Teaching and Learning Guide for: Media, Racism and Islamophobia: The Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Media
Authors: Saeed Amir 
Published: October 2008

As late back as 1993, Ahmed noted that many Muslims voiced concern of the negative representation of Islam and Muslims by the Western media. However, following on from such incidents as the Rushdie affair, the first Gulf War and 9/11, interest in media representations of Islam have grown. An ever‐increasing body of research has argued that the images, representations and discourses relating to Islam and Muslims in mainstream Western media tend to be negative and hostile (Poole and Richardson 2006). Various studies have examined the specific relationship between media and Islam (Ahmed 1993; Runnymede Trust 1997); the representations of Muslim minorities in the West (Allen 2005; Poole 2002) and others on Muslims and Islam in the global media (Poole and Richardson 2006; Zelizer and Allan 2002). Ideologically, these constructions can be traced back the expansion of Western imperialism where a dichotomy of ‘West’ versus ‘East’ was constructed (Said 1978).

The following suggested reading list provides a starting point for researchers that are interested in exploring issues of representation and minority groups. This is not an exhaustive list but provides some of the fundamental texts that help us to understand the relationship between one minority group in the West (i.e. Muslims) and their representations in the media.

The reading list is constructed in the following way. First, it presents key cultural theory (i.e. Orientalism) and relates this to issues of ‘race’. Second, it examines the link between media research on minority groups and representations of Muslims/Islam. Finally, it provides some background knowledge on Muslims/Islam within the West.

Suggested texts

Cultural theory

Said, Edward 1978. Orientalism. London, UK: Penguin (republished, 2003 and 2005).

Edward Said's Orientalism (1978) is a theory that has transformed the ways in which power relations between West and East can be understood. This explores the ideas that have become embedded in Western culture through history that justify imperialism/colonialism on the basis that the West is viewed as superior to the East. Within the book, Said offers three major claims. First, he describes Orientalism as an objective, disinterested and esoteric set of ideas, the overall function of which is to serve political ends. These, for example, provided an ideological justification for Orientalist scholars to allow Europeans to take over Oriental lands. Second, Said looks at how these tools are important in helping Europe to define its image and to establish and maintain opposites and others. On this basis, Europe was given its own cultural and intellectual superiority over Islamic cultures, and this led the West to see the Islamic culture as static both in place and time. Third, Said points out that Orientalism has produced a false description of Islamic cultures, including a belief that that it is possible to unconditionally define the essential qualities of a whole Islamic culture and the people within it. The qualities of this culture are usually defined in negative terms.

The following link provides a summary by Said on the new edition of Orientalism:

http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,1010417,00.html (last accessed 24 June 2008)

Ferguson, Robert 1998. Representing ‘Race’: Ideology, Identity, and the Media. London, UK: Arnold.

The operations of ideology in the media are also discussed in Representing ‘Race’. Ferguson argues that the study of ‘race’ and the media cannot be seriously undertaken without engaging with theories of ideology and without an awareness of contemporary theoretical work, such as approaches to Orientalism, hegemony and critical discourse analysis. Ferguson also highlights the danger of accepting at face value socially constructed and ideologically charged notions such as ‘race’. The book also provides a useful summary and critique of Orientalism and applies various concepts to case studies within the media.

For a good analysis of how hegemony, representation and notions of ‘race’ are intertwined that draws upon Ferguson's work, see the following: Can Gramsci's theory of hegemony help us to understand the representation of ethnic minorities in western television and cinema? By Reena Mistry at http://www.theory.org.uk/ctr‐rol6.htm (last accessed 24 June 2008).

Media and ‘race’

Cottle, Simon 2000. Ethnic Minorities and the Media: Changing Cultural Boundaries. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.

This key text brings together international researchers who have investigated some of the latest issues, debates and examples informing the field of ethnic minorities and the media. It provides a useful opening chapter that reviews the developments within this field. It also explores changes in media representations as well as different approaches that examine discourse, production and identity and debates within broader media theory such those about the media’ role as the public sphere.

Van Dijk, Teun 1991. Racism and the Press. London, UK: Sage.

Van Dijk notes that most white people have very little contact with ethnic minorities and that their attitudes towards ethnic groups are therefore influenced on this basis by the media. He states that the media play a central role in the reproduction of racism in Western countries. Using discourse analysis, his book investigates the nature of the existence of racism through an analysis of statements on racial/ethnic relations found within the Dutch and British press. Van Dijk links the idea of ‘primary definers’ to the notion that the media constitute an ‘elite’ in society. Whilst accepting that the media represent conflicts over these ideas that include the voices of other social actors, he argues that in terms of race and ethnicity, an ethnic consensus is prevalent here. Van Dijk notes that the media constitute a cultural elite, and as the experts in matters of ‘formulation’ (and re‐formulation), the media produce the dominant discourse environment of a racist society.

A collection Van Dijk's work on racism, discourse analysis and media can be found on the following web site:

http://www.discourses.org

Representations of Islam/muslims in the media

Poole, Elizabeth 2002. Reporting Islam: Media Representations of British Muslims. London, UK: I.B. Tauris.

Poole examines the claim that Muslims are negatively represented in the British press. She argues that media images of Muslims are informed by official definitions of Islam that serve elite interests and that these change over time to suit political purposes. Orientalist discourses, it is argued here for example, maintain the view of Islam as a coherent, trans‐national monolithic force that has been engaged in a confrontational relationship with the West throughout history. The book makes clear and concise connections between theory and representation and provides excellent examples to illustrate this.

Poole, Elizabeth and John Richardson (Eds) 2006. Muslims and the News Media. London, UK: I.B. Tauris.

This book examines the role and representations of Muslims in the news media in context of the current discussions of the ‘War on Terror’. It includes chapters by both academic authorities and media practitioners and demonstrates how theory can be exemplified in practice. Furthermore, it is set in both a British and international context and recognizes similarities and differences present within coverage from around the globe. From a media perspective, the book clearly explores the connections between national/global context, content, production and different audiences (Muslim and non‐Muslim) and looks also at how Muslim media is organized and structured.

Muslim minorities in the West

Modood, Tariq 2006. Multicultural Politics: Racism, Ethnicity and Muslims in Britain. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.

In Multicultural Politics, Tariq Modood explores how much of the ‘blame’ for the failure of multiculturalism has been attached to Islamic culture's incompatibility with the ‘democratic’ principles of the West. Arguing that the old ‘racial’ division of black–white has been complicated by factors such as cultural racism and the rise of Islamophobia, the book moves to chart these developments within the British context whilst also paying attention to global political developments. The book has an impressive range of topics covered such as ‘race’, racism, Islamophobia, the multicultural debate and even summarizes broader relevant cultural theory.

Films, videos and on‐line sources

Visual sources are an excellent teaching method that can be employed to explain theories of ‘race’ and media representation. Rather than concentrate on ‘actual’ films, videos online material that may considered Islamophobic the following provides academic and more critical sources that may be useful for teaching issues of Islam, Muslims, minority representation and even ‘race’.

Edward Said: On Orientalism (1998)

In this documentary, Said talks about the context within which his book was conceived, its main themes and how its original thesis and ideas still relate to a contemporary understanding of ‘the Orient’ that is represented in the mass media and wider public politics.

A brief version of the documentary can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwCOSkXR_Cw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjlRR‐qRkcc

(last accessed 26 June 2008)

Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (2008)

Race, the Floating Signifier: Featuring Stuart Hall (2006)

Stuart Hall discusses the concept of ‘race’ and how race is represented and naturalized in the media. This interview gives relevant examples to help to understand the concept of mediated representations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cxBOdBoxpg&feature=related

(last accessed June 26 2008)

A documentary supported by the Media Education Forum based on academic research on how Muslims/Islam/Arabs are represented (and treated as a homogenous group) by Hollywood. It builds upon media representations of various minority groups and then looks specifically at similarities and differences in Arab portrayals

The trailer and a brief version of the documentary can be found at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko_N4BcaIPY

http://www.democracynow.org/2007/10/19/reel_bad_arabs_how_hollywood_vilifies

(both last accessed 26 June 2008)

Online sources

Race, racism and ethnic minority affairs

http://www.cre.gov.uk/

The home page for the Commission for Racial Equality provides up to date information on news and current affairs. It also provides links to a variety of other relevant sources form the media to black history groups.

http://www.irr.org.uk

The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) was established as an independent educational charity in 1958 to carry out research, publish and collect resources on race relations throughout the world. This website contains links to academic research, policy research and also media stories that are relevant to anyone interested in the area of ‘race’ and ethnicity. It also published the highly respected journal ‘Race and Class’.

http://www.islamophobia‐watch.com/islamophobia‐watch/

The above link also provides useful information on examples of racist and Islamaphobic sources that maybe useful for teaching or illuminating theories. I have purposefully not included the original links to many of these because they are, in my opinion, racist.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/race

The Guardian has a link to a database of back issues of relevant race articles. These include information on media representations and provide links to a variety of other sources as well as events/topics such as 9/11 and Asylum Issues.

http://www.johnpilger.com/

This site contains articles on a variety of opinions from the respected author John Pilger. Much of this is relevant to issues of ‘race’ and ethnicity.

http://www.insted.co.uk/islam.html

The above links to a full text of the commission's 2004 report, plus also some extracts from it, including Islamophobia and Race Relations and Debate and Disagreement.

http://www.fairuk.org/

Useful range of recent newspaper articles and several valuable fact sheets.

Sample Syllabus

Module justification

It is clear that as issues of race, ethnicity and religion are as crucial to the 21st century as at any time in human history. We need to build clear understanding of these topics as well as an awareness of how they have evolved into present debates. Many of these debates and issues have invoked the use of racial, ethnic or national terminology but the discussion is not always fashioned around theories of ‘old’ racism but around concepts of ‘new’ racism.

Whilst traditional notions of racism may have been challenged, these have been replaced in the West by fears of minority cultures, especially fear of Muslims. Following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the subsequent War on Terrorism has in some quarters been debated in terms of a clash of civilisations invoking representations of the ‘Others’ and based on historical conceptions of the ‘Orient’.

Furthermore, the European community as a whole is now debating issues of asylum seekers and refugees in what could be argued to be ethnic and racial terms. Thus, there is a need for a module that examines issues of race and ethnicity by linking media representations with theoretical and historical considerations.

Section 1 Theories of ‘race’, racism and the ‘other’

This reading looks at how the concept of ‘race’ has been ideologically constructed. This will be done by examining race theory and applying this to historical and contemporary examples.

Donald, James 1992. Cultural Identity. London, UK: Sage/Open University.

Dyer, Richard 1997. White. London, UK: Routledge.

Fryer, Peter 1984. Staying Power: History of Black People in Britain. London, UK: Pluto Press.

Gilroy, Paul 1993. Small Acts: thoughts on the politics of black cultures. London, UK: Serpent's Tail.

Gilroy, Paul 1987. There Ain't No Black In The Union Jack. London, UK: Hutchinson.

Hiro, Dilip 1991. Black British, White British, 2nd edn. London, UK: Grafton Books.

Mason, David 1995 Race and Ethnicty in Modern Britain. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Modood, Tariq 1997 Ethnic Minorities in Britain: Diversity and Disadvantage. London, UK: PSI.

Solomos, John 1993. Race and Racism in Contemporary Britain. Basingstoke, UK: MacMillan.

Solomos John and Les Back 1996. Racism and Society. Basingstoke, UK: MacMillan.

Possible Seminar discussion

Is racism about class or colour?

Would you consider yourself racist?

Section 2 ‘Race’ history and imperialism

This reading examines how representations of race and culture are mediated through ideological power and explain this through historical and contemporary examples.

Bhabba, Hommi 1990. Nation and Narration. London, UK: Routledge.

Fanon, Frantz 1986. Black Skin: White Masks. London, UK: Pluto.

Gandhi, Leela 1998. Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.

Said, Edward 1978. Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient. London, UK: Penguin Books.

Said, Edward 1997. Covering Islam. London, UK: Vintage.

Section 3 Islam, Islamophobia and cultural racism

These readings look at how constructions of religion in popular media are increasingly racialised and consider at the case study of Western media representations of Islam and Muslim communities.

Ahmed, Akbar 1992. Postmodernism and Islam. London, UK: Routledge.

Anthias, Floya and Yuval‐Davis, Nira 1992. Racialized Boundaries. London, UK: Routledge.

Ballard, Roger (Ed.) 1994. Desh Pradesh, The South Asian Presence in Britain. London, UK: Hurst and Co.

Conway, Gerald 1997. Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All. London, UK: Runnymede Trust.

Modood, Tariq 2006. Multicultural Politics: Racism, Ethnicity and Muslims in Britain. London, UK: I.B. Tauris.

Said, Edward 1978. Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient. London, UK: Penguin Books.

Said, Edward 1997. Covering Islam. London, UK: Vintage.

Note

* Correspondence address: Department of Media and Cultural Studies, University of Sunderland, St Peters Campus, SR6 ODD. Email: amir.saeed@sunderland.ac.uk