...Presumed Guilty: American Muslim and Arabs Presumed Guilty: American Muslims and Arabs on Making Contact 2. American School Textbooks – How They Portrayed the Middle East from 1898 to 1994 American Educational History Journal, Volume 35, Number 1 and 2, 2008, edited by J. Wesley Null 3. Scott J. Simon. "Arabs in Hollywood: An Undeserved Image". Emerson College. http://pages.emerson.edu/organizations/fas/latent_image/issues/1996-04/arabs.htm. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 4. 100 Years of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim stereotyping by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh 5. Why Hollywood Owes Me Money by Laila Lalami 6. Khalil, Ashraf (4 October 2007). "But can you play a terrorist?". http://articles.latimes.com/2007/oct/04/entertainment/et-arabactors4. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 7. The Portrayal of Arabs in American Media 8. Patrick Harrington interviews, Jack Shaheen, author of Reel Bad Arabs 9. Driving to Zigzigland – Official site. Retrieved Oct 2012. 10. War on terror drives Arab actor to "Zigzigland" Reuters, 14 Dec 2006. Retrieved 2 Oct 2012. 11. "Terror Probe Changes Face of Racial Profiling Debate". FOX News. 1 October 2001. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,35521,00.html. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 12. "Official: 15 of 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudi". USA Today. 6 February 2002. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/02/06/saudi.htm. Retrieved 17 May 2012. 13. MacFarquhar, Neil (1 June 2006). "Terror Fears Hamper U.S. Muslims' Travel". The New York...
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...lynched by the white Americans and it was celebrated as a sport. So in mid of 20th century, although the black Americans got their freedom, they still faced the color racism by the majority of America. Stereotyping against minorities through entertainment started at the start of the entertainment industry in the world. Unfortunately, stereotyping against the minorities through media was also recorded by the film’s historians. Considering the example of Joseph Goebbels, who was the propaganda general during World War 2 and he was considered to be the founder of the discrimination portrayed in his directed films. During Nazi Regime, there were many stereotyping against the Jews and this discrimination was proudly displayed by the Goebbels propaganda they specifically targeted the Jewish controlled organization and they were negatively portrayed in the entire film. However these stereotyping ended by the end of National Socialist Party but sadly the practice of stereotyping the minorities through film remained in the entertainment industry. During early 40’s, the stereotyping against minorities through media had become a common practice in several countries, especially in America. According to the author Edith J. Isaacs, a famous critique of the theatre and arts in America, stated this stereotyping of minorities in entertainment industries as: "Even today the motion picture...
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...casual than what you see or hear through the mainstream media, and the reasons behind those can be peculiarly blamed to an extent on the religious diversity in the United States. Religion is one of the strongest acts that affect people, it can develop bonds as well as conflicts, and because different religions are practiced throughout the world such as Islam, Christianity, Judaism and many more its not surprising that their followers will have disagreements. And even though it might seem like those feelings are diminishing people still feel a sense of insecurity when it comes to this issue even if they tend to hide it or refuse to admit it. Religious segregation is pretty much still alive in many parts of the world, even in countries that claim the right of freedom of religion. It has led many people to be treated unfairly and wrongfully judged just because they are the minority who practice a religion which is different from the public orthodoxy. In modern day, Arabs and Muslims in exact suffer from being labeled as extremists or terrorists especially in Western cultures. five out of ten Americans believe Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence, despite the fact that seven out ten admit they know very little about Islam. And yet Americans rank Muslims second only to atheists as group that does not share their vision of American society (Ghazal, 2008). Intolerance and discrimination against Muslims, or if you like Islamophobia, is not a new phenomenon. There...
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...Unites States-Centric Views Comparison Mark D. Pacheco Axia College University of Phoenix Unites States-Centric Views Comparison The table comparisons show distinctive characteristics synonymous with the categories of descriptors identified for both individuals listed as Christian Americans and or Muslim Arab Americans. It is uniquely and formally identical in some categories as well as substantially different in other categories, yet still; some characteristics are open for discussion as to their identification to both parties involved. Based on results of independent surveys taken which was not scientific, substantiated or verified by any governmental agency of the United States, or Christian or Muslim Arab American groups or societies. The results are taken from ordinary American citizens not associated with either group of individuals, nor affiliated in any religious capacity, nationality, race, color, or ethnic background as identified as Christian American and Muslim Arab American. In this survey, one could say this is wholly independent and un-biased in the results given. Popular to contrary belief, most Americans give their opinions on subjects based on a few characteristics enveloped primarily with their up-bringing, moral and ethical values instilled in early childhood, their personal belief in governmental policy and societal values. As young children, teenagers, and young adults of parents and communities across this nation, individuals may...
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...Media Reaction Paper The way modern technology and the advancements made in communication this have influenced the American people. In the last decade the effects that media plays has helped with opinions that people make has escalated. With the invention of television and the Internet has allowed the news to travel throughout the world in lightning speed. The sources of this information in some instances can report the facts only the media believes that people should hear. Right or wrong and in some cases bad information in some cases is spread over the airways via internet, radio, and television. The media will continue running a story over and over the replaying of a story helps to reinforce this information in people’s minds thus helping to shape their opinion on different subject. This paper will discuss media’s reaction regarding the Arab and Muslim Americans since September 11 attacks. This paper will address the historic framework as well as the political content on this issue. My own opinion will be given on certain messages the media was attempting to portray was this coverage a biased or unbiased as well as was this issue sensationalized or objectively portrayed. For this assignment comes a story from the Detroit news titled Always Suspect: Local Arabs and Immigration. After September 11, 2001 became a turning point in the lives of people in America and around the world. Many Americans lost and gave their lives as well as being injured this had a huge effect on...
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...Media has become a mirror of the disconnected state of humanity. There is a saturation of current affair programs built on false ideologies that manipulate the Australian public. The media has power to create and enforce stereotypes; media in Australia promotes these stereotypes. News reporters and current affair programs are often perceived as the most factual; however, deliberate choices have been made regarding all aspects of a story’s construction. Aesthetic aspects including camera shots, music and language, influences the promotion of chosen perspectives while silencing others. Media portrayal and reflections of Islam and Muslims perpetuate cultural stereotypes. There is an increasing trend of people associating all Muslims with terrorists...
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...perception as a whole. One specific event in American history in which historians’ perception impacted the Arab and Muslim group in society was the terrorist attack that occurred on September 11, 2001. Abu-Lughod, a professor of Anthropology and Women’s and Gender Studies at Columbia University...
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...“Ethnicity is still too often portrayed by the mass media in ways that reinforce stereotypes” To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view? A stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing, these can be gender specific or towards a specific race. Stuart Hall (1978) conducted research and found that between August 1972 and August 1973 there were at least reports of 60 muggings in national newspapers and that there had been a reported increase of 129%. He states that the media was attempting to cause a moral panic to create fear in the public and Black people were the folk devils in which the moral panic was based around. He argues two reasons for the cause of this moral panic: The state and the ruling class were suffering a ‘crisis of hegemony’ and that there was a decline in the dominance of the ruling class due to ‘Black Power’ demonstrations, the oil crisis and strikes and power cuts. The second reason was the ruling classes needed to regain control and making mugging a moral panic achieved this by portraying violent crimes as a threat to society, which lead to the justified use of a police crackdown, muggers were portrayed as black and justified the targeting of black people by police. Hall also explains how the labelling of black people as criminals then leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy as they are stopped and searched more and arrested more, making them appear in official statistics...
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...why the alleged suspects could have turned to such violence and no one else has offered any evidence based explanation for it. If this is the case, then why is Obama now labeling them as being terrorists when he himself warned against the judging too quick? The only explanation for this situation can lead one to think of is the suspects’ identification as being ethnic Chechens and Muslims. There is no evidence that they acted in relation to the events that happened in their ancestral background. Obama appears to be going on a prejudiced assumption that is very common on television. These are unfair assumptions and they close the possibility of full understanding the cause. By bringing up these popular stereotypes, they give a new push to the...
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...Islam is highly criticized in Western media and Muslims are often portrayed in movies and TV as violent terrorists. These portrayals are usually not accurate and are unfair representation of Islam. Not all Muslims are terrorists just like not all Americans are overweight. It's a prejudice that many believe to be true even though every religion has some terrorist groups or extremists. The Qur’an promotes peace and the few groups that commit violence are looked down upon by most Muslims. They view it as a misinterpretation of the Qur’an and Islamic tradition. Taking of innocent life like civilians, and including war, is strictly forbidden in Islam. The Qur’an also states, “Humanity is but a single Brotherhood: So make peace with your brethren”...
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...EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There is currently widespread discrimination against Muslims around the world due to numerous terrorist activities that occurred over the past decade. However, it is important for us to understand that although many of these activities were carried out by Muslims, we cannot stereotype all Muslims to be terrorists. Unjust discrimination against them may trigger more problems. Thus, a good approach to fix this problem would be educating the public not to stereotype as some Muslims may be the victims themselves. THE ISSUES AND WHO ARE INVOLVED The world has been plagued by terrorism, especially so over the past decade and this has led to widespread discrimination against Muslims. This is due to the fact that many of the terrorist acts were carried out by terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah whose members are mainly of Muslim religion. However, there are much overlooked facts such as majority of the Muslims are actually not involved in those terrorist acts and some of the Muslims may even be victims of those terrorist acts themselves. One example of discrimination against Muslims would be the Oklahoma City bombing incident executed by Timothy McVeigh, an American, whereby Muslims were suspected for the bombing even before investigations started. Another would be the very recent French study led by David Laitin of Stanford University in California which shows that Muslims in European countries are more likely to be unemployed compared to people...
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...Rdavis UNCG The Islamic World Islam and Terrorism: How do you see the relationship between Islam and terrorism? Many of us Americans do impulsively equate Islam with terrorism. I can’t say that this has always been true for me. Even before I started educating myself about the Middle East and the Muslim religion I would think twice before making those knee-jerk judgments. Being an African American women in a Christian based America, I have learned about racism 1st hand, the hypocrisy of the Christian church and that things are not always one sided. Growing up in the Heart of New York City also showed me how many races of people from different cultures and religions have lived amongst each other relatively peacefully. Islam is said to be the world’s second largest religion. If Islam equaled terrorism the U.S. and other parts of the world would have been under tremendous fire by the Muslims for many years. I don’t feel that Islam equates terrorism. We all have our differences but we are all human. With that said there are moral and immoral humans, there are moral Muslims and immoral Muslims. The violence we see today stems from a radical form of Islam and I believe this to be different from the mainstream beliefs of the Islamic community. There are differences between Islam and Islamism. Islamism is said to be a complex ideology of Islam. This ideology is often identified as radical and political. Islam is a religion...
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...Do the media affect the way people feel about wearing Islamic clothing? 9/11, 7/7, Sydney Hostage crisis, Boston marathon bombing, the Parisian attacks, these are a few examples of events that are portrayed to be the fault of Islam by the media. As a consequence of this, Muslims everywhere have to take the fall for the actions of a minority of extremists. The easiest of Muslims to target are those who wear the required Islamic clothing, such as the Abaya and Hijab for women and the Thoub and tuffi for men. The abaya is the loose body length dress, typically plain black that women who follow the clothing guidelines of Islam wear, alongside the Hijab, which is usually a scarf which covers their hair and chest area. The thoub is the most common outfit for Muslim men to wear, covering from the neck to the ankles, made with loose fitting material. The toppi, unlike the Hijab, is optional and takes the form of a hat which men mostly wear when going to pray in congregation at the mosque. Islamic clothing is seen as an aspect that promotes the modesty that comes with the religion and sets apart the appearances of individuals to those of other religions, showing a sense of belonging and pride on who you are and your way of living; Islam, and the ultimate goal of gratifying Allah. Literature review What are Islamic clothing guildlines? Islamic clothing has a number of requirements that one should follow in order to ultimately please Allah. One of the requirements is guidance of what...
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...“Fighting racism and Oppression” “I am a Muslim”, a line that has been very hard for me to say due to its negative connotation ever since the 9/11 attacks and beyond that. Ever since the day of 9/11, I have been in fear to show who I am, what ethnicity I am, and what religion I practice. Due to the cause of the attacks, people had the wrong perception to what being a Muslim really is, for people thought it was battle against Muslims and not a battle against terrorists. In Zayn Kassam,” Can a Muslim be a Terrorist?” He answers, “Sure, why not, I wonder, for so can a Jew, a Hindu, a Sikh, a Catholic, or, indeed, a member of any faith (776).” Another example of unfair assumption that is portrayed is in George Orwell’s, “Shooting an Elephant,” for in his essay he was a white British police officer that was hated by the Burmese people, because of the British rule over Burma, and the assumption that white people are violent and hateful. In addition, because of the British rule the Burmese people assumed that all British officers and British were alike due to their unfair ruling. In this essay the narrator George Orwell was assigned to go kill and what it seems to be an untamed Elephant, but due to his conscience he would feel resentment if he was to kill an Elephant, because of his non-violent and none hateful nature. Furthermore, he is in a situation where the people of Burma expect white man to do rampant, but on the contrary he does not feel that there is a need to kill the elephant...
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...more hidden… He knows what is in the land and in the sea; no leaf falls but he knows it’ nor is there a grain in the darkness under the earth, nor a thing, green or sere, but it is recorded (Smith 238).” In this part of the book smith is showing how Muslims view their God Allah. Showing that he is omnipotent and everywhere at the same time. Also, to not show disrespect to Allah by raising your voice. I found this very surprising at how similar it is to Christianity. To find out that they viewed Jesus as a prophet as well simply blew my mind. Seemed like from the outside growing up the Muslims were so different from Christians yet our religion is intertwined with theirs. Muslims believe in one God as do Christians. They even believe that Jesus lived and died unlike Christians though they just view Jesus as a prophet and not the son of God. Yet Christians and Muslims are portrayed as hating one another in main stream media yet our views on life are very similar. Even the teachings of not stealing and killing another man are agreed upon. So strange that two religions so intertwined hate each other so much. Espically when Muslims think that Christians are going to heaven as well. Unlike Christians who believe that Muslims are incorrect. Seems that if people would only broaden their horizon when it comes to informing themselves on others religion then their would be much less hate between the two religions and more love and compassion instead....
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