The Media Portrayal of Islam

The Media Portrayal of Islam

Islam is portrayed and is commonly accepted as the most violent and largest direct threat to the West. This is a generalization made by most of the West, but it is not particularly the West or the Islamic people’s fault. There is constant turmoil in Islamic countries in the Middle East and these conflicts are what make the news in the West. The only representation in the media that the Islamic nation gets is that of war. Though most Islamic people are not violent, the select few that do participate in terrorist groups give the rest of the Islam nation a bad image.

The news today has to do with what people want to hear, not particularly what is worth while or even accurate. In the Daily Telegraph’s (English newspaper) foreign news page there is a story of an outbreak of violence by political protests in the Middle East. Patrick Bishop, the senior editor on Middle Eastern affairs, writes: "Western leaders are becoming increasingly concerned by the threat to democracy posed by the growth of Islamic fundamentalists extremism." Other headlines from random British newspapers convey the same message: "Italy on security alert after Islam terror warning; Clinton to lead summit against Islamic terror; France fears protracted Islam terror campaign; Islamic fanatics gun down Briton in terror campaign" (Edward Mortimer). This is the message that the media is sending to all its readers and watchers about Islam. These headlines may have hap...