded they said that Pakistanis are so backward nation but
deliberately they exaggerate their culture through their
brands of clothing and food like Mc Donald’s through
localization they change our perspective and now we are
leaving our culture and imperialized by western
modernization. Valentine’s day , new year celebrations are not in our culture but we are
following this all just because of cultural imperialism.

Tourism:-
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Tourism in Pakistan is a growing industry. In

2010, Lonely Planet termed Pakistan as being
"...tourism's ‘next big thing’ for more years
than we care to remember. [But] world media
headlines [always] send things off the
rails". In 2018, the British Backpacker
Society ranked Pakistan as the world's
top adventure travel destination, describing
the country as "one of the friendliest
countries on earth, with mountain scenery that is beyond anyone’s wildest
imagination." This geographically and ethnically diverse country has much to offer, from natural
beauty and historical heritage to cultural diversity. According to the Travel and Tourism
Competitiveness Report 2017 released by the World Economic Forum, the direct contribution of
travel and tourism to Pakistan's GDP in 2015 was US$ 328.3 million, constituting 2.8% of the
total GDP. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the direct contribution of travel
and tourism to Pakistan's GDP in 2016 was US$ 7.6 billion (PKR 793.0 billion), constituting
2.7% of the total GDP. By 2025, the government predicts tourism will contribute ₨1
trillion (US$9.5 billion) to the Pakistani economy. From last 5 years Pakistan get control over
Terrorism very well so tourism is promoting in our country now otherwise west portrays us
terrorist and defame denounce our country and people just for the sake of propaganda against
Pakistan.

Stereotypes:-
 Fundamentalist
 Extremist
 Jihadist
 Terrorist
 Ignorant
 Illiterate
 Backward

Conclusion:-
Stop tour beyond the realms of International Media. There is no denying the relentless realities of
corruption, injustice and violence which plague the country today, but there are two sides to
every coin. The above is just a snapshot of the potential of the people of Pakistan without
adequate resources, support or infrastructure. The day they rise for their rights and break free of
their shackles they will see those tomorrows have their name written all over it, and so will the
world around them.
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Overall Conclusion:-
 A negative image of Islam is becoming more inherent in the Western culture from inaccurate
media coverage, and the media helps to make an image of Islam to unsuspecting audiences.
 The Western public often is misinformed about Muslims through the images on television,
motion picture screens, magazines, radios, and comic strips in newspapers, which promote
strong negative messages among their audiences.
 The western hegemony over the international flow of information and communication
technology makes no choices for Muslims media but to set their own news agencies and
work together to break this western domination.