Media accused of spreading Islamophobia

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 11/24/2006 12:30 PM

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Does the media, particularly in Europe, fan religious and ethnic hatred and conflicts, stereotyping, Islamophobia and racism?

The answer, according to delegates of a two-day international conference on Islam and the West that ended here Thursday, is a definite yes.

""The media is playing a huge role in echoing and disseminating the negative majority populations' stereotypes and prejudices about Islam and Muslim communities, reinforcing those prejudices as a matter of consequence and imposing them as the 'reality' of Islam or 'Muslimness',"" said Michael Privot of the Belgium-based European Network Against Racism (ENAR).

Speaking at the conference sponsored by the Finnish Embassy and the International Conference for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP), he said this has led to the increasing ""Islamization"" of social issues, as Muslim migrants and their children are only perceived through the tiny lens of their presupposed religious and/or cultural identity.

""It also allows society in general not to tackle real issues at stake. If young Muslims severely underachieve at school, it is due to the negative values of their religion, not because there are strong social and economical barriers.

""There is no talk about spatial segregation in deprived neighborhoods that would place a heavy burden on their right to equal opportunities,"" Privot said.

While strongly encouraging the freedom of speech, Privot expressed concern that some people were using that very right as a tool to promote racist ideas covertly.

Freedom of speech, he said, would be fine if every party involved in the debate had equal access to the mass media to promote its views.

""But we notice that Muslims or non-Muslims that could promote a more balanced view of the situation have only scarce or no access to the media. When it is not a level playing field, how can we freely express our views?"" he said.

Tunisia-born Muslim scholar Ahmed Akar cited a research conducted by Media Watch, saying that nearly 65 percent of the media coverage was related to ethnic and religious minorities in the West, including the generally negative description of Islam.

Western media coverage of ""the others"", he said, focused mainly on negative issues, such as poverty, disease, conflicts, wars, fanaticism, catastrophes, subjugation of women and backwardness.

""Positive and success stories related to immigrants including Muslims are not of any interest to the Western media,"" Akar, who is based in Helsinki, Finland, told the conference.

He said the involvement of Muslims in mainstream media was vital to creating a more balanced media and a more objective coverage of Islam and Muslims within and outside Europe.

""Muslims should be committed not only as journalists and reporters, but also should be there where news is treated and made news, in the newsrooms,"" he said.

Privot further said that a more voluntary approach on the part of all stakeholders should be undertaken to promote a kind of ""media corporate responsibility"" toward intercultural dimensions and sensitivity.

""In a media driven society, the 5th power cannot escape its responsibilities in promoting a culture of respect and understanding,"" he said.

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