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Israel/Palestine
In reply to the discussion: How to write about Muslims [View all]Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)66. The fallacy of the phrase, 'the Muslim world'
Western media reinforces stereotypes by reducing a complex set of causes to the rage into an amorphous mass.
Last Modified: 16 Sep 2012 15:05
On September 12, the day after the attacks on the US diplomatic missions in Egypt and Libya, the New York Times set out to explain what it called the "anguished relationship between the United States and the Muslim world". According to the Times, the "Muslim world" was prone to outbursts of violence, and the reaction to the 14-minute anti-Islam movie trailer The Innocence of Muslims was both baffling and predictable. "Once again, Muslims were furious," wrote reporter Robert F Worth, "and many in the West found themselves asking why Islam seems to routinely answer such desecrations with violence."
Other media outlets echoed the claim that "the Muslim world" was consumed by anger, and had long been so. The Associated Press offered a look back at "Five other incidents that inspired rage in the Muslim world", crediting over a billion people for the actions of a few thousand in their search for historical continuity. Others took a psychoanalytic approach. "Why is the Muslim world so easily offended?" asked Washington Post columnist Fouad Ajami. "Madness in the Muslim World: Help Me Understand," pleaded a blogger for the Houston Chronicle.
It is time to retire the phrase "the Muslim world" from the Western media. Using the phrase in the manner above disregards not only history and politics, but accurate reporting of contemporary events. The protests that took place around the world ranged in scale and intensity, in the participants' willingness to use violence, and in their rationales. The majority of the "Muslim world" did not participate in these protests, nor did all of the Muslims who protested the video advocate the bloodshed that took place in Libya.
By reducing a complex set of causes and conflicts to the rage of an amorphous mass, the Western media reinforce the very stereotype of a united, violent "Muslim world" that both the makers of the anti-Islam video and the Islamist instigators of the violence perpetuate.
Misleading generalisations
snip* http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/09/20129168313878423.html
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There are a great number of posters here who have a problem with religion period.
Mosby
Apr 2013
#20
Well - to be fair, a lot of articles about antisemitism in Europe/America also end up here.
LeftishBrit
Apr 2013
#10
What did this OP you posted about Muslims and Jews in the UK have to do with the IP group?
Violet_Crumble
Apr 2013
#14
Thanks for making clear where you stand..not many posters would be that frank as
Jefferson23
Apr 2013
#18
Usually when we take a story from elesewhere on DU it is polite to give credit for that n/t
azurnoir
Apr 2013
#22
Clarify for me, if you would. Your remark, Since our host is going to allow religion threads in IP..
Jefferson23
Apr 2013
#27
It was a confirmation I was looking for, if it was considered about religion by the host.
Jefferson23
Apr 2013
#31
You have no idea what she is about, do you, shira. You had thought her opinions
Jefferson23
Apr 2013
#33
Oh this is rich, shira defending Muslims. The OP is about Western media bias, not religion.
Jefferson23
Apr 2013
#47
I know what you have a problem with, shira. It is evident in everyone of your posts and
Jefferson23
Apr 2013
#51
There are no lies here, shira. If you read the article, you'd know that...but that is not what
Jefferson23
Apr 2013
#53
The lie is that there's no distinction to be made b/w extreme Islamists and moderate Muslims. n/t
shira
Apr 2013
#70
"Why don't moderate and liberal Muslims speak out about stuff like this?" where have I read that b4?
azurnoir
Apr 2013
#35