The Media's Negative Influence On Muslim People

The power and consequently the responsibility of media, especially mainstream, is something that shouldn’t be underestimated. It often sets the agenda amongst the general public and is the reference point for the majority of the discussion surrounding it. For many, what they see and read in the media forms the basis of their opinions on most important topics. Despite warnings not to, many believe that everything they read in the media must be true.

After September 11, 2001, U.S. citizens were shocked that over 2,900 people were dead because of Islamic extremists (Kean, et al. "National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States"). More deaths occurred in the Paris and San Bernardino attacks. Tensions between the U.S. and Islamic extremists have not yet subsided. Americans receive information regarding Islamic extremists through the media, from which they form opinions on what the U.S.’s foreign policy with the Middle East should be, which affects military spending. To what extent has the media’s portrayal of Islamic extremists affected U.S. military spending and relations with the Middle East?

Them Bad news travels faster and last longer than good news. Unfortunately this is a day-to-day reality of Islamic followers in America. The horror of 9/11, the native skin of the Boston bombers, and the endless horrific news from the Islamic State (IS) continue to regurgitate in the media year after year, month after month, week after week, and night after night leaving a listener with negative feelings toward the Islam religion and its followers, Muslims. Muslims bear the brunt of social construction because the United States continues to identify the Islamic religion as a whole verses excepting the different sects.

Since Islam is a religion that promotes peace and kindness, one could ask where the stereotype that all Muslims are terrorists originated. Following the tragedies of September 11, 2001, Arabs and Muslims have been presented as potential terrorists. This idea stemmed from the theory that, “media bias increases when a specific ethnic, religious, or racial group is seen as a threat to national security.” (Stiffler, 2013). Since the attacks on September 11, 2001 Muslims and Arabs have been “hyper-visible” in the media as potential terrorists. Due to the negative media attention and failure of most media platforms to

A. (2013, February 11). Is it true media is misleading masses? Retrieved April 16, 2018, from http://www.hamariweb.com/articles/article.aspx?id=29484 Merelli, A. (2017, September 11). George W. Bush's "Islam is peace" speech. Retrieved April 16, 2018, from https://qz.com/1074258/911-video-and-text-of-george-w-bushs-islam-and-peace-speech/ O'Connor, L. (2016, September 12). How 9/11 Changed These Muslim Americans' Lives Forever. Retrieved April 20, 2018, from https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/post-911-islamophobia_us_57d075dfe4b0a48094a75bc1 Shaikh, A. (2011, September 10). Remembering 9/11 as a Muslim American. Retrieved April 16, 2018, from https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/09/20119893039787215.html Silva, C. (2016, September 14). Muslims Protest 9/11 Memorial. Retrieved April 16, 2018, from http://www.ibtimes.com/muslims-protest-911-memorial-islamic-terrorists-controversy-defended-new-york-town-2413082 Vankin, D. (2017, April 27). At LACMA, the horror of 9/11 through the eyes of a

There is a lot of bad media that contributes to this every time there is a mass bombing first thing people think of is, Oh a Muslim did this but when it's not a Muslim and ends up being a white person they say he was a lone wolf

How the has media poisoned peoples’ brains to think like this. Media has created this mental construct, in which all Muslims are the “bad guys”. Media plays a big role in a lot of different situations. Media mostly portrays African American as “thugs, and drug dealers”, media portrays Latinos as all being “illegal”. Media plays an essential role in the development of the young children, who’s brains are still developing. It really affects their world view.

Terrorism in the Media Terrorism can be defined as the use of criminal violence to try to force a government to change. It can also be defined as the use of criminal violence that groups or individuals use to seek revenge and cause heartache amongst those that they want to

Islam has been around for over a thousand years. The religion has spread across a few continents including America. A recent study demonstrates that there are around 7 million Muslims in the U.S. That compares to around 2.3% of the populace. Despite the fact that the number is not large, it has been increasing in spite of the attack of September 11, 2001. On that day, a lot changed for the Islamic individuals living in the United States. Though the American Muslims had nothing to do with the terroristic attack that happened on that day, their lifestyle was bound to change. The change that happened was not in their religion, or the way they rehearsed it; it occurred in the attitude of the non-Islamic populace. An accusing finger was pointed on the Muslims because the attacks were said to be conducted by Muslim radicals. Generally, the media was the main place Americans would get detailed information about the Muslims, and they were not depicting them positively.

The media is so biased against Muslims and causes Islamophobia. Because of this, Americans have a skewed view on them, associating all Muslims with terrorist groups like ISIS.

Islam: suppressor of women, enemy of Western nations, and breeder of terrorists. The West has many stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam that are due to the media, prejudice, and ignorance. Islam is often seen as an "extremist" or "terrorist" religion. Often, the media's reports about Islam are incorrect due to ignorance or not wanting to acknowledge its true teachings. This is one of the reasons why Westerners are often wary of Muslims. In contrast to what the media portrays, Islam is a peaceful religion, which does not promote violence or terrorism.

The Media Portrayal of Islam Islam is portrayed and is commonly accepted as the most violent and largest direct threat to the West. This is a generalization made by most of the West, but it is not particularly the West or the Islamic people’s fault. There is constant turmoil in Islamic countries in the Middle East and these conflicts are what make the news in the West. The only representation in the media that the Islamic nation gets is that of war. Though most Islamic people are not violent, the select few that do participate in terrorist groups give the rest of the Islam nation a bad image.

After 9/11 has induced negative attitudes towards Muslim peoples who tend to be strongly associated with any act of terrorism. The media has played a colossal role in developing such negative association wherein it constantly portrays Muslim people in combination with violent terrorist acts. It does so in a way that they both go hand-and-hand. In other words, it has made it as though the Islamic religion is synonymous with terrorism. The media has perpetuated Muslim stereotypes over the years that followed the 9/11 incident. Because of this, society has developed, and still has developed, this prejudiced mindset about the Islamic religion and the Muslim communities around the world. People immediately assume that any violent act being

"The US media has been clubbing together terrorism and Islam, influencing the American public to think that all Arab Muslims are "crazy and violent terrorists"… The American media has been a primary agent responsible for creating racist stereotypes, images and

“When I think Islam, I think belly dancers, bombs, and billionaires” This is something I have heard from many people’s mouths. When people think of the word Islam, or Muslim, a certain generalized picture comes to mind. I am sure this picture involves such things as sand, camels, oil, covered women, hookah, amongst other things. Though this is what the Western media generalizes Islam as, there is much more to Islam than the three B’s and these pictures that come to mind. Islam is not only a religion but is also a way of life. Like many things, Islam is stereotyped, generalized, and misunderstood. When most of us think of Islam we think of the “oppressed” women and “messed up” laws and we fail to see the truths of Islam and what it really stands for.