Media Is the Message
By Dr Ghulam M. Haniff
St. Cloud , Minnesota
Headline generating news focusing on Islam once again dominated the global media with the arrest of five American Muslim jihadists in Pakistan. As usual the stigmatized Muslims community in America reeled back in shock but had no answers to offer.
While breast beating continues no one is present in the international media to articulate the Muslim worldview. News items circulated by the communications network in the global context often demonize Islam. Despite over a billion and a half believers the world stage is devoid of even a single journalist, a scholar or a global political leader to stand up for the community.
Routinely, almost ninety percent of the world news is gathered, processed, packaged and disseminated by Western journalists. Each step is infused with Western imprint influencing public thinking worldwide on issues as diverse as the hijab, women’s rights, terrorism, Islamic radicalism, the Palestinian conflict and countless others.
The international media is the message for readers and viewers around the world. News written or broadcast fails to reflect an Islamic perspective. The communications world of print and broadcast is hardly ever neutral.
When an anti-Islamic incident is reported, whether contrived or real, the story is taken to be true and no sustained effort is made to determine its cause. Three such incidents, a cartoon of the Prophet in a bestiality sexual manner, Franklin Graham’s characterization of Islam as a “a very violent religion;” and maligning Islam for the Fort Hood tragedy were all reported worldwide without timely comment from Muslims. In fact, the Muslim community remained silent despite the provocation.
Only CAIR stood up to combat the bigotry. Rest of the faithful complained to one another though they seemed paralyzed to act except in rare cases.
The Islamophobic attacks elicit very little formal anger. The most worrisome backdrop recently has been the vote in Switzerland prohibiting the construction of minarets. That country is taken to be a paragon of democracy, a model to be emulated though the myopic vote has raised fundamental questions about Western democracy.
The Swiss vote drew little negative reaction in the West though Westerners often get irritated whenever a lone Muslim stands up for Islam among them.
Tragically, the Western cultural framework continues to be paramount in the communications system currently at work. That template is used for writing and analyzing news stories published almost everywhere, including the Muslim countries.
In the world of Islam the field of journalism is not yet professionalized nor does it have world-class schools of journalism. Media skills commonly found in the West, such as investigative training and research capability, are glaringly absent. The discipline does not attract the talented or the young.
Muslim presence in the global media would have considerable impact on public thinking. The Muslim perspective would provide a legitimate input into opinion formation. The myopic, short-sighted and parochial views of the present would be largely surmounted.
The Jewish community adopted such a strategy decades ago. Today, Jews are a dominant factor in the news arena. They have successfully transformed the information and intellectual industry in the West. Aggressive and intelligent work has made their perspective the norm in the West.
When Al-Jazeera first emerged it made placing the Muslim perception of events paramount in its news packaging. Washington was chagrined and it denied them access to broadcast in America. However, Muslims and much of the Third World found the new practice to be a huge step in the right direction.
Another strategy for shaping public opinion would be through education. The goal for the Muslim community should be to educate every Muslim to the highest possible level. Of course, this is most doable for the Muslims in America where schooling is fully developed, open and accessible to all. Again, the Jewish model is relevant. Educated to the hilt Muslims would be respected for their achievements in professions and accomplishments in various fields.
At present Muslims are laggards in comparison with immigrants of other faith communities. Recently immigrated people of Indian origin, for example, have rapidly moved ahead. Professors from that communal background have become established in most universities of the land, and their businessmen and physicians are found in virtually every community.
The work of these immigrants and their descendants in journalism, radio, television and films reaches every interested American. That is definitely not the case with Muslims whose professional accomplishments are meager.
For the people of Indian origin at the national media there are such luminaries as Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Sanjay Gupta, both famous journalists who wrote from Iraq and Afghanistan. They have contributed to the major newspapers and magazines in the country. Longtime reporter for various media outlets, Hari Srinivasan, is now an anchor for PBS. Others, such as Laxmi Singh, for example, remain a prominent newscaster for the NPR, and Fred de Sam Lazaro, a producer and well-known correspondent for PBS. There are no comparable Muslim counterparts, and of course none even in the third or fourth tiers of the respective media institutions.
Further, Indian achievements include bestselling authors known for their literary skills. Need one mention Deepak Chopra or Jhumpa Lahiri, both famous globally, or several other writers who have produced bestsellers.
In other fields, there is the movie producer Night Shayamalan or actor, Kal Penn, or in the executive suite, Vikram Pandit CEO of Citigroup, or Indra Nooyi CEO of Pepsi. There are countless others in the business world, too numerous to mention.
Lacking in accomplishments Muslims will continue to suffer under the indignity of Islamophobia until they make their mark on the larger society. The prospect for their success at the moment does not look good.
Meanwhile, the Muslim perspective will remain absent and the likes of CAIR may continue their lonely struggle for Muslim respectability. It is a crying shame that there are over one billion Muslims though not a single journalist, or a writer or a scholar on the global stage. (haniff@stcloudstate.edu)
