Source: The Globe and Mail
Sylvia Stead – Public Editor
A week ago, Saturday’s front page caused a stir online, in notes to me and to our letters editor. The front page showed a large photo of an unsmiling woman in a niqab with the words Muslims Among Us written across the black cloth of the garment. The smaller type headline said: What the new wave of immigrants can teach us about our capacity for fear.
One published letter from Kingston gently chided the headline saying: “Thank you for Saturday’s eye-opening headline. I assume this is the first in a series, and we can now look forward to exposeés on Christians among us, Jews among us, white people among us, Canadians among us….”
Other letters were more critical suggesting that by choosing a photograph intended to cause fear and concern with the words Muslims Among Us we were exposing Canadian Muslims to hate. “As the popular saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, this particular picture, however, is worth a million words especially at a time when the Muslim community is held under siege, the negative perception of them is at its peak and hostility towards them is on the rise. The newspaper has certainly put a tremendous effort and thoughts in putting up such a picture after knowing well that most people these days don’t sit down to read a long article as a picture is sufficient to covey the message. Unfortunately, I feel that the picture has succeeded to convey a negative and a harmful message about Muslims. The reader who sees the picture of a Muslim woman wearing the niqab and the large font headline: MUSLIMS AMONG US, he takes it as a wake up call and a warning…”
“It is a sad day when the news media forgoes good publication ethics to sell papers… In regards to your picture and capitation am I supposed to be scared, horrified or disgusted? I do not think that this was your intention, however, this is how it came across,” said another.
The headline and photograph pointed to an article by our former European correspondent Doug Saunders. His story was an analysis piece from his upcoming book TheMyth of the Muslim Tide, a book which as Doug says, tries to shift the debate to facts and realities and away from mythologies.
The headline and photograph were meant to be provocative to make the readers think about their own attitudes and mythologies.