How the west view Islam and Muslims after September 11th terrorist attacks

 
The September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks coverage was arguably the best presentations of media spectacles in history (Lynch, 2006). The events took over live global media showing the vulnerable state the world is in at the hands of extremists. After the 9/11 incidences, Islam and Muslims became the center of attention and discussion across all media outlets and not for good reason. Considering that Osama Bin Laden cited religious reasons for the attacks, most western countries started debating the nature of Islam as a religion and whether it advocated for violence against non-Muslims (CBS news, 2002). Statistics indicate that most media outlets referred to the terrorists as Muslims. This fueled the prejudice and stereotype directed towards Islam, as well as the retaliations (verbal and physical) against Muslims that followed after the event.

Christensen (2006) asserts that Islamophobia has increased due to media coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. According to the author, the media’s main responsibility is to relay information to the public in a serious and truthful manner (Christensen, 2006). As such, information relayed through the media after the terrorist attacks worsened the image western countries have on Islam and Muslims. However, Said (1997) argues that the image of Islam as propagated by the media is riddled with political and other hidden interests.

As such, it is not only influenced by patent inaccuracies, but also expressions of ethnocentrism, racism and religious disparities. Bearing this in mind, the image is highly exaggerated leading to the generalization of Islam and Muslims by western societies. Pintak (2006) stated that the notion of generalizing Muslims had become an acceptable norm, which had actively been used to denigrate foreign cultures by western societies. This is especially true considering that currently; Muslims are feared more than their Oriental, African or Asian counterparts.

Despite the fact that all Arab countries showed their dismay in regard to the incidence, the difference between Muslims and terrorists was not well communicated over the media. The point that came across was that Muslims were responsible for the attacks and anyone practicing Islam should be viewed as a terrorist (Zayani, 2005). This made life unbearable for Muslims living within the western countries. In as much as they did not participate in the act, they were subjected to harsh living conditions as a result of new anti-terrorism laws that limited their rights to freedom, as well as aggressive and retaliatory actions directed towards them by the masses.

Nacos and Torres-Reyna (2007) observe that while the acts of 9/11 were in no way acceptable, none of the media outlets focused on the inadequacies of the American policies and arrogance as a possible reason for the attacks. Instead, a few of the media outlets advocated for international solidarity and sympathized with Americans. However, reports and articles written after the September 11th attacks focused on retaliation and according to numerous sources, journalists were cited as key proponents to the destruction of Islam nations. For example, FAIR (2001) observed that most media houses focused on retaliation.