Muslims and the Media

One issue that really gets Muslims and Arabs, in particular, upset is the poor way they feel they are portrayed in Western or American media, such as TV, newspapers and movies. You can be sure that, when reading a book about Islam (or Arabs) written by a Muslim, you will come across a section complaining about media images of both Islam and Muslims, that Muslims are seen only as bloodthirsty terrorists and Islam the religion of the sword.

While I do understand the complaints and sometimes wish that there would be more emphasis on people as three-dimensional beings (though actually I could say that about the portrayal of any number of groups), there is also something of a problem here. The image created by groups such as CAIR, MSA, ICNA, ISNA and the like sure isn't very congenial. My post below on "Muslim PR" on Sunday, May 11th goes into more detail about why that is, but suffice it to say that blaming and refusing to accept any responsibility, as well as defending terrorists and murderers, is not going to do much for your image. These organizations often come off as arrogant, petulant, and whiny, as well as completely uninterested in actually fighting (as opposed to defending, directly or indirectly) terrorism and Islamic extremists, and the fact that they claim to speak for all American Muslims (which they emphatically do not) doesn't help matters.

Many Muslims are indeed very kind people (and would be a real PR scoop if they were profiled!), living as ordinary Americans do, having non-Muslim friends, active in the community (not just the mosque), and so on. And, it has to be said, some are not (and would really be bad PR!), with bottomless hatred for Jews and often America, despite voluntarily living here, refusal to have anything to do with non-Muslims, happy at the events of 9/11, wanting to bring America under Shari'ah law, and so on. How do you deal with this? You could pick out only the "media-friendly" cases, or you could simply dishonestly cut out anything that makes them look bad. But then we have the "whitewash" problem, where only positive things are said and the bad glossed over if even mentioned, and that will cause a loss of credibility in the eyes of others. I myself don't trust anything "whitewashers of Islam" say (though that's more because I know what the truth is). If someone sees all these reports around the world of terrorism by Islamic extremists, and then sees sugar-coated profiles of Muslims, living in America and elsewhere, all good with not a bad bone in their bodies, there's likely to be some kind of disconnect. What could be causing these acts? What are the people like who carry them out and support them? Finding no answer to these questions in documentaries about Muslims and Islam, instead given the tired claim "Islam prohibits the murder of innocents" is apt to breed distrust because the question is not dealt with honestly. (Incidentally, the term "innocents" is variously defined by Muslim groups, and some have claimed that, for whatever reason, Americans and/or Israelis and/or non-Muslims in general are actually NOT innocents, and are instead "enemies of Islam," even civillians, women and children, so it's OK to kill them. It is claimed that Israelis are illegally "occupying" the land which is the true possession of Muslims--not just the West Bank and Gaza, mind you, but all of Israel, so suicide bomber attacks killing people riding the bus to work, or shooting up children in their beds is not killing "innocents," because they are not innocents in their view! Americans "finance and support" Israel, and do all kinds of things that make Muslims unhappy, so they too are fair game, according to this view.)

While I wouldn't mind three-dimensional portrayals of people that may show them in a better light (or worse!--that's the problem with honest portrayals), the constant complaints that Islam, the religion, is shown in a bad light aren't going to be as well-recieved. Islam is not just a religion, but a political movement as well, with its historical emphasis on "expanding the borders of Islam" and the running of society according to Muslim law, the Shari'ah. As such, it is open to criticism as both a religion and as a political movement. Religion in America is not sancrosanct, and Christianity, for example, is freely criticized, ridiculed, and rejected, in keeping with freedom of speech. Islam cannot expect better, and I do think that Muslims in general definitely need much thicker skin when dealing with criticism of Islam, instead of seeing each criticism as a blow to their pride and ego which must be avenged. The American attitude is more along the lines of, "If you know you have the truth, why let criticism and attacks on it bother you so much? The truth will out." The inability to take criticism of Islam looks to Americans like lack of confidence that Islam can really compete in the bruising "marketplace of ideas" and somehow needs "special protection" because it cannot appeal to people on its own merits. Characterizing criticism of Islam or Muslims as "racism" is apt to backfire, as 1) Muslims are not a race, 2) it suggests that honest criticism cannot be tolerated because Islam just can't handle it, 3) it creates intense resentment, as, for example, criticism of any other religion is not decried as "racism," and only stifles honest debate.

Now we come to the crux of the problem; while complaining about how Muslims and Arabs are portrayed in Western media, Arab media is infamous for its Nazi levels of invective and hatred against Jews, and of course one can hardly expect a good image of Westerners either! Suppose Jews and Israelis complained about how they were portrayed by Muslims; do you think they would get a sympathetic response? How about if Americans complained about the barrage of anti-Western rhetoric, the portrayal of Western women as whores, the depiction of Americans as "controlled by the Jews," and on and on? One constantly repeated claim is that American media is controlled by the Jews (or "Zionists") and that is why Muslims and Muslim causes can't get good press. Well, has it ever occurred to them that they are indulging in the same kind of racism and bigotry they accuse the media of? Or is it that hatred of Jews is not racism? (I don't like using the term "anti-semitism," because Arabs and others will frequently say that, since they are Semites, they can't be anti-Semitic, or that hatred of Arabs is "anti-semitism." I want to make it clear that I am referring to hatred of Jews.)

Frankly, one reason I'm often not very sympathetic to Muslim complaints of media bias is the fact that the Arab media in particular, and that of many other Muslim nations as well, is so ravingly insane, filled with hatred of Jews and Westerners (forget about a sympathetic documentary depicting an Israeli family, or an American one!). It is, it might be said, bad PR, and the way Muslims often react to the revelation of this insanity doesn't help: either flat denial or the same old tired claims that 1) it's for purely "understandable" reasons, 2) you just don't understand the context, how Muslims have been humiliated, and 3), the most ridiculous, showing displeasure, not that there is so much hatred in Arab media, but that Westerners have been informed about it!

Why does it go only one way--Americans and Westerners must "understand" Muslims and Islam, depicting them in a good light, but Muslims can say whatever crap they want about Westerners and Jews on their media (admittedly usually state-run, but even independent sources are generally just more of the same)? Why must Americans realize how their actions upset Muslims and humiliate them, while Muslims do not have to realize how their actions and attitudes upset Americans? Why can't Jews/Israelis be portrayed as human beings, the way Muslims say they want themselves to be portrayed, instead of as the font of all evil?

Another part of the crux of the problem is that, frankly, many Muslims cause more than their share of trouble! Terrorist acts, seemingly constant warfare against both Muslims and non-Muslims, calls for jihad and the destruction of Israel and the West, anti-American demonstrations, synagogue torchings, and so on, do not do much for the image of Muslims and Islam! Pacifist Buddhists hardly ever get into the news in this fashion! It seems as if many Muslims would like to see the media ignore all of this, which isn't going to happen anytime soon. More troublingly, the typical Muslim reaction to these acts is not to apologize for how Islam is being misused, or how the terrorists are bad Muslims, or some kind of condemnation, but instead whining about how Muslims are "unfairly treated" and that Islam is given a "bad image" by the media. (For example, Muslim organizations in America didn't really condemn the actions of 9/11 or other terrorist acts in a forceful manner, or sometimes at all, instead focusing on profiling of Arabs/Muslims at airports and complaining about the shutdown of Muslim charities funneling money to terrorist organizations.) This attitude alone does a lot to create distrust and dislike among non-Muslims towards Muslims, it must be said, leading many to conclude that Muslims in America, by failing to say anything about terrorist acts, are implicitly condoning them, or at least refusing to condemn them.

As I have repeated before, Muslim double-standards will not help Muslims' cause, instead turning others against them. What really needs to happen, in my opinion, is for the facts on the ground to change. If there are no terrorist attacks committed by Islamic extremists, then the media won't report on them. If Islamists stop inciting hatred and murder, the news won't have much to report about it. I think that American Muslims should make more of an effort to actively condemn and stop terrorist acts, which will result in a better image for Muslims in America once it is made clear that they do not support or condone such acts, that they are in fact peaceful citizens of this country, wishing no harm on Muslims and non-Muslims alike. I also think that the truth is the best remedy. I personally believe that Muslims should be willing to discuss how it is that Islamic beliefs can so often turn into hatred and violence. I think that this might generate some goodwill, in showing that Muslims are willing to be honest with themselves and look inward for the source of the problem, instead of blaming everyone else. While I am in favor of portraying Muslims and Arabs as real people, this means that they should not be whitewashed or presented as flat, two-dimensional "noble Muslim" characters with no flaws. Their problems should not be ignored or covered up, but honestly dealt with, something that I think all Muslims should do with themselves and their own problems.