Muslims in the Media

Producing and maintaining discrimination News ≠ reliable information

• In the absence of direct experience of people, places, or events, the mass media generally becomes the primary source of information (Bryant & Zillman, 2002).

• Australia’s Muslim population comprises 1.7% (ABS, 2006).

Socio-cultural analysis: Mass Media

Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (2003). – Referencing of actual events or issues, giving fictional films a

factual or authoritative character. – Over 900 films analysed repeatedly “dehumanise Arabs and

Muslims, and portray them as heartless, brutal, uncivilised, religious fanatics, who are violent, and terrorists” (Rane, 2007).

Digital still from True Lies (1994)

ALADDIN"I come from a land, from a faraway place where the caravan camels roam, where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face - it's barbaric, but

hey, it's home.“ – Opening theme song

Australian Press Coverage of

Islam 1996-2000

• Most frequently focused on the Middle East (29%);

• Most frequently focused on war, crisis, or conflict (52%); – Most frequently showed Muslims to

be fighting against Christians (45% - articles where the religion of the groups at war/conflict were identified);

– Most frequently showed Muslims as the aggressors in war/conflict (80%);

• Descriptive references attached to the word ‘Muslim’ or ‘Islamic’ were frequently derogatory (40% - ‘militant’, ‘fundamentalist’, ‘extremist’, or ‘terrorist’);

• Described acts condemned by Islam, such as killing and lynching, as ‘Islamic’ (73%);

• Rarely portrayed the human side of Muslims (4%).

Study by Halim Rane, “Australian Press Coverage of Islam” (Master’s Thesis, Bond University, 2000).

Post 9/11• “Apart from its negative

consequences on their [Muslims’] daily lives, the media’s coverage of Islam reached an unprecedented intensity.”

(Yenigun, 2002, p.43)

• Bias and discrimination is not limited to Hollywood films – it operates within contemporary Australian media too!

References/Further ReadingAAP. (2009). Muslim girls wearing hijabs with the Australian flag on them walk in Melbourne [Image]. Retrieved August 22, 2011, from http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1032871/-aussies-love-other-cultures-and-fear-them

Abdalla, M & Rane, H. (2007, August). The Impact of Media Representations on the Understanding of Islam and Attitudes toward Muslims in Queensland. Report for Multicultural Affairs Queensland. Retrieved from http://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/52083/MAQ.pdf

Bryant J. & Zillman, D. (Eds.) (2002). Media Effects: Advances in theory and research. Elbaum Associates: New Jersey.

Earp, J. and Jhally, S. (Directors), Earp, J. and Shaheen, J. (Writers). (2006). Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. [Documentary]. Retrieved from http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/reel-bad-arabs/

Nangpal, S. (2008). Oz Muslim Women Start Fighting Back Against an Agressive Patriarchal System [Image]. Retrieved August 23, 2011, from http://www.topnews.in/oz-muslim-women-start-fighting-back-against-repressive-patriarchal-system-291096

NielsenWire. (2008). Online News Better Option [Image]. Retrieved August 23, 2011, from http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/election-gives-online-news-sites-major-traffic-boost/

Ridzdesign. (2011). Islamophobia [Image]. Retrieved 21 August, 2011, from http://endthelie.com/2011/08/03/islamophobic-conspiracy-theories-debunked-yet-again/#axzz1Vq3mcdik

Yenigun, H.I. (2002, October). Muslims and the Media after 9/11: A Muslim Discourse in the American Media? Paper presented at 31st Annual Convention of Association of Muslim Social Scientists. Retrieved from http://i-epistemology.net/attachments/847_Ajiss21-3%20-%20Yenigun%20-%20Muslims%20and%20the%20Media%20after%209%20over%2011.pdf