Proposal Form:

Learning Outcome Topic Course Section Text Type Title

Demonstrate an Language and Part 1 Report The

awareness of how Power representation of
language and Islam in the media
meaning are
shaped by culture
and context

Topic: Language and Power

Text Type: Part 1

Learning Outcome: Demonstrate an awareness of how language and meaning are shaped by culture
and context
Rationale:

For my written task I have decided to create a report on how Islam is represented in the
media. This was made with the Language and Power part of the course in mind and is meant to
display how the transfer of biased or incorrect information could impact a large audience. I
researched a few sources and gathered information on how Islam is conveyed in the media. In class,
we have studied how the use of language can impact the population, through analysing
advertisements and speeches.

I have decided to make a report as I can use different sources to prove a point. Since it is a
report I will follow the standard format of a report include sources a. The report is meant to inform
the reader of how Islam is portrayed in the media. I have titled my Written Task The representation
of Islam in the media because I intend to explain how exactly news sources release biased reports
that intend to stereotype Islam. I intend to include pictures of the articles I will use and give web
snapshots of the article before it was edited or taken down. I will use Calibri (Body) as a font in size
11. The sources used will come from Anglophone countries such as the US and UK, since most of the
biased sources come from the west. It is more prevalent in the west because of the stereotype made
by the media. The website in question is Express, through the use of Waybackmachine the article
that was previously deleted can be accessed again.

Word Count: 262

Report:

Representation of Islam in the media

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Islam in the media

3. Islamophobia

4. Stereotype formed from the exposure

In the age where information can be transferred between people in seconds a lot of that
information is made to appeal to a mass of people, this is called the “Mass Media”. These can be
through television, the internet, newspapers, etc. Mass media plays a significant role in informing
the population of what’s currently going on, especially in Anglophone countries such as the UK and
the US. People are constantly exposed to mass media through advertising and news channels, mass
media is able to influence decisions through biased opinions of stories being displayed as the truth.
This wasn’t always the case, in the past information could not be transmitted as fast, after the
advancement in telecommunication the speed of which information travelled became almost
instantaneous. With the invention of the internet, it connected people around the world allowing
them to exchange information within seconds.

Religion is often a hot topic in mass media, as many people have different opinions on it.
With media’s ability to influence people it is no surprise that strong stereotypes have been
developed because of biased media sources. Western news reports about Islam are bound to convey
the wrong message to the audience due to the stereotype made by news sources. Due to the
misinformation from some news sources it really affects other news channels because the integrity
of their source will be questioned if the source is found to be biased.

Americans are most familiar with Islam through the mainstream media. 9/11 is one of the
worst examples of racial stereotyping, the group is given a bad name because of one person that had
bad intentions. Although there are 25~ million Arabian Christians living in the middle east they are
disregarded by the media. The “War on terrorism” conducted by the US is also another example of
the media contributing to a stereotype. Image A is an article that was taken down from the Express
Britishnews website, the title was “TERROR IN SPAIN: Gunman screaming 'Allahu Akbar' opens fire in
supermarket”. The article can be accessed through a web archive tool called waybackmachine. The
news originated from the police, it was said that the individual was speaking Basque and it was not
intended to be a terror attack. Since its publication, the article has been edited many times during
the duration the article was public. The edited versions can be viewed in the waybackmachine panel,
false reports like this ruin other journalists’ reputations. It’s not to say that only Islam faces
discrimination in the media, but this is a prominent example in anglophone and western countries.

The word Islamophobia was first used as a concept in a 1991 Runnymede Trust Report and has the

definition of having baseless aggression towards Muslims and therefore a fear or a dislike towards

Muslims. The word was made in relation to the Muslims in the UK and Europe, and are created

based in the more prevalent xenophobia framework.

The report described various attitudes that incorporate these following beliefs:

● “(1) Monolithic - Islam seen as a single monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive to new

realities;

● (2) Separate - Islam seen as separate and other not having any aims and values in common

with other cultures;

● (3) Inferior - Islam is seen as inferior to the West -barbaric, irrational, primitive, sexist;

● (4) Enemy - Islam seen as a violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism, engaged

in a clash of civilizations;

● (5) Manipulative - Islam seen as a political ideology, used for political or military advantage;

● (6) Rejection of the criticism of the West - Muslims reject the West’s criticism of Islam out of

hand;

● (7) Defensive of discrimination - hostility toward Islam used to justify discriminatory practices

toward Muslims and their exclusion from mainstream society;

● (8) Islamophobia seen as national - anti-Muslim hostility accepted as natural and “normal”” 1

Islamophobia has increased in the western population since the 9/11 terrorist attack, it was
the driving force of waging war in Afghanistan and Iraq. America may have had other motives in
mind like exploiting the oil-rich environment present in the Middle East. Islam has been portrayed as
a violent religion in the media, ISIS is often mistaken as being the same thing as Islam. When in fact
ISIS is an extremist terrorist group and Islam is a religion. Western media often show ISIS reports
alongside the beheadings of journalists. When Muslims protest for respect it is seen as an act of
terrorism when it is actually just a peacefully protest. The media will only want to report interesting
and bizarre articles but not the normal things in life. Therefore the media will not want to report the
peaceful or kind Muslims, or the constant harassment many Muslims have to put up with because of
the stereotype made by the mass media
Image A

Image B

Word Count: 822

Bibliography:

Adams, Philip Kenneth. “Basic Report Structure.” Library and Learning Services., De Montfort
University, Department of Library Services, 26 June 2010.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/753006/Gunman-Allahu-Akbar-Spain-Spanish-Supermarket-
Mercadona-Gasoline-Gunpowder (Source cannot be cited as article is no longer available to access
through normal means.
https://web.archive.org/web/20181107020117/http://www.sdgj.com/ckfinder/userfiles/files/
8f7224fe995343750d89431e4a440332.pdf )

“Publications & Resources.” Runnymede Trust, 1997,

1

www.runnymedetrust.org/companies/17/74/Islamophobia-A-Challenge-for-Us-All.html.