Islamophobia and the Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Western Media

Abstract

The ethnic and Islamophobic trends were present in the western
discourses since long but they increased in number and intensity in the post
9/11 scenario. The co-existence of Islamophobic trends in the European
discourse did not only influence political and financial structures but also
the social and cultural edifices. The paper attempts to analyze the
representation of Muslims and Islam in the British media in the light of the
available literature. The paper concluded that the British Muslims were
framed as alien “Others” by the British media. The portrayal of “others”
was further linked to the racist notions of Islamophobia. The dominant
themes employed by the British press for the portrayal of Muslims
included „deviant‟, “immigrants”, “dangerous”, “problematic, and
“oppressive”. The western media‟s tendency of frequently engaging their
own commentators for commenting on matters related to Islam and
Muslims was considered as a main reason for biased representation of
Islam and Muslims in the Western media. Resultantly it is always “Us”
which is representing “Them” instead of “They” representing
“Themselves”. Thus the western media tends to portray Islam and West as
opposites to each other.