Media perpetuating Muslim myths

The Straits Times, Singapore

Media perpetuating Muslim myths

By Zakir Hussain

Sept 8, 2005

WHEN Indian-born film director Mira Nair was interviewed by the New York Times Magazine last year, she was asked whether she had ever been mistaken for a Muslim on the streets. Her reply was instructive: 'Last time I checked, Muslims looked like every other human being.'

That image however does not always come across clearly or readily in media reports of Islam or Muslims. Instead, Muslims are often portrayed as a monolithic group that stands opposed to Western and liberal values, even modern ideas.

But it is a portrayal not only by the Western or global media, said many participants at a seminar over the weekend that had sought to address the issue of how Islam is depicted in the media. Often, the Muslim media is as guilty in painting the same picture. Academic presenters at the seminar, such as sociologist Syed Farid Alatas from the National University of Singapore and communications expert Ahmad Murad Merican from Malaysia's Universiti Teknologi Mara, were especially critical.

Associate Professor Ahmad Murad, for example, noted that the Malay media in Malaysia tends to view Islam as being pitted against the West and that it must therefore act as the protector of the faith. It has also made Islam one-dimensional by 'mainstreaming it to be Sunni and of the Shafie school', he said at the seminar organised by the Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs, a subsidiary of the Association of Muslim Professionals.

'Other sects are excluded from news coverage or commentaries,' he added. Sunnis comprise the majority of Muslims worldwide, and most Malays are Sunni. Most Malays also follow the Shafie school, one of four main schools of Islamic jurisprudence.

The event's sponsor, Germany's Konrad Adenauer Foundation, named after the country's first chancellor after World War II, offered another take on this dichotomous view of 'Islam and the rest'. Its regional representative Werner vom Busch said Muslim violence against non-Muslims has received more coverage compared to Muslim violence against Muslims and non-Muslim violence against Muslims.

That such reporting should change, no-one at the two-day meeting disputed. But how to change it was a question that found no one answer among the 70 academics, journalists and observers present. But most agreed on the need for more responsible reporting and for journalists to improve in two areas.

One, they need to invest the time for a deeper understanding of the context behind violence involving Muslims. The other is to be more discerning about their news sources, eschewing those so-called experts who repeat common misperceptions and myths. Many of these myths, such as 'Islam advocates violence' or 'Muslims are dangerous people', were let loose in a sharp burst by the media soon after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks when it sought to explain the root causes of terrorism.

But it is not a new phenomenon.

Back in 1981, American Professor Edward Said spent an entire book highlighting the prejudices when it came to covering Islam in a book named thus. He said it is both wrong and foolish to see Islam and the West as catch-all labels in conflict with each other. The late professor, who taught comparative literature at Columbia University and was a well-known advocate of the Palestinian cause, did not mince his words when he accused the media of being simplistic and failing to communicate nuances.

In the introduction to his book, he wrote: 'Precious little in the way of dialogue and exchange - both of which occur in scholarly debate, in artistic production, in the encounters between ordinary human beings who do business, interact and generally talk to, as opposed to at, each other - makes it into the public domain so dominated by the mass media.'

He added: 'Sensationalism, crude xenophobia and insensitive belligerence are the order of the day, with results on both sides of the imaginary line between 'us' and 'them' that are extremely unedifying.' Both sides have much work to do to erase that imaginary line.

One way, suggested Indonesian publisher Haidar Bagir, is through peace journalism, an approach that sees journalists helping to forge creative solutions to conflict situations through conscientious reporting. One key element is that journalists should avoid portraying a conflict as consisting of only two parties contesting for one goal.

Instead, they should disaggregate the two parties into many smaller groups, pursuing many goals, opening up more creative potential for a range of outcomes. Other nuances which the speakers felt should be but were not adequately reported are that Muslims are as horrified by violence as anybody else, that Muslims are affected by violence, and that inter-religious encounters take place all the time.

But what about the Muslim media, in particular?

American journalist Sunni Khalid from Baltimore, Maryland, identified two occasions when the Muslim media can do a disservice to the community: when it constantly frames the West as antagonistic and when it fails to discuss openly issues where there is a diversity of views in the Muslim world.

But sociologist Syed Farid Alatas pointed out that not every society has desisted from it. Those in Indonesia, Egypt and Iran actively discuss differences. Not the Malay media in Singapore and Malaysia, however. Taking them to task for failing to critically discuss Muslim ideologies, he said: 'As long as we don't take critical discourse and discussion as a way of educating people, we're not going to be able to make headway. That's the problem.'

He suggested that Malay daily Berita Harian was exercising censorship or being told to. Straits Times senior writer Mafoot Simon, a former executive editor of the paper, disagreed.

There's nothing preventing the Malay media from taking up issues of differences, he said. It is also up to academics and others to see it as their responsibility to contribute to the discussion in the media. Such a move away from reporting Islam to elucidating and understanding it requires a paradigm shift, a shift the seminar did not go into.

Crucial to such a change is enough voices that are unafraid to speak up when sought by the media. More importantly, they must also be willing to engage and speak to the media about the diversity of views among Muslims.

Muslims, like followers of other religions, have their disagreements too but that does not - and should not - diminish their membership of the faith. Too often, many religious scholars and teachers avoid commenting openly on potentially divisive issues.

Some say they lack the authority to do so, and fear they may be criticised. Others are fearful that commenting on sensitive matters may bring a backlash from their congregation. So, until the Muslim community can shed these fears, expect more of the same.

And until the Muslim media changes, expect the rest to continue to be blind to the diversity within the community.