Topic > Misrepresentation of Muslims in the British media

Muslims have occupied a central role in the British media following the war on terror, as well as featuring in issues and debates around radicalisation, immigration and the oppression of women. This portrayal has been largely negative throughout the 21st century, along with the rise of Islamophobia. It has been the subject of extensive debate by many activist groups and public figures. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In the British media, the portrayal of Muslims is negative. However, we see some positive images making their way into major headlines. In the article shown above, Malala, a Pakistani women's rights activist, is a positive role model for women of all ethnic backgrounds. The media are seen not only as tools that transfer information and ideas, but also as tools that shape opinions and present particular versions of reality. Gurevitch's in-depth studies are still very relevant in today's modern media, all over the world. The public is becoming increasingly active rather than passive, through the increasing expression of opinions on social media. Since most media articles portray religion in a negative way, such as extremists and terrorists. After September 11th we see a change in the perception of Muslims in the media from largely positive to almost totally negative. An article published by the Huffington Post in 2016 explained the five Muslim stereotypes: Muslims hate Jews and Christians Muslims hate LGBTQ Muslims don't believe in Jesus Christ or God Muslims wear turbans Islam promotes groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS they debunk one by one using explanations from religious perspectives and the point of view of Muslims. By publishing articles like these, the Huffington Post rejects the stereotypes listed and gives Muslims a voice. This negative perception is visible all over the world, in the United States of America there has been a spike in Islamophobia due to such events of the Iraq war. The media fueled the different perceptions by creating negative articles. A report published by PEW in 2015 (above) shows the increase in hate crimes against Muslims, the level is just below that of hate crimes after 9/11. This stalemate in hate crimes is mirrored by negative media coverage of Muslims and is most likely fueled by the media. A study by the Islamic Human Rights Commission explores many aspects of the topic, one of which is how the British media's coverage of minority groups has altered public views of the Muslim religion. “Media representation of minorities and minority group issues – or rather the lack thereof – is a key factor in determining how mainstream audiences think about Muslims.” We see these stereotypes follow through in the film. Critic Kaleem Aftab explains his point of view on Riz Ahmed's latest film, "City of Tiny Lights". Saying that the film "cannot mask the need for radical structural change". He believes independent filmmakers have a hard time breaking away from "box office hits." Filmmakers do not challenge these stereotypes for fear that their audience numbers will decline or that they will lose their reputation: "nothing is planned to support the niches." Co-writer and main character of the 2010 comedy "The Four Lions" Riz Ahmed says it is "ironic" as it shows a group of Muslim friends from Sheffield becoming radicalized and failing to commit a terrorist attack on the London Marathon.He took a taboo topic lightly and turned it into a hilarious comedy. However, this film did not come out without dislike, the Muslim community was angered by the film for its "controversial comedy". Some even argue that this depiction has made its way into children's films and cartoons. "Aladdin" (1992), one report questions why a children's cartoon depicts Aladdin's homeland as "barbaric" and notes that the "good Arabs"3, including Aladdin, are given American accents while the others in the cast have exaggerated and ridiculous Arabs"3. This projects the idea that Muslims are aggressive and evil, already creating a negative denotation towards children at an early age. A more recent documentary – “What Muslims Really Think” (2016) – sheds light on the topic from the perspective of Muslims themselves, one woman going on to say that “Extremism is a very small minority of the Muslim community – it is” It is not stated in Karan that extremists are violent, they really are! Taking Islam to extremes'. However, in the program, the group's overall projection was largely negative. Leaving many angry. A Channel 4 poll revealed these views: Nazia, 35, West Yorkshire Rating: 1 out of 5 – “boring, inaccurate and sensationalist” Ibrahim Ilyas, 18, Birmingham Rating: 0 out of 5 – “reinforced the us versus them narrative” . An article published by Huffington post in 2016 explained the five Muslim stereotypes: Muslims hate Jews and Christians Muslims hate LGBTQ Muslims don't believe in Jesus Christ or God Muslims wear turbans Islam promotes groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS They debunk them one by one using explanations from religious perspectives and the point of view of Muslims. By publishing articles like these, the Huffington Post rejects the stereotypes listed and gives Muslims a voice. This negative perception is visible all over the world, in the United States of America there has been a spike in Islamophobia due to such events of the Iraq war. The media fueled the different perceptions by creating negative articles. The Guardian earlier this year (2017) published an article entitled "Almost all black characters are terrorists", the article goes on to explain how before 9/11 the portrayal of Muslims was much more positive than today . However, a change caused by the events of September 11th has virtually removed positive representations entirely. In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Face the Facts: Islamophobia, John Waite investigates whether the British press is contributing to growing tensions between communities through negative representations. of Muslims. The radio show explores how the press has distorted stories about Muslims and how this links to the growth of English Defense League (EDL) activity. This is illustrated by the fact that the English Defense League was inspired in particular by a news story surrounding the "winter myth", the unfounded claim that councils are rebranding Christmas or even banning it. According to data released by Sadiq Khan in 2017, attacks against Muslims have increased fivefold since the London Bridge attacks and a 40% increase in racial incidents. Furthermore, coverage of terrorist attacks whose perpetrators were Muslims was considered to have a much higher level of coverage than other ethnic groups. When relating theories on this topic, three main ones are taken into consideration. The first theory is the reflexive approach, which can be considered a simplistic understanding of representation. According to the reflective approach, the meaning of objects resides within oneself and within people. Language is a way of reflecting.