Was going to add this as a comment on some of our ongoing threads, but it's probably relevant to about half of them...
(Note: the report seems to be about the US.)
Media has anti-Muslim bias, claims report
Monday November 14, 2005
The portrayal of Arab and Muslim people in the western media is "typically stereotypical and negative", according to a new study of perceptions of Islam.
The report, commissioned by the Kuwaiti government and based on a surveys and interviews with media experts, claims that terrorism, anti-Americanism and the Iraq occupation dominate TV news coverage of the Middle East.
"In the past 30 years of thousands of TV show series, there have been less than 10 characters who have been Arab-Americans," the report claims.
"In print stereotypes are not so obvious, except in cartoon caricatures, but they still occur and anti-Muslim bias is more insidious. The terms Islamic or Muslim are linked to extremism, militant, jihads, as if they belonged together inextricably and naturally (Muslim extremist, Islamic terror, Islamic war, Muslim time bomb).
"In many cases, the press talks and writes about Muslims in ways that would not be acceptable if the reference were to Jewish, black or fundamentalist Christians."
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Couple of quick comments on the Guardian article:
* I note that the results are those to be expected give who commissioned the report (the Kuwaiti govt). Doesn't invalidate them of course, but still...
* The report claims that "terrorism, anti-Americanism and the Iraq occupation dominate TV news coverage of the Middle East". Hmm, I would have thought Israel/Palestine, Iran & Afghanistan would have been worth a mention. And anyway, given what's happening over there, would it be so wrong for TV news to focus on those areas?
* The terms Islamic or Muslim are linked to extremism, militant, jihads, as if they belonged together inextricably and naturally (Muslim extremist, Islamic terror, Islamic war, Muslim time bomb). I am reminded of Ian Blair's insistence after July 7 that "the bombings had nothing to do with Islam".
* "In many cases, the press talks and writes about Muslims in ways that would not be acceptable if the reference were to Jewish, black or fundamentalist Christians.". Interesting point. Has any of our impdec readers actually seen anything in the mainstream Press that would support this allegation? (open question).
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