Download combating negative stereotypical images that are exchanged

COMBATING NEGATIVE STEREOTYPICAL IMAGES THAT ARE
EXCHANGED BETWEEN COMPONENTS OF ISLAMIC UMMAH VIA
ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL PRODUCTS AND MEDIA MESSAGES
omar kalinge-nnyago
ISESCO SPONSORED SEMINAR ORGANISED BY ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY IN
UGANDA
October 2009
INTRODUCTION
The events of September 11, 2001 and what followed emphasised the need for
better understanding between people in Muslim societies and those in non
Muslim societies. Between Muslims and non-Muslims. Stereotypes and
prejudices seem to have become more dominant in both directions. They are
visible in political discourse, in the media and in education. They have become a
hindrance to dialogue and cooperation all over the world, including Uganda.
In order to stop these stereotypes from taking root and spreading, it is necessary
to develop practical strategies and instruments that take into account the variety
of geographical and historical context.
This workshop is a step in this direction. It is hoped that at the end of this
session, an understanding of the cultural specificities will be achieved and
strategies to combat the negative consequences of stereotype shall be developed
and agreed. One of the aims of this workshop is to address the current problems
of stereotypes and mutual prejudices. This workshop focuses on the role of the
Media and Civil Society.
Definition of terms
Muslim: Follower of the Islamic Faith. One who submits completely to the will of
Allah.
Ummah: the Nation of Islam. Muslims regard themselves as members of one
nation irrespective of which geographical or political location they live.
PREJUDICES AND STEREOTYPES
We all use stereotypes. They help us classify and identify people based on
criteria such as religion, gender, and ethnicity. It is a process of categorisation
which has always existed and will always exist because it makes our lives easier.
Stereotypes are common in thought. They are short cuts and real timesavers:
everybody knows right away what we are talking about, and therefore
stereotypes are used all the time, especially in the media.
The problem with stereotypes is when we begin using them to give negative
characteristics to other groups and treat individual members of these groups
according to those characteristics. The lack of critical thought and the lack of
knowledge favours an unconscious acceptance of the ‘truth’ employed in
stereotypes. It is when we don’t know or when we have little information about
another group that we accept a stereotype as a real image and start applying this
half truth or indeed un truth to the whole group.
Stereotypes are so powerful because they are simple, easily recognisable and
enjoy the acceptance of the community in general. But they also discriminate and
feed racism and xenophobia. They are essential but in a global world we have to
understand how they emerge, how they function and why insufficient
information favour negative stereotypes.
What is amusing in one society might be offensive in another. Stereotypes are
very convenient when it comes to organising our surroundings in a safe world
that belongs to “us” and a disturbing outside world inhabited by “them”.
For a long time, even long before September 11, mass media have produced
images of Muslims and Islam as something to be justifiably afraid of. The
Muslim Media, especially in the Muslim world has also perpetrated negative
stereotypes bout the West. It is worth noting that it is not so much the individual
westerner who is stereotyped but Western Culture and Society. In Muslim
media, the discourse the West is often synonymous with moral deficiency,
cultural incompatibility and religious animosity toward Islam.
The Muslim media users are frequently presented with a self-image as the
innocent and defenceless victims against an aggressive West.
As a result of this misrepresentation of the West, both as power holders and
societies in the Muslim media, the Western democracy model ends up working
against the democratisation effort of the Muslim Societies.
Role of the Media:
There are broadly three positions on this issue.
 The role of the media is to report, to provide analysis and to defend the
right to do so. If it either reduces or promotes prejudice, so be it.
 The media have a responsibility, and in fact a duty, to reflect and
promote a set of core values of tolerance and mutual understanding
 The role of the media is not only to report what people do and say, but
also to consistently question received wisdom and particularly the wisdom
of those in power
In 2005, the UN secretary General launched an initiative-Alliance of Civilisationsto address the widening gap between Muslim and Western societies by
examining five core areas of society:
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Education
Immigration integration
Media
Youth
Political context
In the media filed, researchers have identified how the media in both the Islamic
world and West contribute to misinformation, stirred up feelings, and alienation.
Although there are different structures in different places, the outcome is the
same.
The media cannot tell the citizens what to think. But they tell them what to think
about- they set the agenda and understanding by the ideas they plant, the
pictures they sketch, and the opinions they offer.
The Western media like to see themselves as independent, dedicated to
democracy, and socially responsible, but in reality, profit drives producers to
present superficial information and repeat stereotypes.
The news model in the Islamic world is more multifaceted. In some places the
media are heavily censored and viewed through filters of national or Islamic
identity. In other Muslim states, government control is easing and there is anew
diversity in media outlets.
There are extensive opportunities to overcome the media’s shortcomings in both
cultures by increasing journalists’ professional skills and cultural sensitivity in
avoiding stereotypes, by increasing media diversity, by instilling leadership
within the media industry, and by supporting educational-entertainment media,
which offer a global perspective.
The emergence of new media such as the internet has made it more difficult to
isolate people in the Muslim world. But it has also fostered more prejudices. The
internet has created an open and uncontrolled space for information where
stereotypes are being used to shape the enemy.
The aim of the UN Alliance of Civilisations is not legislation but awareness and
consciousness. But will this new awareness hold when war breaks out and the
media come under pressure from both editors and governments?
The media ought to work on a self regulation regime, so that their freedom is
ensured more by their conscious actions than by articles of legislation.
In the Western media, Islam is hardly ever covered as a religion, but is something
which has to do with politics, fundamentalism, or terrorism.
The Muslim media, on the other hand focuses on love conspiracies and see the
western world as a sex fixated people with no moral, uncivilised politics and
double standards.
The only way out of this media misery on both sides is education in intercultural
relations, an international code of ethics and dialogue on equal terms of respect.
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