Essay Sample on Mass Media and Propaganda Against Islam

Introduction

The mass media is the main source of communication and information for most members of modern societies. The manner in which the information is communicated and dispensed have profound impact on people's perceptions. The representation of media on politics, culture and social life is sometimes unjust and inaccurate and shape issues that are biased. The western coverage of the media has continuously portrayed Muslims as violent because of its radical followers who consider Jihad as a holy war. The concept of Jihad is being abused by ISIS and its followers making terrorism the most serious and immediate security concern in the US. This frames Islam as intrinsically a violent faith. The assertion is also widely accepted by journalists who consider that what they have seen and read in the media about the representation of Islam as an aggressive faith is exactly what the faith is. However, media critics continue to downplay the actions of Islamic radical groups as stereotypes created by journalists who present the biased view of the reality. Therefore, as the frequency of attacks increase, the Muslims will continue to endure the social and political hatred for their faith and beliefs.

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The main assumption I can deduce from the articles is the global threat posed by terrorist groups such as Al-Qaida and ISIS. These groups have Islam sympathizers who are radicalized to conduct to terrorist activities across the world. This has fueled frantic violence and fear among Americans leading to sensationalist and radical elements of Islamic activism that obscure the context and paint a picture that stereotype Islam faith.

The major evidence of bias in the articles is the prejudicial religious terms such as "Jihad", "Islamic extremism" and "Islamic terrorism" that best describe and refer the Islamic faith. The western media such as Britain and US are responsible for planting seeds of irrationality and prejudice that has created a vague picture of Muslims and Islam in the minds of people from the west. Today, Islam is considered a religion, which breeds violence, terrorism and global threat. Besides, Muslims are always blamed for any terrorist attack that occurs across the world. The media agencies are always on the look to speculate and connect the terrorist attacks to Muslims and blame them for killing innocent individuals, a claim that is sometimes false. Most Muslims in the US are also victims of this malevolent propaganda. The anti-Muslim representation by Western media is blamed for inciting people to attack and commit crimes and offenses against Muslims living in Western countries. Bloggers have also presented and expressed anti-Islamic sentiments and attitudes towards Muslims. The tone of allegations always range from accusation to suspicion to suggest that Islam is responsible for the large scale and co-ordinate terrorist attacks.

Women Involvement in Recognized Terror GroupsThe involvement of women in recognized terror groups has encountered different perception in the society, as many still do not believe their engagement due to being a gentler sex, nurturers, and protectors. Such perspectives have shown the remarkable efforts made by women in the different groups of terror because people have misunderstood new militancy even in the 21st century. However, from the intelligence and counterterrorism communities, it has been evident that women have been continuously fought for their ranks and presumed different leadership roles in the terror-associated movements. Current statistics indicate that many women are included in the insurgencies and small terrorist groups across the world, where they have exhibited different functions. For example, command, execution, handling logistics, translating publications, false documentation, management of safe houses, exploration before attacks, and planning for the activities. The step taken by females to joining recognized terror activities have not been admitted fully by the analytic community making them very successful in most of their missions. The precept of women involvement in terror groups has contributed to misapprehension, where what people do not know is what kills them.

Some of the well-known terrorist groups that have demonstrated high levels of women participation involve the Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Black Windows, and Tamil Tigers among others. In the different groups, the female characterization is slightly comparable in addition to the tasks they execute. The variables in the groups include and not limited to age, marital status, ties with family, religious affiliations, personal motivations, and roles in the organization. Of the different groups, Al-Qaeda is highly recognized due to its magnitude in exploring terror across the globe, vast size and various affiliates and offshoots.

The activity of women in the Black Widows group has been enhanced after their first successful activity in the year 2000. Women have demonstrated their responsibilities in the organizational hierarchy despite the presence of men in the group. Women involvement in the group is facilitated by their high numbers that dominate men, while actively executing suicide bombing and recruitment on different platforms. Women in Black Widows are motivated by the need for revenge as illustrated on the group's name so that accountability can be enhanced to the lives of their husbands, brothers, and sons. A significant part of the revenge is developed from the Chechen tradition, where the family of the deceased takes responsibility for the death. However, the spread of the Black Widows has been limited due to the precept of qualification as opposed to other groups, where an individual should exact some aspects of revenge to enhance the recruitment. The notion of recruiting members has encountered some slight changes to accommodate manyindividuals because of the increasing incidences of terror across the world develops the fury for revenge in many. The Chechen Black Widows are inspired with the restoration of honor for the members and their families through the purported attacks, especially for the dishonor and disgrace that was brought by the constant rape by the Russian soldiers in Chechen village. In such a consideration, women in Black Widows have the compulsion to reinstating honor on their families by involvement in terrorist activities.

The role of religion and nationalism has motivated the involvement of women in Black Widows. For instance, the different perceptions of the religious and nationalistic inspirations toward the female violence in the Chechen community provide a basis for the development of the terror group. The 2002 hostage incident at Dubrovka, the setting of the event demonstrated the activity of the Black Widows in punishing the Russians and seeking the public attention on the Black Widows women. The women are ready to die in the pursuit of taking hundreds of lives of other people's lives with them indicating their inclination towards suicide bombing.. The demonstration of self-motivation among female members of the Black Widows shows their posterity in the society.

More so, the Islamic Revival Movement or the Hamas group has exercised political control in the Gaza Strip from 2007 with influential members being the Muslims. The conservative terror group was founded in Israel, where women involvement and responsibilities in the group are gradually expanding, especially in the supporting the movement and handling logistics. The leadership roles are preoccupied with male counterparts. The conservative aspects of the Hamas have been questionable due to their engagement of females in the terrorist activities. Women in the Hamas have significantly played the role of suicide bombing, the spread of political propaganda and execution of attacks. Such a consideration indicates the responsibility of women in one of the deadliest attacks in the country showing their level of sacrifice and dedication to the group. The act of At-Tamimi has championed the recruitment of more females in the Hamas as it clears the doubt on the potential of women in the society despite the societal perception of a weaker sex and inherently gentle being. Women, like Ahlam, have shown the ability to plan, intelligence, and experience in dealing with terrorist activities that reclaim their position and respect within the terror groups. Women in the Hamas have been included central plans for an operation, selection of targets, recruiting and monitoring of the attacks. Furthermore, despite the central role played by men in most of the historically recognized Al-Qaeda attacks, the women counterparts have been assigned to various tasks. Women in Al-Qaeda often operate underground with the primary objective of developing the next generation of terrorists in the group. Such operations have always cut women off the public image but do not undermine their responsibility of encouraging and supporting the terror activities globally. Such a consideration indicates that women were recruited in the group, supported, promoted, and facilitated the Jihad activities. Currently, Al-Qaeda still advocates for the more enrolment of women in the group but do not necessarily mean that the present lot is not involved in active fighting.

References

Abouzeid, R. (2014, July 20). Syrian al-Qaeda women: Searching for combat, martyrdom on the front lines. Al Jazeera. Retrieved from http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/20/syrian-women-qaedarebels.html

Bloom, M. (2017). Women and Terrorism. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.124