mind? How about, Muslim or Islam? Take a minute to process your thoughts. Is it what you expected? Indeed, these are leading questions; however, I believe the point I am trying to make isn’t negated. To further punctuate the point, the term ‘terrorist’ was typed into Google and the fi rst images from websites such as
www.npr.com and
www.thenytimes.com were similar to those appearing above. T en the words Muslim and Islam brought
forth images such as those below from websites such as
www.newstatesman.com and
www.thewashingtonpost.com. (Due to copyright restrictions and resolution of online images Context is not able to publish the photographs actually found online.) T ese visual images demonstrate a
generalisation of what Muslims are and look like; that is, brown skin, beards and burkas (full covering garment); also, that terrorists are Muslims. Further discussion on Google’s algorithms and ranking system regarding search results are to be considered – however, due to the remit of this article and interest, this will not be expanded upon. T e Hope Not Hate charity carried out
a study in 2017 looking at societal at itudes towards Muslims in the UK, highlighting that 90% of their survey respondents across the identity tribes, considered British
Muslims to be uniquely diff erent from the majority of the British population. T e same study says that 39% of English people overestimate the number of Muslims living in the UK, and that people who are in manual jobs, or unemployed, or aged over 65 or who align themselves to right-wing ideology or political parties are more likely to hold hostile views towards British Muslims and Islam. T e study concluded that, although society had not fundamentally changed as a result of recent UK terror at acks, people’s at itudes towards British Muslims had hardened. Although a snapshot, this further brings into question the narrative around British Muslims and how this is internalised by society – specifi cally those who are of the working classes, economically deprived, and/or have a lack of access to opportunity or resources (such as education, housing etc). Using a systemic lens supports me in understanding the concept of Islamophobia, as it considers the interplay of the interconnected parts in hope of understanding the functioning of the whole.
Muslims and Islam in the media Dunn (2001) explains that, in most
cases, Muslims are depicted in the media as fundamentalists, terrorists, undemocratic,
fanatics, militant and violent. For instance, a study was carried out where researchers reviewed 51,000 pieces of news articles about Muslims from 2001 – 2008. It found that Islamophobic discourses had been constructed which were not upheld by factual events or reality. T is is referred to as institutional amplifi cation and a f inge eff ect – whereby the focus in the media is on rhetoric rather than fact. Richardson (2009) also examined how
British Muslims were characterised in the media during the UK general elections of 1997, 2001 and 2005. He concluded that there was a shiſt towards representing Muslim/Islam in a negative light since the political response to the war on terror. In all studies mentioned, references are made to Said’s (1978) theory of Orientalism. T is further supports understanding how discourses surrounding Muslims/Islam are constructed by Western society. Said asserts that cultural representations defi ned by the Western world patronise societies and peoples from Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East; which is tied to imperialist societies who produced orientalism to work and be servile to power. Which evokes a further curiosity about how this informs wider discourse in society and the positioning of minority groups. As cultures
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Context 170, August 2020
Islamophobia – a systemic perspective: Unpacking prejudices and assumptions
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