ISLAMIC RACISM WITHIN THE MEDIA 1

Islamic Racism within the Media

The Portrayal of Muslims on a Global Scale

Fariha Zahid Sheikh

George Mason University

ISLAMIC RACISM WITHIN THE MEDIA

Abstract

This literature review goes in-depth of the issues surrounding racism within the media,

specifically targeting the religion of Islam. The review is meant to be read and fully understood

of such issues by a general audience. However, those who are in the field of communications,

specifically Journalism, will benefit the most. Firstly, Islam and its followers are distinctly

defined for readers who are not aware of the meaning behind the religion and of those who

follow it. By doing so, readers can better distinguish falsehood from the truth in past, current,

and future news relating to Islam. Islamophobia is thus explained, furthering knowledge over

misinformation. The review then begins to relate the attack on 9/11 to perceptions of Muslims in

society today and discusses the movement of the anti-Islamic group of Pediga, connecting the

dots on a momentous reason of why the religion is seen in a negative light. The works cited page

lists the sources which have contributed to the spread of such information.
ISLAMIC RACISM WITHIN THE MEDIA

Introduction

The news is an informative outlet to receive new and noteworthy information. Society

learns of important events through various news sources. The media is a channel through which

news is passed along. For example, that may be from television, radio, or the internet. Cellular

devices, tablets, and all sorts of emerging technologies are capable of sharing and spreading such

information. Although society has news at the tip of their fingers whenever and wherever

needed, news may not always be factual. News can come with biases, whether known of or not.

The news and media can steer our thoughts and opinions by the way they report on

certain subjects and situations. Though news is meant to be solely objective and based on facts, it

has the power to influence our feelings and emotions to events occurring globally. News can

have a domino-related effect when it comes to people and their actions. Once one domino falls,

the others fall with it. This comparison is connected specifically towards the prejudice view on

Islam. The religion of Islam and its followers are viewed in a biased way up to this day due to

both the news media and by certain individuals who claim to be Muslim, though they do not

correctly practice.

The importance of this literature review is to not only inform, but to encourage readers to

reflect in thought regarding the impact of racism within the media. By understanding how this

issue has come to be and the negativities that have come from it, individuals can broaden their

thought process, become more open minded, and spread factual information to others instead of
prejudicial opinions. This, in turn, will cause wider acceptance in diversity, assist in news

reporting and media coverage in respect to Muslims and Islam. Muslims have been targeted for

ISLAMIC RACISM WITHIN THE MEDIA

centuries, but to narrow the topic further, diving into 9/11 is a must. This is the most recent act to

have caused panic, fear, and animosity towards Muslims. The media has tried covering this news

in an objective manner, yet may have failed in doing so, causing viewers to have interpreted the

event out of proportion. This led to racism concerning a population of humans who have nothing

to do with the disastrous attack. Now, is the issue with Islamophobia due to the media itself, its

audience, or an amalgamation of both?

All About Islam

What is Islam? Before discussing any further, we must first understand the

religion that caused the creation of the term Islamophobia. Once learning the basic ground

principles of such religion, then can we understand the meaning and impact of Islamic racism

within the media. Much like the Bible within Christianity and the Torah within Judaism, Islam

has similar scriptures from historical times within its religious text, the Quran. These scriptures

include the creation of Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, arrival of Mother Mary and Jesus to name a

few. With minor dissimilarities, there are also differences with how humanity received these

spiritual messages.

In Arabic, God is translated to Allah. The words “God” and “Allah” are interchangeable.

Historically speaking, Islam has based its message to be spread through the duty of Prophets. A

prophet is a messenger and proclaimer of God. Islam has been spread by thousands of Prophets
specifically chosen by Allah, with Prophet Muhammad being the final one. During a time of

civilization worshipping and idolizing statues, Prophet Muhammad’s mission was to restore and

ISLAMIC RACISM WITHIN THE MEDIA

bring people back to the one, true religion. This monotheistic religion is to submit and worship to

a single, All-Knowing God.

Now, besides believing in solely one God, the beliefs of this religion are based around

purity and simplicity. There are 5 Pillars of Islam. These pillars are a figurative symbolism of

what the religion is based off. Firstly, is the Shahada. This is the statement a Muslim proclaims

to profess their faith in Islam, stating the belief in no other divine ruler but Allah and the belief

that Prophet Muhammad is the Messenger of God. Secondly, Muslims perform Salah, or prayer

five times a day at specific times throughout each day. This is a way for individuals to

communicate and connect with their Creator. Thirdly, Muslims perform Sawm, or fasting every

year within the month of Ramadan. These 30 days of fast, not eating or drinking from sunrise to

sunset, helps the Muslim community reflect on those who are less fortunate and gain a sense of

gratitude and discipline. Fourthly, Muslims are required to give Zakat, which means to donate a

certain percentage of money to the poor. And lastly, each individual Muslim is required to

perform pilgrimage in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia at least once in their lifetime. This

pilgrimage is called Hajj, which is conducted at the house of God, titled the Kaaba.

Overall, Islam is a religion of peace and unity. Humans who accept and follow Islam

must act righteous, in a way as to be of good-hearted, kind, and caring individuals and to believe
in Gods words. Islam does not condone any wrongdoings. This could be anything miniscule from

cheating on a test to greater sins, such as violent acts of crime. Islam encourages each of its

followers to be the purest human beings they can possibly be before its time to enter the afterlife.

The afterlife is determined by each Muslims action of good versus bad. This information

described is found in the book Inside Islam (2005) by Anne-Marie Delcambre.

ISLAMIC RACISM WITHIN THE MEDIA

Islamophobia

Many sources chose to discuss the topic of Islamophobia, which is the most important

focus on this literature review. To dissect the term Islamophobia, Islam is the religion and phobia

means to fear. Its simplest meaning is the fear of Islam yet, its much more than that. It is to

dislike and feel thoughts of prejudice towards Islam and its Muslim followers. This is also

intertwined with politics dealing with Islamic forces. Islamophobia is a negative connotation

which surrounds itself with hatred and animosity towards just that one religion. Those who are

Islamophobic, most likely do not understand the true meaning behind Islam, rather they created

an opposite narrative due to what is seen on the media.

Specifically speaking in Europe, anti-Muslim sentiments have been a part of Western

narratives for centuries (Ekman, 2015). Ekman (2015) also states how the political agenda

within Europe has been anti-Muslim for quite a while now. This includes the Niqab ban in

France, the controversial images of Prophet Muhammad that have surfaced the web, and the

overall “Muslims problem” that Europe faces. Where integration is lacked, xenophobia has

increased. By now it is understood that Islamophobia falls under the category of racism. More so
than the religious aspect of it all, inferiorization has increased due to cultural differences.

Muslims are not only viewed a certain way by false assumption of their beliefs but also of their

appearance. Not all Muslims look alike nor should it be believed that any one person can

pinpoint a Muslim by their physical appearance.

In the article titled “Islamophobia: A New Word for an Old Fear”, the author states that

this term was first used in the year 1991. “The word has been coined because there is a new

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reality which needs naming -- anti-Muslim prejudice has grown so considerably and so rapidly in

recent years that a new item in the vocabulary is needed so that it can be identified and acted

against.” (Sajid 2005). Strange how this term has been coined to exist, yet a fear towards any

other religion is unheard of. This article also states having European society presume Muslims to

be radical extremists, and therefore, damaging their Mosques, cemeteries, etc. This, in turn, has

caused those who believe Muslims to be violent, became violent themselves.

Islamophobia Cont., The Attack on 9/11

The attacks on September 11th, 2001 has been one of the most viewed documented news

in history. The world was shocked to witness the horrific event unfold in real time with both the

Twin Towers and Pentagon hit by terrorist-hijacked planes. Both Osama Bin Laden and Khalid

Sheikh Mohammed orchestrated the attack, having been trained by Al-Qaeda. These attacks

caused, not only Americans, but the world to view Muslims negatively. The acts of those who

claim to be Muslim and state their reasoning is for Islam and Allah are in the wrong. They did

not practice what they preach. Killing thousands of human beings is not what Islam’s teachings
stand for, yet the media continuously claimed them to be devout Muslims, furthering continuing

the narrative that Islam is evil.

With this being said, the damage has been done and fear has been invoked. Years of

discrimination, exploitation, and conflicting politics have caused a riff between Muslims with the

rest of society. The media has discussed this attack on all platforms, for several years. Up until

May 2nd, 2011, when Osama Bin Laden was killed, this story still made headlines. For the news

ISLAMIC RACISM WITHIN THE MEDIA

to be informative is beneficial for society, but to push a hidden agenda is not. As stated in An

East-West Dichotomy by Eugenio Chahuan, “The impact was felt far and wide, and Islam

became the focus of attention in the media, in seminars, in forums, and in thousands of

publications worldwide.” (Chahuan, 2005). News coverage and debates on ‘Islamic terrorism’

and the motives of such terrorists has exceeded any sort of news discussing how Islam is not the

problem and to not base one tragic event on an entire religious nation.

Islamophobia Cont., Pegida in Germany

Islamophobia in Germany is quite popular, with a German organization being created just

to fight for an anti-Muslim cause. This organization is called Pegida, which stands for ‘Patriotic

Europeans Against the Islamization of The Occident’. Pegida is seen as a growing concern, due

to normalizing prejudice, anti-Muslim beliefs. This movement started off as a simple Facebook

group. Media purposes of Facebook is to share and spread informative communication through
friends, family, coworkers, etc. Its creation was not meant to harbor a racist ideology, turned

institution. Its means is to stop the spread of Islam throughout Europe and has gained tens of

thousands of supporters. They fear the takeover of Islam will demolish German culture.

With the rise of Pegida and its consistent protests, multiple Islamic-supporting groups

have emerged as well, organizing anti-Pegida marches. Islamic organizations, such as the

‘Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs’, the ‘Turkish Community in Germany’, and the

‘Liberal Islamic Association’ are some of the many groups that have motives and causes to uplift

the Islamic communities in Germany through the use of German media. As stated in Racism Is

Not An

ISLAMIC RACISM WITHIN THE MEDIA

Opinion, “These organizations felt the need to come together in a broad coalition to combat the

marginalization of Muslims by movements such as Pegida”.

The German chancellor Angela Merkel did not stay quiet after the uproar and division

within the nation of Germany. In a country-wide television broadcasts on New Year’s Day, she

has stated Pegida’s leaders and followers to be filled with prejudice and hatred in their hearts.

This has led the movement to turn against their chancellor as well and lead to an increase in anti-

Muslim hate crimes. The burnings of Masjids, Muslims houses, and violent protests began to

ensue even further.

Conclusion
 The question still remains. Does the discourse within the media itself showcase Islamic

racism or is that found within the viewers own opinions? Speculations have been made by news

reports, newspapers, and the general public years following the attacks on 9/11. Countries, such

as France, have banned the wearing of religious clothing called niqabs. Americans have blatantly

stated their disapproval for Muslim Americans to reside in their country. German citizens feel it

is their right to fights against the spread of Islam. Islamophobia is growing, with news coverage

not including enough accuracy to provide Muslims their deserved justice. Being the second most

following religion worldwide, Islam will not be making a disappearance.

With an increase in following ranging the past thousands of years, greater Islamic media

coverage is inevitable. This media coverage being majority negative news due to past events is

unfortunate. Although this has been the case for quite a while, it does not have to be in the future

of news reporting. Every generation of civilization is becoming more and more accepting and

ISLAMIC RACISM WITHIN THE MEDIA

10

open minded than the last. Because of this, the future generation of news reporters and media

outlets will not likely make as many mistakes that have already happened in the past. This can

and will only come about with society gaining knowledge in the subject of Islam.

Articles like those that have been used as sources are beneficial and informative. They

share historical context and discuss globalization to help inform readers of past injustices. Other

than what has already been mentioned, I believe that highly rated news sources, such as CNN,

NBC, etc. should work towards further capturing Islam and Muslims in a more accurate
narrative. They should show all that this religion and its followers has to offer to the world.

Biased reporting and personal agendas need to be eliminated from the media altogether.

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11

References and Work Cited Page

Ekman, M. (2015). Online Islamophobia and the politics of fear: manufacturing the green

scare. Ethnic and Racial Studies: Muslims, Migration and Citizenship: Processes of Inclusion

and Exclusion, 38(11), 1986–2002. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2015.1021264

 Sajid, A. (2005). Islamophobia: A New Word for an Old Fear. Palestine - Israel Journal

of Politics, Economics, and Culture, 12(2-3), 31–40. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com/docview/235699136/

Chahuan, E. (2005). An East-West Dichotomy: Islamophobia. Palestine - Israel Journal

of Politics, Economics, and Culture, 12(2-3), 47–52. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com/docview/235664767/

Delcambre, A. (2005). Inside Islam. Milwaukee, Wisc: Marquette University Press.

Sway, M. (2005). Islamophobia: Meaning, Manifestations, Causes. Palestine - Israel

Journal of Politics, Economics, and Culture, 12(2-3), 15–23. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com/docview/235699023/

Machtans, K. (2016). “Racism is not an opinion”: Muslim responses to Pegida and

Islamophobla in Germany.(Essay). German Politics and Society, 34(4), 87–100.

https://doi.org/10.3167/gps.2016.340406

Saeed, A. (2007). Media, Racism and Islamophobia: The Representation of Islam and

Muslims in the Media. Sociology Compass, 1(2), 443–462. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-

9020.2007.00039.x

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Ismael, T., & Measor, J. (2003). Racism and the North American media following 11

September: The Canadian setting. Arab Studies Quarterly, 25(1/2), 101–136. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com/docview/220611076/