Published: 19 September 2012
Country: US
Media in US need to give a better coverage of American Muslims and even more importantly, as Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) reports, they need to produce the stories that shed light on this community, not just ones that generate heat. “We need to cover Muslim-Americans more. And when we do so, we should be even aware that we may need to provide context”, writes the columnist of CJR, Jennifer Vanasco in her column Minority Reports.
The columnist observed the media coverage of American Muslims in the week Amerikans commemorated the attacks in September the 11. In that week there was a flood of stories about American Muslims.
“Some of these tie specifically into 9/11 while others were more light-hearted looks at the current state of the Muslim-American community, like one in the Washington Post about speed dating. During the rest of the year, though, American Muslims are rarely covered at all, unless it’s Ramadan, there’s a bomb scare, or there are protests against a new mosque or community center”,reports CJR columnist and asks how under-covered are American Muslims?
“A Google news search for “American Muslims” and “Muslim Americans” turned up a grand total of zero results in June and July, and barely more for the balance of this year. Ironically, the fake “birther” controversy, in which President Obama was accused of being born Muslim abroad, is covered more than actual Muslim Americans.
In some ways, this sparse coverage makes sense. American Muslims are not only a social minority, but a tiny one: there are about 2.6 million of them, which is less than 1 percent of the US population, compared with 5.2 million Native Americans or 6.1 million Mormons.
Yet it’s too bad that stories covering their lives only come around once a year or so, because many of these stories are both important and well done. A recent guest blog post at the Washington Post traced the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment in the US, including a 50 percent increase in hate crimes. This year, those included a homemade pipe bomb in a mosque. This rise in discrimination and violence has led to deteriorating Muslim American health, according to a guest post at CNN. This may only increase in the wake of this week’s anti-US violence in Libya, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries following the Internet distribution of a trailer for a film portraying the prophet Muhammad negatively. The Washington Post notes that US Muslims are now worried there will be “more resentment.”
The rising prejudice against Muslim-Americans since the 9/11 attacks only highlights the good the media can do by writing about ordinary Muslims, their lives and their achievements. During Ramadan and in the lead-up to September 11, there’s no shortage of these stories. For example, several outlets wrote about the new Muslim Green Lantern introduced by DC Comics. Others, like The Los Angeles Times, wrote about Muslim delegates to the DNC. The New York Times reported on how Muslims are thriving at Catholic Colleges and the New York Daily News profiled a Muslim-American fashion designer who creates stylish—but modest—clothing.
These sorts of stories provide some balance, because much US Internet traffic (and gasbagging from rightwing politicians) portrays Muslims worldwide as either terrorists or as Taliban-like imposers of Shariah law. Perhaps that’s why a recent Zogby poll found that 57 percent of Republicans have unfavorable opinions of Muslims. In non-Muslim news sources, there is not just enough acknowledgement that moderate American Muslims exist, and that they lead ordinary lives”, reports CJR.
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