Homework

If both religions share a similar belief system, why are media representations in the West so different?

The fundamental belief of the muslim religion is that God sent a number of prophets to mankind to teach them how to live according to his law. Jesus, Moses and Abraham are respected as prophets of God, and the final prophet was Mohammed. Similarly, christians believe that Jesus was the son of God and that he was sent to earth to save humanity from the consequences of its sins.

Media representations of Islam have changed dramatically since the start of the millennium. Prior to the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, islam received little media coverage. However, this event caused a significant increase of media coverage on the people of this religion, whilst framing it in a negative light. The US-led "War on Terrorism" following these attacks caused a huge increase in Islamophobia, as the media began to create a stigma against the religion, causing stereotypes and generalisations to take place all over the western world, due to its vast influence. The most common stereotypes are that muslims are jihadis (millitants) and that the religion condones and promotes violence.

The media often focusses on things with of small relation to the religion, and then links them with one another to create a negative representation. These representations are often significantly mediated as well as bias, as they do not consider the points of view of the innocent and peaceful people of the religion. Because 9/11 had such a vast effect on the US, it received lots of media coverage, whilst the positives about the majority of the religion are not highlighted. Because the terrorists responsible for the attack that affected so many Westerners claimed to be muslim, the religion is now generalised based on this minority. This is true for all types of radicalised groups that claim to be linked to the religion.

The situation can be compared to Toderov's theory of disequilibrium. Prior to the organisation of islamic terrorist groups and attacks, the situation could be said to be in a state of equilibrium, as the relationship between the western world and islam was considerably peaceful and relaxed. The disruption occurred when the terrorist acts were carried out, leaving the relationship in a state of disequilibrium. This is ongoing, so the situation has not been resolved and a new equilibrium is yet to be reached.