As follows I would like to recommend blogs of my colleagues, which were also working on Media Literacy Project.

http://childrensmedia2day.wordpress.com

This blog talks about the danger of violence in media. The author is concerned about the desensitization which it may cause to our children.

She mentioned the broadcasting of Saddam Hussein’s execution and Virginia shooting.

This blog’s author has big concern about the effects of video games and horror movies.  

http://jakubstanislav.wordpress.com

This blog discusses the educational potential of media. In fact it seems that lately this potential is forgotten. Media are here to less and less educate or inform but mainly to “set agendas”.

The author further discusses the Virginia Tech Massacre and shooting on Jokela high school in Finland. 

http://markopolo08.wordpress.com

This blog is some way connected to what is discussed in my blog. The author writes about September 11 and its picture in media. Interesting are comments about “agenda setting” and the theory of “spiral of silence”.

I also believe freedom of speech and media are both necessary for democracy, but I am also concerned about the ownership of mainstream media by large cooperations.

http://zhazira.wordpress.com

This blog underlines the danger media can have on our self image. The author discuses the connection between images offered to us by media and the problem of eating disorders. I believe that it is very important to keep talking about this subject and keep our selves reminded that models shown in media are in general unhealthy individuals.

http://gamesmatter.blogspot.com

This blog writes about computer games. The author mentions that he used to be fan of computer games. He is looking for the positive effects that computer games can have. It is good to remind us of them, because we should look for positives on everything and try to enforce them.

    Recently I opened Czech magazine for women “Žena a Život” (“Woman and Life”). In the section about travelling there was an article which should be an inspiration for visiting Israel. They informed us about what to visit on a short trip to Israel, in which hotel to stay and which airlines to choose.            

    As all of the articles in this magazine this article is accompanied by large number of pictures. It is perhaps the pictures which should catch our attention and attract our attention to the article. I was alarmed when I read the depiction under one picture. This picture clearly shows Muslim women – they are wearing hijab — shopping in fruit market. The depiction says: “Even on land of Israel Arab women must follow the traditional rule. They must limit themselves only on family and taking care about their family.” (Vápeníková 99) I was already imagining the reaction of a Czech reader, who does not have much knowledge about Islam.

    Firstly, certainly not all Arab women are Muslims and therefore not all of them wear hijab. Even not all Muslim women wear hijab. Opposing numerous believes it is the choice of each Muslim woman, whether wear hijab or not. For example in the Czech community of Muslim women there are some which chose not to wear hijab. Secondly, yes, marriage is an important part of Islam. According to Islam, getting married really means fulfilling half of your faith (Al-Qadarawi). Taking care of your family is a common sense of every human being. Still I must ask why would someone write: “Arab women […] must limit them selves only on family”.

    I believe that each journalist has to write each word with enormous care and thus forego misunderstanding and building baseless stereotypes. Women magazines should not be any exception.  

Works citied 

Al-Qadarawi, Yusuf. “The Philosophy of Marriage in Islam.” Islam Online. 10 Jul. 2007.24 Nov. 2007. <http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satelite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Schola…>.

 Vápeníková, Jana. “Izraelská Rychlovka. ” Žena a Život.  26 (2007): 96-99.                

            There is no question that media these days are full of stereotypes. We live in a society which is highly influenced by media. The negative and inaccurate portrayal of Islam by western media may be the cause for hostility towards Muslim people. This is not helpful for harmonious and peaceful society. Each journalist should realize the power of words. Media have moral responsibility to inform without bias and help understanding among different nations and religions. Media should be for people and help understanding between them. Therefore media should be also “4 Islam”.

    Nevertheless, western media seem to be full of mis-portrayal about Islam, causing great miscomprehension. People are starting to be aware of this fact. There are organized conferences on this subject and some people analyse this problem and write about the effects of mis-portrayal of Islam by western media. We need to develop this effort farther and help the society in which we live. The ignorance is not only morally wrong but it may also backfire in the form of extremism.

    Firstly, we should understand that western media often talk about Islam in terms with negative tone. It was shown that journalists often do not know much about Islam but still report on it (Katayon Kasmai; Quraishi “Short Introduction to Islam”). Every journalist should be first well informed and research his/her subject. As Nasir Khan suggests, media do not “enlighten and inform” but they rather “misrepresent, distort and mislead” (Khan). The West often sees in Islam threats to their way of living. Islam may be challenging to the nihilism of the western society, but is in no way threatening. There is no real reason for the “War on Terror” – to be understand “War against Islam”.

    Secondly, we should understand that fundamentalism, which according to my belief may be just a step to extremism, may be found in any religion. There are Islam fundamentalists but as well for example Jewish or Christian fundamentalists. The same applies to extremism. As Bashi Quraishi’s survey in Danish media has shown, the mostly mentioned religion in media is Islam (75%). Around 60% of these stories about Islam were negative (Quraishi “Islam in the Western Media”). Why? Further we may ask: What effect it can have on our society?

    Thirdly, the freedom of speech should be unquestionably pursued. Nevertheless, media should be respectful of another cultures and religions. What is acceptable in some cultures may be hurting feelings of others (Khan). The trend of separation of “us” and “them” is unacceptable. Islam is not a nation and being Muslim does not mean we can not be a full member of western society. Being Muslim should not be a reason for exclusion in real life or exclusion by media. As the UNESCO debate on “Islam, media and public opinion” made clear there is no clash between Islam and its practicing and the west  but there is rather a problem of western perception of Islam (“Debate on ‘Islam, Media and Public Opinion’ Held at UNESCO”).

    Fourthly, as Khan suggests the “anti-Islamic tradition in the Christendom has a long historical pedigree” (Khan). This has been a problem in the history. Quraishi writes: “one should learn from history that neither the crusades not the religious wars between 15^th and 17^th centuries yield decisive results” (Quraishi “Fundamentalism and Secularism”). We should not take part in this trend of “anti-Islamism”. We should not allow nor accept the distortion of portrayal of Islam by western media. The false portrayal of Islam is the source of problems in relationships between religions and nations but is also the cause for exclusion of Muslims living in western societies.  

    In conclusion, let me say that it may be comfortable to follow the trend of anti-Islamism and just listen to what is told to us by media. Nevertheless, I strongly believe that this is unmoral. I suggest that we all search for ourselves and see for ourselves. The contact with Muslims living with us is essential. There are some 1,154,302,000 of Muslims in the world (Quraishi “Short Introduction to Islam). Islam is a religion of peace. We should accept these facts and do not let media to negatively influence us. It is the responsibility of each of us to speak up. Hiding our ideas would just help the ones who are intentionally or un-intentionally trying to manipulate us.  We have to ask for “justice and equality in media” which is needed for peace (Katayon Kasmai). 

Works citied 

“Debate on ‘Islam, Media and Public Opinion’ held at UNESCO.” UNESCO. 28 Dec 2008. <http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=19361&URL>.

Katayon Kasmai, Seyede. “Western Media’s Coverage of Islam: A Help or Hindrance for Peace?” World Media Association. 6 Dec. 2007. <http://www.wmassociation.com/proceedings/13wmf/skkasmai.html>.

Khan, Nasir. “Islam in Western Mirror.” Counter Currents. 5 Jan 2008.  <http://www.countercurrents.org/khan190507.htm>.

Quraishi, Bashy. “Islam in the Western Media.” The Multicultural SkyscraperNewsletter. 6 Dec. 2007. <http://www.multicultural.net/newsletter/article/issue3- bashy.htm>.

        —. “Short Introduction to Islam.” Human Rights. 4 Jan. 2008.      <http://www.bashy.dk/uk/islam/forside_islam.htm>.

       —. “Their Mosques are Full, but their Hears are Empty.” Human Rights. 3 Dec. 2008. <http://www.bashy.dk/uk/islam/mosques.htm>.

    To this day we may find numerous web-pages in some way connected to Islam. Furthermore, we can observe that there is great number of people who are concerned about portrayal of Islam by western media and its effect on our society. It is clear that media are in general full of miscomprehensions. We should almost never take literally what we read or see in media. These days it is important to form your own opinion. 

    Earlier I wrote about an article by Bashy Quraishy and I mentioned his web-page – www.bashy.dk. I would definitely recommend his site not only as interesting work of someone clearly thinking, but also as a source of information for someone who does not know much about Islam. In “Short Introduction to Islam” we are informed in “non-fanatic” and brief way about Islam. Quraishy’s web-page is also a good source for reflection about a recent trend in Islam – growing fundamentalism. This extremely sensitive topic is discussed in three interesting articles (“Cultural Pluralism-a Lesson from History”, “Fundamentalism and Secularism” and “Their Mosques are Full but their Hearts are Empty”). Although Quraishy does not discuss only the mis-portrayal of Islam by Western media, it is clear that the mentioned “Informational Revolution” is one of the aspects important to consider. Quraishy makes an important point, which seems to in some way be part of all his work, and that is: “words have to be used with utmost care” (Bashy).           

    It may be hard to follow every media to find a reference of Islam. Nevertheless, it may be enormously useful to follow different media so we can make our own opinion about the portrayal of Islam by media. For this we may use web-page which links us directly to each media mentioning Islam. Firstly, it is interesting to visit blog – www.mediaanddislam.com, which is apparently a web-page of “Muslim Activists” (“About”). Here we can find several entries each informing us about what was written or said about Islam in media. I found extremely interesting their link to a video on “youtube” presenting Jeff Cohen and his “Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Cooperate Media”. You can also watch this video on my blog. Another web-page linking us further to different media is http://mediamatters.org. This page provides us with often alarming media comments. Numerous of them are about Islam.  You can just search words such as Islam or Muslim and you will get a great amount of examples of Western media mis-portrayal of Islam.           

    While “getting deeper” we may visit some web-pages written by Muslims and see about their views of different events. For this, I would recommend quite moderate Illume magazine, which has also an electronic format. In the latest issue we may read about the “American Muslim paradox” (Kira). It is a trend already mentioned by Quraishi — some people seem to confuse Islam with nationality. This trend may be blamed for the non-hostility of West towards Islam partly caused by media. 

    Lastly, I would like to draw your attention to blog of Nasir Khan – http://nasir-khan.blogspot.com/. He writes: “I oppose war and I am a firm believer in peaceful co-existence of all nations and people” and he continues:  “in my academic work I have tried to espouse the cause of the weak and the oppressed in a world dominated by power-politics, misleading propaganda and violation of basic human rights”(Khan). I believe that he offers very insightful analysis of world events without usual media anti-Islam bias.           

    The Internet is a source of lots of information and also mis-information. It is good to go and look for different sources to get our own opinion. In the case of Islam and its mis-portrayal by Western media the internet may be a useful tool. We may find pages criticising the approach of western media, events seen through the eyes of Muslims and we may get good information about all aspects of Muslim life. We have to always stay selective and critical. 

Works citied 

“About.” Media and Islam. 2 Jan 2008. <http://www.mediaandislam.com/?page_id=2>.

Kira, Hazem. “Un wholly American.” Illumedia. 5 Dec 2008.<http://www.illumemedia.org/artman/publish/article_648.php>.

Khan, Nasir. Nasir Khan Blog. 2 Jan 2008. <http://nasir-khan.blogspot.com>.

Quraishi, Bashy. “Their Mosques are Full, but their Hearts are Hearts are Empty.”Human Rights. 3 Jan 2008. <http://www.bashy.dk/uk/islam/mosques.htm>.

             On 25^thOctober 2006 Seyede Katayon Kasmai delivered speech discussing the connections between the coverage of Islam by Western media and peace. Her speech was a part of the World Media Association Forum called “Western Media’s Coverage of Islam: A Help or Hindrance for Peace?” held in Washington, D.C.  Katayon Kasmai is a public relations director of Islamic Information Center in Washington, D.C. Her speech can be found on the web-page of the World Media Association.            

    Katayon Kasmai calls for “justice and equality in media” which is needed for peace. Katayon Kasmai is concerned about “questionable media coverage on topics which the western societies are less aware of”. She believes this is the case of Islam and Muslims. Katayon Kasmai was brought up in the US. As she writes, she was also a victim of media bias. Today she wears hijab but says that she believed hijab to have an “oppressive nature”. She knows from her own experience that media mislead her and only by contact with other Muslims and through reading Qur’an she was able to better understand.             

    In Katayon Kasmai’s speech we may read about various media. Nevertheless, Katayon Kasmai implies that the “corporate-owned media versus non-profit media” are the main sources of “misperceptions on key subjects such as Iraq”. Katayon Kasmai talks about bias of media to suggest it is influenced by the “Israeli Lobby”. As an example she  presents the coverage of Israeli invasion of Lebanon.            

    Katayon Kasmai as well as Bashy Quraishi (www.bashy.dk) seems to believe that “media has truly dehumanized Islam and Muslims and has created a social problem. Katayon Kasmai writes about cases where Islam or Muslims were claimed to be the problem but in fact it was not the case. For example she speaks about the riots in France. Katayon Kasmai writes: “it was riot based on unemployment, which is a rampant problem in France” and it was in no way problem connected to someone being Muslim or not.           

    Further, we read about the trend in Western media. This is the trend of inviting to debate instead of real authorities on Islam some “Middle Eastern journalist”. As Katayon Kasmai suggests also in Islam as in other religions there is a “process in becoming a religious leader and scholar”. She underlines that only such person should speak for other Muslims or be able to represent Islam. Katayon Kasmai and the Islamic Information Center offer help in “identifying qualified scholars for the media to consult”.            

    Katayon Kasmai speaks generally from the US prospective. She believes, as Quraishi, that accurate coverage of Islam and Muslims by western media is much needed. She believes it is a requirement for “sustainable peace”. Again we read about the lack of knowledge and effort by media, which causes “misperception among media viewers”. 

Works citied

Katayon Kasmai, Seyede. “Western Media’s Coverage of Islam: A Help or Hindrance for Peace?”World Media Association. 6 Dec. 2007. <http://www.wmassociation.com/proceedings/13wmf/skkasmai.html>.

    Recently we have witnessed riots in the suburbs of Paris. The fact that someone has the need to go and burn a school or library where perhaps his younger brother goes to is quite disturbing. It poses many questions. Nevertheless, the media coverage does not help the whole situation. Why are these often perhaps desperate youngsters labelled as Muslims? Is it the case that all these rioters are only Muslims or does this problem of French suburbs have something to do with religion?

    It seems that France suffers the “post-colonial syndrome” (Cesari). Many immigrants in France are from the former French colonies. Even though they are often third generation immigrants and “may have little to do with an ‘Arab’ or ‘Algerian’ way of living” (Cesari) they seem to be separated from the French society. We became used to hearing about them as Muslims. Unfortunately, this is simplification, because not all these immigrants are Muslims, and further, this labelling seems to have a negative tone. Media are again following the same trend as we already saw in so many cases. They don’t inform us why but only what and with inaccuracy. It seems that instead of analysing the whole situation they offer their audience another sensation – Muslims again try to destroy our Western way of living.

    The web site “Media Matters” which monitors and researches the “misinformation” in media shows us an alarming example of comments about these riots.  Although Nicolas Sarkozy – today the French president – seemed to be more careful about his comments than in the case of 2005 riots, some journalists seemed to make no change in their comments. “Media Matters” shows us CNN Headline News show where Glenn Beck and his guests make some sensational comments. Beck in his show several times calls for labelling these rioters as “Muslim kids”. His guest Steve Emerson – “terrorism expert”—is says: “If we can’t label enemy…as radical Islamic fundamentalism, we’ve lost the battle” (“Beck invoked purported ‘reconquista’ movement”). I would like to know which battle he talks about. It seems that France needs to solve the problem of excluded immigrants rather than label someone as “radical Islamic fundamentalist” and win a “battle” over him.

    “Media Matters” suggests that Emerson, guest of Beck, has a “history of peddling misinformation” and further suggests that “his priority is not so much news as it is an unrelenting attack against Arabs and Muslims” (“Beck invoked purported ‘reconquista’ movement”). Why is such a person a guest of the CNN Headline News Show? It seems to me that Emerson ideas such as “multiculturalism has essentially taken the morality out of any culture” (“Beck invoked purported ‘reconquista’ movement”) does not belong to any reputable media.    

    We may ask why someone gets angry about media labelling rioters just by age. It is a fact that the only thing these rioters have in common is their age. Yes, some of them are Muslims, but not all. Furthermore, being Muslim is not what makes these “youngsters” protest. It is rather their life situation. Are not these rioters just youngsters? It seems that some, as for example Beck, have still the need to incorrectly label them as “black and Muslim children of immigrants” as did Los Angles Times article (“Beck Invoked Purported ‘reconquista’ Movement”).

Works citied

“Beck Invoked Purported ‘Reconquista’ Movement in Discussion of Rioting in France.” Media Matters. 29 Nov 2007. 14 Dec 2007. <http://mediamatters.org/items/200711300002>.

Cesari, Jocelyne. “Ethnicity, Islam, and les Banlieues: Confusing the Issues. Riots France. 30 Nov 2005. Social Science Research Council. 24 Nov 2007. <http://riotsfrance.sscr.org/Cesari>.

      

    I would like to bring to your attention an article by Bashy Quraishi “Islam in the Western Media” published on web-page of Multicultural Skyscraper. Quraishi was born in India and brought up in Palestine. He studied in US and Great Britain. Recently he lives in Denmark. He is a “prominent media watch activist, Chief Editor of Media Watch” (“Islam in the Western Media”). Quraishi wrote several books which talk about the problems of minorities. I would like to recommend also his web-page — www.bashy.dk . I found very useful his “Short Introduction to Islam” for people who are missing the basic information about Islam — http://www.bashy.dk/uk/islam/forside_islam.htm .           

    Quraishi in his article “Islam in the Western Media” discuses the stereotypes about Islam in Western media. It is an interesting insight from someone pursuing this problematic for longer time. I believe Quraishi gives us unbiased insight of someone living the problems of “being Muslim” on everyday basis. As Quraishi underlines, he is not “a religious person, nor […] a practicing Muslim” (“Islam in the Western Media”). He offers a “European prospective” of the relationship between media and Islam, but I would like to suggest that the situation is more or less similar across all Western cultures.         

    Firstly, Quraishi reminds us about the fact that the comments journalists generally make about countries with “Muslim background” are often in some way connected to words such as terrorism or fundamentalist. Quraishi is concerned about the worsen situation in media after the 11^th September 2001. He suggests that all seems to follow the “New World Order based on American leadership”. He claims that after the attack of 11^th September 2001 “Western politicians pointed the finger at Islamic groups” instantly without any proof of guilt. Quraishi feels the need to talk about media which seem “to inflame the situation”. He believes this is very non-console situation not only for Muslims, who are experiencing “hostility in Western societies”, but for the whole principles of Western cultures.            

    Secondly, we may see Quraishi’s very interesting point about Islam. Quraishi  reminds us that Islam is not nationality but religion. He writes about his personal experience of “hostility” in Western countries. Quraishi asks why Muslim’s “loyalty to Denmark” is being questioned. He seems to be concerned about the fact that media use some “intentional signals”; or he asks; “Is it a coincidence?”; which “is aimed at painting Islam as barbarian, fanatic and uncivilized”. Quraishi writes: “…no matter how secular and non-practicing I am, I would always be reminded by the media, the politicians and the people around me that I am Muslim, and thus not a natural part of the Danish, European and/or western culture”. Quraishi continues: “…all my efforts to be normal law abiding, tax paying, peace loving and contributing citizen of Denmark have no value to the society”.           

    Thirdly, an article by Quraishi talks about the power which media have. Quraishi writes that media “have become more and more sophisticated” and “one must be clever to use them”. Quraishi himself says that through the exclusion, for which we may partly blame media, he had found his “original [Muslim] identity back”. Quraishi claims that “Muslim minorities in Europe and Denmark feel very isolated, criminalized and neglected”. He writes about the “discrimination in labour market”. The media portrait according to Quraishi is overly bad. All this may perhaps make place for Islamist radicals.            

    Lastly, Quraishi calls for action of journalist to help the whole situation. Quraishi sees as one problem the fact that we have not enough knowledge about Islam. He calls for the end of “Eurocentric”. He suggests that a journalist that want to be “pluralistic and cosmopolitan” must become “think[ing] multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious”. Quraishi offers in his article “10 Media Commandments” for such journalist. They are as follows:

1. Freedom of speech is a basic human right and so is the right to be free of discrimination. Any reporting which enhances racism, perpetuates prejudices and divides the society must be avoided.

2. Reporting and covering ethnic minority issues should be done with the same objectivity and neutrality which is practiced in the case of the majority.

3. Journalists should be aware of the pitfalls of their own Eurocentric upbringing and ideological education when describing other cultures and religions, especially Islam. Use of contacts among minorities can be helpful.

4. Words like Nigger, Paki, Fundamentalist, Ghetto, Ethnic gangs, Criminal second generation immigrants are derogatory to minorities. One should not use terms which have a negative impression attached to them.

5. The culture, religion, ethnicity, colour or nationality of ethnic minorities should not be used as an explanation model to write or talk about an individual or a group of people.

6. Use of unconfirmed statistics, data or facts can be very dangerous, as they can be misused by anti-immigrant politicians, right wing movements and racist organisations. It can also damage a journalist’s own reputation and integrity.

7. While writing about a particular issue among an ethnic group, please use multiple sources so that one sided impressions and information do not dominate the story

8. Involve the opinions of ethnic groups while covering issues important to society such as environment, traffic, sports, foreign affairs or the general development. It will give them a sense of belonging

9. The ethnic minorities lack socio-political influence and the means to voice their own concerns. Therefore they are not in a position to defend themselves. Journalists are morally bound to give the underdog a voice.

10. The pen is mightier than sword. A spoken word, a written paragraph or a televised picture has a momentum of its own. It can not be withdrawn. Its damage takes time to repair. Journalists should realize the power they posses and act accordingly.             

    In conclusion, let me say that I believe Quraishi to be unbiased and extremely conscious about the problems media may cause or are causing by their sometimes irresponsible coverage. He offers good insight of a Muslim living in Western society. Quraishi does not just talk about problems but he also offers a solution. His article makes a very interesting point about the fact that irresponsibility of our actions may eventually backfire at us. Concretely, not respecting the number of Muslims living in Western societies and not reporting about them consciously may endanger all our own values.  

Works citied

Quraishi, Bashy. “Islam in the Western Media”. The Multicultural SkyscraperNewsletter. 6 Dec. 2007. <http://www.multicultural.net/newsletter/article/issue3- bashy.htm>.

Hello… to start with I decided post one of my favorite video about hijab. Maybe you will like it as well. 

This is another video which I would like offer to watch. The subject is again hijab, but this time as subject for reflexion.