Islam’s negative media portrayal sparks hate

As Bristol’s Muslim community attempts to challenge online radicalisation, Osob Elmi, 19, says media misconceptions of Islam have led to her being called a suicide bomber in the street and almost being run over.

Today’s media has the ability to shape the perceptions and influence the actions of the public due to the substantial power it holds.

Islam seems to be the most demonised religion causing the most problems and making the headlines day in day out.  Yet it’s also the fastest growing religion. So why is it that so many people want to join such a religion that apparently promotes violence, rebellions and does not conform to society?

The media chooses to constantly prioritise negative behaviour or violence carried out in the “name of Islam”. This leads to young Muslim children growing up in a society where they are unable to embrace their identity because they feel hated as a result of the constant negative picture painted of Islam.

Many people fail to distinguish the difference between the individual committing the crime and the religion, race or background they’re from. This then leads to an entire religion – in this case – being alienated and labelled as a result of certain individuals who, for whatever reason, choose to commit the crime.  

From firsthand experience, walking through Sea Mills in Bristol I’ve been greeted with stares and insults by random people dangling their heads out the window shouting “suicide bomber” as they screech against the pavement almost running me over. These actions are often driven by negative news headlines like “Muslim thugs aged just 12 in knife attack on Brit schoolboy” which choose to identify the religion with the crime.

How is religion relevant in this crime? This kind of exaggerated news coverage provokes violence and sparks hate. There are countless crimes similar to this one carried out by people from all races, religion and walks of life, but where do you see “Christian thug” as a headline? Instead, it’s “a schoolboy attacked another school boy”. It then becomes clear that some of the media is not seeking to understand Muslims or present the positive aspects of the religion or its followers. 

Lack of knowledge is another factor which can incite conflict. This takes me back to my school days, when a girl confidently said, “I didn’t know you was a Muslim, I thought you was Islamic!”. I’ts lack of knowledge about the religion itself that roots the misunderstanding of Islam. Media, however, is able to educate people – and since the dawn of this digital age media has become even more central to our daily lives.

Having an understanding of the values of Islam as a religion will allow people to see that individuals or groups of people that commit crime in the name of Islam are not a representation of the religion as a whole. For example, the actions and aims of Isis clearly contradict the values of Islam. They have interpreted the religion in their own way to mislead and enforce power on vulnerable people such as young teenagers and new people who covert to Islam that have yet to learn about the religion.   

It’s hard to see that these misconceptions would ever be corrected and I don’t believe that the opinions of individuals will make a dramatic difference in the ways people perceive Islam, but I think it’s important to address these misconceptions.