Media Portrayal of Islam Essay - 760 Words

Islam: suppressor of women, enemy of Western nations, and breeder of terrorists. The West has many stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam that are due to the media, prejudice, and ignorance. Islam is often seen as an extremist or terrorist religion. Often, the medias reports about Islam are incorrect due to ignorance or not wanting to acknowledge its true teachings. This is one of the reasons why Westerners are often wary of Muslims. In contrast to what the media portrays, Islam is a peaceful religion, which does not promote violence or terrorism. Islamic stereotypes are not new to Western culture. Problems can be traced back to the time of the Crusades, when Christians and Muslims were vying for control of Jerusalem. At†¦show more content†¦Although some fringe movements of other religions are quite radical and violent, extremists in the Muslim world receive a disproportionate amount of media coverage. Associating Islam with violence is a false impression that the Western public has long cultivated about this religion. An example of this misconception is that Islam is a religion spread by the sword, meaning that Muslims went from one end of the world to the other, conquering nations and forcing the inhabitants to either convert or die. The truth is that Islam spread through the expansion of the Ottoman empire, not that people were forced to convert or die. A modern day example of the Islam=violence misconception is Saddam Hussein. Although Hussein is of the Islamic faith, not all of his actions necessarily represent Islamic beliefs. As seen from a Western perspective, Islam is a religion that refuses women the right to educate themselves, participate politically, economically, and socially in their communities, and forces them to wear veils as a sign of subjugation to male authority. I myself, until very recently was prone to these beliefs. It wasnt until I participated in an alpha-beta culture game that I was able to grasp a womans view within a male dominated society. Islam grants women the right to be educated, to vote, and otherwise participate socially, economically, and politically while maintaining thatShow MoreRelated The Media Portrayal of Islam Essay954 Words   |  4 PagesThe Media Portrayal of Islam Islam is portrayed and is commonly accepted as the most violent and largest direct threat to the West. This is a generalization made by most of the West, but it is not particularly the West or the Islamic people’s fault. There is constant turmoil in Islamic countries in the Middle East and these conflicts are what make the news in the West. The only representation in the media that the Islamic nation gets is that of war. 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