Sarah

Miller
COMM 201
Dr. Sietman

Informative Speech Outline


Topic: Islamophobia

General Purpose: To inform

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the way that Islamophobia has
infiltrated the public conscience through popular movies and to highlight and
correct some of the common misconceptions and fears of Islam

Thesis: Islamophobiaor, a prejudice against Islam and Muslimshas pervaded
the public stream of consciousness, perpetuated by the movie industry. There are
many misconceptions and fears of Islam, but if people knew the true teachings of
Islam, or even real Muslim people, they may be able to eliminate their fears and
prejudices.

Introduction:

I. Narrative 1: Im a caller at Phonathon. A few weeks ago, I was speaking on
the phone with a parent of a Wheaton student, and when I asked him for
prayer requests, he proceeded to rant angrily about how Islam is
dangerous and evil. He said, Millions of Muslims all over the world would
chop off my head at the drop of a hat.

II. Narrative 2: Fast forward a week and Im sitting in a Muslim mosque. Im
the only white person and only Christian, surrounded by at least a
hundred Muslim men and 10-20 women, many of whom have immigrated
to the U.S. (Not one of them chops off my head.)

III. The first scenario is an example of Islamophobia.
a. Islamophobia is a dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims
(Oxford Dictionary, 2015).
b. Islamophobia also includes unfounded hostility towards Muslims
(Duss, Taeb, Gude, & Sofer, 2015).
c. Islamophobia has become increasingly prevalent in the years since
9/11.
d. Millennials (our generation) are especially susceptible to
Islamophobic ideas, post 9/11.

IV. Why it matters:
i. Wouldnt you want to know if you were being fed lies?
 ii. As a Christian, youre called to love all people.
1. 1.6 billion Muslims in world (Pratt, 2011)
2. Youre likely to interact with Muslim people at some
point, and how can you love someone if youre
prejudiced against or afraid of them?
iii. As Christians, were also called to stand up for those who are
discriminated against or marginalized.
1. Research shows that Muslims are being discriminated
against for their race, language, dress, name, religion,
even food. (el-Aswad, 2013)

V. I think we can all agree that discrimination and stereotyping is wrong.
But as members of one of the last generations that will retain memory of
the 9/11 attacks, some of you may question why that hostility/fear is
unfounded.
a. In the next few minutes, I will explain
i. How the movie industry has contributed to a collective fear of
the Muslim world, especially since 9/11
ii. Several common misconceptions and fears of Islam
iii. Islams true teachings and what Muslim people are actually like

Body:


I. First, its important to note that Islamophobia is spread through a broad
variety of channels, but because entertainment is particularly relevant to
our generation, I have chosen to focus on that. I want to explain how
Hollywood has perpetuated Islamophobia. There are two main ways:
a. Painting the Muslim world as a strange, dangerous place. America is
safe, normal, familiar. Muslim countries are weird, different, scary.
b. Appealing to stereotypes and cliches, especially the violent, fanatical
Muslim terrorist.
c. What it boils down to: Hollywood is keeping you ignorant. (Pratt,
2011)

II. Raise your hand if you saw the Disney movie Aladdin when you were
little.
a. This movie was likely your first exposure to the otherness that is the
Muslim world.
i. Bad/evil characters have exotic, exaggerated Middle-Eastern
features, while good characters have Western features.
b. The opening song contains the line:
I come from a land, from a faraway place where the caravan
camels roam / Where they cut off your ear if they dont like your
face / Its barbaric, but hey, its home
 c. America is safe, normal, good. Muslim world is foreign, scary, savage,
something different, something to be feared.

III. While Aladdin is a very mild example, it is a good starting point for
understanding how Hollywood perpetuates Islamophobia.

IV. Other examples include:
a. Syriana (2005)
i. This movies characters include an Islamic terrorist and
brutally violent Arab mercenary.

b. Argo (2012)
i. Iranians are portrayed as a mass of violent religious fanatics.
1. Wide-angle camera shots reduce Iranian people to a
mob of indistinguishable faces speaking untranslated
Farsi.
2. In contrast, American characters have character
development, emotion, close-up shots.
ii. Again, Muslim people are the other; they are less human than
Americans.

c. Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
i. Like the ones before it, Zero Dark Thirty added to the already
negative public opinion of Islam, but, disturbingly, also
glorified torture and violence against Muslim people.
ii. (Show twitter page with tweets following ZDT premiere) These
are tweets following the movies premiere, evidence that
Islamophobia is becoming increasingly rampant in the public
conscience.

d. American Sniper (2014)
i. This movie had massive success in the U.S.
ii. While many people would argue that A.S. actually portrayed
Muslims in a sympathetic light, many critics disagree. Scott
Whitlock says it best:
[Chris] Kyles version of the Iraq war was black and
white. There was no room for humanizing Iraqis when
he had his finger on the trigger. To Kyle, if they werent
Americans, they were the enemy. Unfortunately, some
of those feelings have spread into our culture. The
public reaction to the movie American Sniper also
highlights some of the most disturbing consequences of
this war, the normalization of Islamophobia being one
of them. Scott Whitlock, Senior News Analyst and
Contributing Editor for MSNBC NewsBusters (Whitlock,
2015)
 iii. Chris Kyle represents America, the killing machine with a
heart of gold, and Muslims are at his mercyhe might as well
be hunting animals.


V. So those are a few examples of how Hollywood has perpetuated
Islamophobia, especially in our generation. To summarize, these movies
have taught us:
a. That the Muslim world is barbaric and strange
b. That Muslim people are prone to violence and religious extremism
c. To fear Islam and Muslim peoplehostility is acceptable

Conclusion:

I. In reality, the Islam that I have experienced stands in stark contrast to
this idea.
a. Rewind a little bit to the story I began about sitting in a mosque a few
weeks ago. I visited out of curiosity, and was met with incredible
hospitality, kindness, and generosity.
b. I had a conversation with the Imam over chicken and rice, discussed
Islam and Christianity.
i. Islams teachings encourage peace, love, and kindness to all.
ii. He was deeply saddened by the Islam that America sees.

II. (Show picture of mosque in Wheaton) The mosque I visited was right
here in Wheaton, just 5 minutes from here. As Christians, we are
commanded to love our neighbors, and I think this is an opportunity to do
that. How will you choose to love yours?





















Sources

el-Aswad, -S. (2013). Images of Muslims in Western Scholarship and Media after 9/11.

Digest of Middle East Studies, 22(1), 39-56.

doi: 10.1111/dome.12010

Duss, M., Taeb, Y., Gude, K., & Sofer, K. (2015). Fear, Inc. 2.0 The Islamophobia

networks efforts to manufacture hate in America. Center for American

Progress, 5-67.

Pratt, D. (2011). Islamophobia: ignorance, imagination, identity and interaction.

Islam and Christianmuslim Relations, 22(4), 379-389.

doi: 10.1080/09596410.2011.606185

Whitlock, S. (2015). Ed Schultz 'Disturbed' By 'American Sniper' and the

'Normalizing of Islamophobia'. MSNBC Newsbusters.