It is no secret that September 11, 2009 profoundly impacted the world, not just New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. While the attacks took place in the United States of America, Western Europe too felt the pain of the events and would later experience their own terrorist attacks in 2004 in Madrid, Spain.[i] The United Kingdom was not spared and dealt with terrorist attack in 2005.[ii] Consideration of public opinions towards the Muslim world is especially important in Europe, where roughly fifteen million Muslims live.[iii] The goal of this paper is to consider the terrorist attacks and the effects they had on people of Muslim faith. It will provide a background on terrorist events in both the United States and Europe in order to provide context for the claim that public sentiment towards Muslims did change after the various terror attacks carried out across the West. Public perceptions of Muslims have been affected by the terrorist attacks carried out across the West, the media portrayal of Muslims as extremists, the influx of Muslim immigrants into European countries and the United Kingdom, and the lack of Muslim integration within the areas they immigrate to.
The events of September 11, 2001 took place in New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania.[iv] It was the deadliest attack by foreign terrorists on mainland United States.[v] Four different planes were hijacked that day, two were flown straight into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one crashed into the Pentagon just outside of Washington D.C. and the final plane crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers attacked the hijackers.[vi] It is not hard to imagine that such a horrific act would leave an impression upon the country assailed, but the world as a whole was dramatically affected by these events.
Foreign terrorists did not spare Western Europe and the United Kingdom. On March 11, 2004 commuter trains in Madrid, Spain were targeted by al-Qaeda. One hundred ninety-one people were killed and almost two thousand were injured.[vii] The attack on London, England occurred on July 7, 2005 and fifty-two people were killed.[viii] The attackers targeted the underground metro system as well as public transit buses.[ix] Each of these attacks gained international media coverage immediately. The attacks occurred during an era of twenty-four hour, seven days a week news coverage channels such as CNN and Fox News. The attacks were visible across the world from the United States to Australia.[x] In the days and weeks following the events in the United States, the United Kingdom and Western Europe, Muslims were not yet targeted. The media focused all of their attention on the victims, the attacks themselves, and what the possible reasons for such actions were. It did not take long, however, for the winds to shift and for the Muslim population around the world to become al-Qaeda’s scapegoat.
According to a report publish in 2007 research conducted in one week’s news coverage found that ninety-one percent of articles in national newspapers about Muslims were negative.[xi] London’s Mayor, Ken Livingstone, called the findings a “damning indictment’ and went on to say “the overall picture presented by the media is that Islam is profoundly different from and a threat to the west.”[xii] It is clear that Muslims are not being justly represented in the media, and being unfairly categorized as a threat to Western society. In the study only four percent of three hundred fifty two articles studied were positive.[xiii] The analysis showed that other world views or opinions were not mentioned in the articles and that facts were often simplified, distorted or exaggerated.[xiv] It is apparent that the media has had a extreme impact on the way the public views Muslims overall.
The negative light in which Muslims are cast has a profound affect upon local communities. Since the terrorist attacks across the West, Muslim youth feel that they are unfairly treated and are targeted by police.[xv] People frequently have the notion in their head that it is not possible to be both British and Muslim and this causes frustration for younger Muslims as well as for Muslims in general. This same report found that the dominant view is that there is no common ground between the West and Islam, and that conflict between them is accordingly inevitable.[xvi] Another finding listing in the executive summary of the report is that the tone of language used in the media if often emotive, immoderate, alarmist or abusive.[xvii] One of the most profound findings of the report was that the coverage is likely to provoke and increase feelings of insecurity, suspicion and anxiety amongst non-Muslims.[xviii]Taking the findings into account several recommendations for changing the way that Muslims are depicted in the media are suggested: creating a code of professional conduct and style guides about the use of certain terminology, recruit more journalists of Muslim heritage so that a more accurate account of the views of Muslim communities can be represented, and that the news organizations take complaints regarding distorted coverage of Islam and Muslims seriously.[xix] Another point of contention in the public’s perception of Muslims is the ever-increasing immigration of Muslims into the United Kingdom and Western Europe.
In the period following the September 11th attacks on the United States, Americans were introduced to different versions of Islam, one that was peaceful and one that appeared to be violent in nature.[xx] The violent image came about thanks to media coverage, which showed responses to the attacks in Islamic countries. News stations broadcast images of Palestinians cheering and celebrating the attacks on the United States.[xxi] These images in and of themselves were enough for people to form a negative opinion of Islam and Muslims. But news stations, perhaps unknowingly, took it one step farther. Images of Palestinian suicide bombers targeting civilians were plastered all over the international news community.[xxii]Even Amnesty International added to the problem by, time after time, highlighting human rights violations committed by Islamic governments.[xxiii]It is this continuous stream of negative images and depictions of Islam and Muslims in general that reinforce the stigma of Muslim citizens.
The media plays a significant role in aiding public opinions about Muslims but it is what the media is reporting about Muslims that has a profound impact on attitudes. One of the many “concerns” people have about Muslims in Europe is their rate of immigration. The rate of intercontinental immigration, as of recent, is unheard of and is extremely unpopular with Europeans.[xxiv]Most people would agree that it is not an easy task to integrate a dissimilar culture into European life, but it seems that Islam is presenting the most critical problems with the transition.[xxv] It is a point of debate whether or not immigration is an important function to the structural or economic wellbeing of Europe, but if it is, the people most likely to come will be from Europe’s southern and southeastern Muslim perimeter.[xxvi]
Worries about immigrants and their children have risen to the surface since September 11th.[xxvii] People see Muslim immigrants as a threat to their way of life and the culture they are used to. Just 19 percent of Europeans believe that immigration has been good for their countries.[xxviii]And roughly 57 percent say that their countries have “too many foreigners.”[xxix]When asked whether their country had too many immigrants 73 percent of French people said yes, as did 69 percent of British people.[xxx]The unease that many native Europeans feel towards Muslim immigrants has been aided by the consistently negative media coverage of Islam along with general misconceptions of Islamic culture.
Migration into Europe from elsewhere has reached staggering levels recently, with roughly 1.7 million new arrivals each year.[xxxi]Halfway through the 20th century, there was a very limited number of Muslims in Western Europe. However, by the beginning of the 21st century there were between 15 and 17 million Muslims living in Western Europe.[xxxii]France boasts the greatest number of Muslims at 5 million, Germany falls short with 4 million and only 2 million inhabit Britain.[xxxiii]Unlike many other immigrants round the world, Muslims have broken- or requested adjustments and changes to- a large number of European customs, ideals, and state structures with which they have dealings.[xxxiv] This causes quandary amongst natives because they often feel that their liberties, which they misconstrue as rights, are being taken from them. For example: in the last decade observation of radical imams and mosques has been increased. This is often censured because it is seen as watching people simply because they are Muslim. What this complaint and increased surveillance may lead to is improved study of everyone.[xxxv]
[iv] Paul S. Boyer. "September 11, 2001." The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 16 Sep. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
[v] Paul S. Boyer. "September 11, 2001." The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 16 Sep. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
[vi] Paul S. Boyer. "September 11, 2001." The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 16 Sep. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
< http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/14/pressandpublishing.religion>.
< http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/14/pressandpublishing.religion>.
[xiii] “91% of articles in newspapers about Muslims are negative.” 14 November 2007.< http://www.socialdailynews.com/2007/11/91-of-articles-in-newspapers-about-muslims-are-negative/>.
[xiv] “91% of articles in newspapers about Muslims are negative.” 14 November 2007.< http://www.socialdailynews.com/2007/11/91-of-articles-in-newspapers-about-muslims-are-negative/>.
[xx] Brown, William. and Welch, Shyla. "Post-September 11th Perceptions of Islam and the Spiral of Silence" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, New Orleans Sheraton, New Orleans, LA, May 27, 2004 . 2009-05-26
[xxi] Brown, William. and Welch, Shyla. "Post-September 11th Perceptions of Islam and the Spiral of Silence" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, New Orleans Sheraton, New Orleans, LA, May 27, 2004 . 2009-05-26
[xxii] Brown, William. and Welch, Shyla. "Post-September 11th Perceptions of Islam and the Spiral of Silence" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, New Orleans Sheraton, New Orleans, LA, May 27, 2004 . 2009-05-26
[xxiii] Brown, William. and Welch, Shyla. "Post-September 11th Perceptions of Islam and the Spiral of Silence" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, New Orleans Sheraton, New Orleans, LA, May 27, 2004 . 2009-05-26
No comments:
Post a Comment