Muslim and Arab Stereotyping By Western Media

Research Paper

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
Of ENG216/246 Course

By
Ismail Yousry … 111645
Under Supervision of
Dr. Ghada El Akhdar
Muslim and Arab Stereotyping By Western Media

Industrial Engineering
MSA University

Table Of Contents

ABSTRACT………………………………………………………...……3

I. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………3-4

II.LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………….5-9

III.DISCUSSION………………………………………………………9-11

IV.CONCLSUION………………………………………………………11

REFRENCE………………………………………………………………12

ABSTRACT

This research objectively is talking about the negative growing relationship between Arab Muslims and the western world particularly after the world trade Centre attack, Arab phobia have been a part of the western culture. For centuries the Arab has played the role of villain, seducer of our women, hustler and robber-the barbarian waiting at the gates of development. Currently in the 20th century, Arab as seen as terrorists, murderers and enemies due to how media presents them, new images has been emerged to the whole world thanks to Hollywood film makers, this study also aims to reveal the truth image of the Arab Muslim world and to prove the unfair attitude against Arab and Muslims made by the media that was not careful to appear neutral and unbiased.

I.INTRODUCTION

Who exactly are the Arabs and Muslims? When we use both of these terms, we
Are talking about more than 1.3 billion people, and the many more millions around, the world who are from the 22 Arab countries.

The Arabs have made many donations to our world evolution. To name a few, Arab scientists encouraged many European thinkers like Leonardo da Vinci. The Arabs invented algebra and the concept of zero. A lot of English words—algebra, chemistry, alcohol, safari, tariff, coffee, and others—have Arab roots. Arab intellectuals made it feasible for Western scholars to develop and practice advanced educational systems.

Through immigration, adaptation, and birth ... Arab Muslims are considered to be America’s fastest rising religious group; about 700,000 reside in many parts all over the states. . .

Are Arab and Muslims aware of the pressures they now face? “Do they understand how millions of Europeans, Americans, Africans, Asians and Australians -- Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Confucians, those who ascribe to a score of other religions and those who ascribe to no religion whatsoever -- today see them due to the western stereotyping?”

This Study Aims to show the real Arab and Muslims and to prove that all the false images used to stereotype are just Exaggerations made by the media…

II.LITERATURE REVIEW

Arab Muslims immigrate into America and Europe, they have found it difficult to tolerate the false concepts of Islam and Arab. Arab Muslims are not people of hatred and violence, but they respect all humans. [1] Clarified that Arab and Muslims like Americans and they respect their pioneering science and technology, they also like their values of freedom and democracy. And this is what Islam confirms about, it is the religion that calls for principles, tolerance, morality, mercy, and faith. “Muslims, especially Arab Muslims, are viewed as barbarians who harbour a total disregard for human life.”[2]

The relationship between the West and Arab Muslims had some inconsistencies and convulsions in the last few years through media, and these were shown in the form of releases after the rigidity and monotony. [3] clarified that Arab Muslims and Western people fear and worry toward each other stemmed from their unawareness of each other. “The West has partial and biased knowledge about Islam and failed to understand Islam fully. They always positioned Muslims as barbaric and primitive communities who are fond of war” [3].

Stereotyping of Arab and the west is a clash of civilization which was raised before the world trade Centre attack, and after the attacks it was raised violently over and added the new stimulating conflict between Islam and the West is to support the Western governments and particularly America unfair campaigns against Arab Muslims world in the Western media.

The Western media has often anticipated Arab and Muslims in a negative way in all media types. They made a lot of movies spreading false images about arab and Muslims, Even Newspapers use false key words such as rebels, terrorists and fanatics to describe Arabs.

“A yet more recent stereotype is the "Bomber", to which is added the prefix "Arab-" or "Muslim-". This stereotype is unique. Never, for example, were the members of the Bader Meinhoff group called "German" terrorists or the members of the Red Brigade referred to as "Catholic" terrorists. "Bomber", thus, denotes more than just abhorrent criminal behavior; it has come to connote a society and a religion. To these, we could add a sixth "B-word": "Backward". The term was used by both Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi and US Attorney- General Ashcroft to differentiate between structurally and morally "advanced" religions and "backward" religions.”[4]

Hollywood played a crucial role in distorting Arab and Muslims and deforming their image ignoring the Secretariat of media. Hollywood produced a lot of movies after 9/11 attacks talking about Arab and Muslims bloody trend. “I document and discuss virtually every feature that Hollywood has ever mademore than 900 films, the vast majority of which portray Arabs by distorting at every turn what most Arab men, women, and children are really like”[5]

The Siege is a film, which conflicted by the Arab and Muslims and objected to the Arabs strongly continues to exist in the U.S. market so far and the story of the film tells about the Arabs (Muslims in particular) that they are terrorists and murderers kill innocent people without mercy and showing the Arabs in the worst form, which makes the viewer believe this slander.

Rules of engagement is a second example, takes place in Yemen when the Yemeni people besieged the U.S. embassy in Sana'a City, the battalions of demonstrators threw stones at the U.S. Embassy and shooting them, what proves the illogicality of the situation that the film pictures a little girl carrying a gun and shoot the embassy, after that the American forces came to save the Ambassador and his family and opened fire on crowds of demonstrators and kill them all.

All over the world, Arab Muslims travellers are feeling bad with the anti-terrorists security measures that always make them feel uncomfortable.[6] showed an example of these violent blind actions towards Muslims, Tariq Ali is just a full-fledged British national and a figure of the British left also, who was in Germany for a seminar, was imprisoned by the airport security as he was coming back to England they found in his bag a German published copy of an essay of Karl Marx On suicide which worried the German airport employees that made one of them reported Ali as terrorist!

Despite all the aversion of Hollywood bias, there is a reassuring is that Hollywood cinema is not serious and does not have all the Arabs. Cowboy’s films represented a lot of the Indians and abused them and made the African drug dealers and made the Arabs appear as terrorists and have made of Mexican women as prostitutes or maids in the movies. The Italians were presented as they all belong to the Mafia. Germans also were shown as Nazis. But the difference that Hollywood movies have changed in the treatment of the peoples such as Indians and Mexicans and Africans with the exception of the image of Arabs that is still negative. “No other group has been more vilified in the history of image-making.” [7]
III.DISCUSSION

Media in some Western countries control the minds completely, they changed the true image of Islam and stereotypes Muslims and Arabs as terrorists who might explode at any moment, this image made some western people to treat Arab and Muslims in a very bad way, even sometimes Arab students are expelled from schools and colleges in a terrorist fashion within the framework of illogical judgment “you are an Arab and a Muslim so you are a terrorist! “

Arab and Muslims should find a way to stop these stereotypes and to try show to the vivid truth about themselves and to proof that all of the western media is not fair, they should use the same weapon to defenses themselves, hence, media is the best way and effective solutions:

A. High Budget Films

Producing a high-budget films about Arab and Muslims reflecting Arabs’ life and showing the true principles of Islam is a brilliant idea to strengthen the relations between Arab and western because as it was clarified by [3] that Western people fear and worry about Muslims stemmed from their unawareness of them.

B. Boycotting some western media

Arab and Muslims should boycott films dealing with Arab stereotyping, because it is not logical to watch films contain unfair material about you and your people.

C. Do not be blind

Some of Arabic films and media productions starts to deal with these stereotypes in a funny way but in the last years they showed the unfair images of Muslims as a self-evident issue.

All of these suggestions are considered to be effective and it will change the Muslims and Arab false images created by the western media and it will remove any worries or fears towards Arab.

IV. CONCLUSION

It was noticed in the past few years that western media has changed the true image of Islam and stereotypes Muslims and Arabs as terrorists, this image made some western people to treat Arab and Muslims in a very bad way,there were some suggestions to face these stereotypes by producing high budget films and by boycotting some of the western media materials…

REFERNCE

[1] J.Zogby, “Moving Beyond Myths”, “Al-Ahram Weekly”, no.1021, October-November 2010.[Online].Available:http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/1021/ op3.htm.[Accessed December 19,2010]
[2] O.G.Harb, “Destroying the stereotype”,“Al-Ahram Weekly”,no.709,23 - 29 September 2004.[Online].Available:http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/
709/op8.htm.[Accessed December 21,2010]
[3]A.M.Utsman, “Reformulating the Relationship between Islam and the West”, “Jaringan Islam Liberal”,13 June 2005.[Online].Available:http://islamlib
.com/en/article/reformulating-the-relationship-between-islam-and-the-west/.[Accessed December 4,2010]
[4]A.Said, “Terrorists and cowboys”,“Al-Ahram Weekly”,no.622,23 - 29 January 2003.[Online].Available:http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/622/ op172.htm#1.[Accessed December 2,2010]
[5]J.G.Shaheen, Reel Bad Arabs. Olive branch press,2001
[6]F.Farag, “Profiling Racism”,“Al-Ahram Weekly”,no.561,22 - 28 November 2001.[Online].Available:http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2001/561/10war1.htm.[Accessed December 8,2010]
[7]O.A.Latif, “Imaging the Future”,“Al-Ahram Weekly”,no.561,22 - 28 November 2001.[Online].Available:http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2001
/561/9war3.htm.[Accessed December 13,2010]