The Media Bell Curve

Few Americans know the distinction between Sunni and Shiites Moslems or Wahabi (extremists) from Saab at a time when religious conflicts abound, Geneive Abdo of The Century Foundation says. Monumental misunderstandings can result when reporters do not analyze the theoretically different aspects of faith, she told the audience at a conference at the Service Employees International Union on Friday, Sept.28, 2007.

For example, she notes that the AK Party in Turkey does NOT have any similarities with the Islamic Action party in Jordan. The media’s failure to note such distinctions creates a degree of fear.

There is lack of education in the media, she claimed at the symposium on German-American Media Reporting on Religion, Diversity and Immigration. The reporters see Moslems as political actors and Islamist, extremist sympathizers.

This issue raised another question; how Moslems will find their identity in the U.S. She illustrated her point by summarizing an article written by Marc Hujer & Daniel Steinworth entitled ‘A Lesson for Europe, American Muslims Strive to Become Model Citizens.’

She stated that the writer would talk in private about feelings of alienation and will address the problems of integration that one would not see in the media. She mentions that some reporters write very superficial articles such as the one dated August 21, 2006 in the New York Times by Neil MacFarquhar as Pakistanis find U.S. an easier fit than Britain.

In 2002, according to a U.N. Survey, Moslems in the U.S. use the internet to connect with the clergy more than any other population in the world. How do the media portray Moslems and what is their response to this portrayal?

The difficulty of a meaningful dialogue on this issue is observed. Moslems have interfaith dialogues and talk about common cultural values but they deliberately choose not to publicly discuss these topics. She adds that Bush Administration has found some common cause with some Moslem groups.

Meanwhile, Bruce Stokes of the National Journal notes that there is a growing concern about the Moslems. For her part, Katrin Bennhold of the International Herald Tribune reminded the audience that 50 million European Moslems are living in Europe.

She noticed that there is a negative identification of Islam and that there is a series of identity crises in Europe. Reymer Kluever, a reporter with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung points out the third generation Turkish people in Germany are still considered immigrants.

In other words, the state of the integration of the Turkish life in Germany was not very progressive. He makes his argument that there existed two galaxies, rotated around themselves and eventually collided.

He adds that there are 3.5 millions of Moslems living in Germany (German Interior Minister’s recent Data). He states that Turkish people have preached integration but practiced segregation.

When asked if Islam is a part of their identity, 57% said yes but they had huge debates about head scarves. Recently, the visibility of Islam creates anxiety in Germany.

He urged caution adding that the third generation of Turkish immigrants thinks more Islamic than their parents.

Heyecan Veziroglu is an intern at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia.