Dani Anguiano | THE ORION
Cars are burning and people are running rampant through the streets as anarchy ensues.
While watching any of the major news networks such as Fox, NBC or ABC, most would think the entire Muslim world is in utter chaos all the time. The news gives us an image of Muslims as a group of extremists, when what we see is in fact a small, inaccurate representation of a larger population.
The constant presence of the Muslim world in American news, combined with dramatic and violent images, gives many people an entirely inaccurate image of Muslims.
We are constantly bombarded with these violent images of the Muslim world and hear little else about the rest of it. Islam and extremism do not hand in hand, and the media seems to play a huge role in shaping the image of Muslims in the U.S.
Muslims make up about 23 percent of the world’s population, or about 1.6 billion people spreading over North Africa, the Middle East and Asia, according to the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Outside of the Middle East, countries like Morocco and Bangladesh have stayed out the hostile headlines that routinely describe Islamic countries.
Commentators on American networks often don’t have a strong enough background in the Islamic faith to educate their viewers on the subject, and although the Muslim people have been featured on American news for the past 10 years, many Americans have little knowledge of the Islamic faith.
I am currently taking a class on Islam and the world, and I’ve learned some things about the detailed and complicated history of Islamic law, which is very complex. There are many ways to interpret it, which makes it hard to understand the actions of the Muslim people when we don’t understand the context.
Viewers should search for other sources of information to fully understand a world we usually only see through a TV screen.
News sources like Al-Jazeera and the BBC provide an interesting look at the Middle East that Americans don’t normally see on basic cable.
Al-Jazeera provides a well-rounded look at many issues affecting the Arabcommunity. It features stories from Islamic countries that expand further than just the hostile episodes we see on TV.
BBC provides a different look at news from the Muslim world with diverse sources and news presentation with less sensationalism.
By only watching major American news sources, we are severely limiting the information received.
Categories: Americas, Arab World, Attitude, United States
America is not the only place where this is the general opinion. Elsewhere in the world it is so, also, unfortunately.
Then, to make matters worse, the local Muslims end up behaving in similar fashion to what is seen on our screens. So, what does one expect?
Agreed Muslims are being mis-conveyed by the western media, what about the Muslim media? Cant it present its true identity as a peaceful Nation?
They should not read Islam from the books to the people but present it by the practice of Muslims in their countries, within their own people and with the other Nations. We will find that there are very few practising Muslims.
Pakistan is the country that feels itself the home of Islam. What about it’s Media? Just turn your TV sets, radios or YouTube channel on and see it for yourself what they are saying.
We have to be realistic and admit that most of Muslims have forsaken the actual peaceful teachings of Islam and formed their own interpretations that are anything but Islamic.
Islam in fact have reached “surayya” the Pleiades, (as mentioned in a Hadith) and is being brought back to the earth by the efforts of the followers of “Rajalul Faris” the Promised Messiah.
Ahmadis are the only ones that are presenting Islam in its original form. Allahmdulillah
and The Muslim Times is trying hard. May Allah guide us further…
Amen brother. Amen again