Image of Islam and Muslim in the West Paper Example

Introduction

Presently, there is an obsession in the conventional media as well as academic discourse appertaining the relationship between the West, Islam, and Muslim. Consequently, this fixation is stained with deleterious signifiers with the global predominant media negative portrayal of Muslim and Islam which depicts Muslims as mostly bigoted, terrorists, violent, fanatical and extremists. Islam is a religious conviction of purity, sympathy, human rights, beliefs, and moderation. Nonetheless, Islam has been much misinterpreted in the West by being related to chaos, radicalism, and extremism. Accordingly, the West view toward Islam and Muslim represents uncivilized savagery from all sides which is equal to a feudal theocracy for the heart. Such misconceptions regarding Islam have been inherited from the primitive ages just like Rytter and Pedersen (2014) postulate that the feudal biased appearance of Islam is built on the following. Islam is regarded as a myth which is a considered falsification of the truth that is the Christian veracity; Islam is a faith characterized by the blade and violence. Also, Islam is looked at as a religious conviction of self-understanding, and Muhammad the Prophet is regarded as an antichrist. This research paper intends to discuss misconceptions connected to Islam and Muslims by the West. Also, it addresses the causes of the deleterious appearance of Muslims and Islam in the West and possible solutions to change these misconceptions.

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The misconception about Islam and Muslims by the West

According to Green (2015) the appearance of Islam and Muslims in the West is negative because of numerous aspects like the acts of terrorism and violence linked to some Muslims; ancient prejudice contrary to Islam; dissertation in the media as well as works in bulletins and over the internet criticizing Islam and underdeveloped state of the Muslims. Indeed, the Western press is biased Sultan (2016) because it does not view anything constructive from the Muslim world. It is progressively being felt that no other conviction is to blame when some of its supporters commit violence apart from Islam and Muslims. For instance, most of the Western media are using the September 11, 2001, event to focus on its political advantage. Accordingly, these media are depicting Islam as "extremism," and "extremism." Certainly, in the contemporary world where the role of media is pivotal, the image of reality has is being manipulated by misrepresenting facts (Ewart, Pearson, & Healy, 2016). Therefore, in this light, most of the Western media are making attempts to depict Muslims as "radicals" and "terrorists" who pose a threat the western security. In doing so, they attempt to justify the wars in Iraq, and Afghanistan. As a result, in the recent past, such practices have led to the emergence of "Islamophobia."

However, a majority of the Muslims lead law-abiding lives and stay in peace with their neighbours even those from different faiths. Also, in many nations as well as cultures Muslims are respected because of their generosity, hospitality, and graciousness. For example, countries like Indonesia which are among the leading nations with the highest number of Muslim populace have enshrined the principles of cultural pluralism and tolerance to religion in their constitution. Indeed, diversity and unity have been inscribed in the national emblem of most Muslim countries with Indonesia as an example. Therefore, the so-called Islamic threat ought to be considered a myth for various reasons (Ogan, Willnat, Pennington, & Bashir, 2014). To begin with, Muslims have never involved themselves in a serious military action in the West.

Similarly, most Muslims in Europe have frequently fallen victims of terrorist attacks performed by right-extremists groups which have rejected and intent to expel them from their nations. Furthermore, the allegations which claim that the Western culture and Islam are not compatible and that they cannot fit into the European societies are only but prejudices which are unsubstantiated to this religion and its followers (Green, 2015). Generally, this misconception came into existence during the Rushdie Affair and the Gulf War. In this sense, the Islamic threat to the West is only but an illusion.

Ahmed and Matthes (2017) notes that Islamophobia which is the fear of Muslims and Islam has been on the rise since the September 11 terror violence of the World Trade Centre in New York, the Carlie Hebdo attack in France, the rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State group (ISIS) which purportedly shows videos of beheading their prisoners mainly being journalists and the Taliban's fundamentalist exclusions and restraints in Afghanistan. Nonetheless, there are allegations which assert that ISIS is financed by the United States-NATO forces, which is similar to the Taliban which was being supported by the United States to combat in contrast to the Soviet Union. Also, reports claim that even the September 11 bombing of the World Trade Centre was only but an alleged reason to wage war against Afghanistan and Iraq (Rytter, & Pedersen, 2014). All these events are just labelled as conspiracy theories which if more in-depth investigation and analysis are undertaken the truth can be unmasked from such geopolitical actions. Indeed, such events are only used to portray Islam by the international media as a violence-prone religion which is utterly opposed by the West.

Presenting Muslims and Islam as a threat to the West only but set off deleterious impacts in the intercultural relationships between concerned groups. In this light, such attitudes are primarily found on prejudice and stereotypes which only deepen the difference between the 'we' and the 'them,' which results into a nasty circle in the connection between the Muslim world and the West and between Muslims and non-Muslims as a whole. Research has shown that prejudice and stereotypes work as filters for observing and interpretation of the conducts of others which leads to the fulfilment of prophecies. As a result of prejudice against others, some individuals look at their behaviour what they anticipate to see based on their bigotry. Indeed, such understandings will inescapably lead to the making of wrong projections regarding the behaviour of members of a different group. In this context, the researcher does not look at the new or old negative statements of Muslims and Islam in the Western states. However, this paper looks at the causes and probable solutions to the hostility between these two groups. On searching for roots of the negative attitude, there are numerous causes which exist in the literature. In this sense, the researcher classifies these causes into various models like the model of political Islam; the oversimplified information model and the model of heightened Muslim immigration to the Western countries.

The political Islam model

Indeed, the primary aspect that has negatively influenced the image of Muslims and Islam in the West is the violent acts by members of certain extreme Muslim political movements that is the so-called 'fundamentalist movements' (Sultan, 2016). As such actions have been referred to various violent acts that have prevailed the western media for the past five decades like the Rashdie Affair, the terror attack of the World Trade Centre, the Iranian revolution of 1978-1979, and the ISIS movement. As a result, presently the term Muslim fundamentalism is inefficiently utilized as a label which designates any religious movement associated with Islamic signature. Nevertheless, the vagueness of this terminology in combination with other negative connotations have militated against gaining the suitable insight to the goal, nature, and practices of several movements which have been generalized under this reference. Consequently, it is high time that emphasis has to be placed on the renaissance of Islam because it is a complex phenomenon. Indeed, the evolution of Islam and other scientific exploration can only to extensively undertaken by considering both its circumstance and the context in which it appears.

Pop (2016) argue that while Islamic movements disregard Westernizing tendencies and secularism, they accept technology, science, and modernism. Coherently, Muslims have found that level of change, direction and pace are necessary to subordinate the Islamic ideology as a preventive measure against excessive penetration of values from the West. Sharifi, Ansari, and Asadollahzadeh, (2017) give a justification by referring to the 20th-century Muslim reformists and modernists who were fascinated by the technology, political ideologies, equality, justice, and freedom of the West. However, on the same note, the Islamic movements only disregard the policies and imperialist goals of the West. Accordingly, Muslims reformers argue that the compatibility of Islam with modern science. Therefore, these reformers have been advocating for the need for acceptance of selective synthesis of Islam in addition to the contemporary Western thought by condemning and questioning the imitation and veneration of the past. These reformers reasserted their right to reinterpret (ijtihad) Islam in the presence of the modern conditions and wanted to avail rational Islamic basis for social, legal and educational reforms to rejuvenate the dormant and impotent Muslim community.

Also, Pratt and Woodlock (2016) argue that generally, the psychological intent and Muslim identity especially vital matters in their campaign has been lack of indication with the West ideologies such as liberalism, communism, and socialism. Muslim reformers assert that the overemphasis and use of such ideologies and the political elites in power in Islamic nations have failed to realize the essential socio-economic development requirements. Consequently, Muslims in general and particularly youths are being driven in search of a new ideology. Therefore, Islam movements present Islam as a novel ideology of resistance where they anticipate it to become successful since Islam as a religion is close to many individuals as compared to the West ideologies. Therefore, the Islamic movements are for socio-economic good since most of the Islamic nations languish in corruption, poverty, unemployment and dictatorship and massive national debts. The roots of the extreme poverty and the numerous social challenges are pursued in attempts made by secular regimes to progress their nations by Western cultural and socio-economic models.

Consequently, because of the many challenges, it is undeniable that some Islamic movements particularly splinter groups use violence to realize the goals. Especially extremists believe that the best way to attain their goals cannot be achieved using peaceful means. As such actions have made the West media to be particularly concerned hence presenting a negative image of not just for the extremist groups but even their religion in general.

The oversimplified information model

In an attempt to explain the origin of the negative image of Muslims and Islam in the West, this model refers to the exaggerated information services regarding Islam religion and its followers. Notably, the role of the media. While in general socialization and education play a vital role in the transmission of prejudice and typecasts from one generation to another, the part of the press is significant in creating new ones when they exaggerate the real development in presenting the groups involved. Research has found that individuals in the West are every day confronted by news in newspapers and TV in which Muslims and Islam are the key topics. Accordingly, Courty, Rane, and Ubayasiri (2018) note that how the Western Media report about Islam, Muslims, and ethnic minorities generally leaves a lot of desires. For example,...