Representation and Media Responsibility: Politicizing Islam

The representation of Muslims in popular Western media is imbued with negative, political connotations of violent, deceitful and villainous characters. Essentialist stereotypes have been reinforced in western television and film, where 80% of the population gets their news (Iman). Crude and exaggerated stereotypes fuel Islamophobia, from popular media to news stories and infotainment.

In a post 9/11 world, Islam has been denotatively linked to the war on terror, symbolizing a binary opposition between the Shariah faith of the East and the secularism, liberalism, and predominately Judeo-Christian values of the West. The politicization of this binary has arguably been a key element for the justification of War in the Middle East. To further this motif, Western media represents Islam as a religion of oppression, punishment and war.

According to a study by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, in popular film, from Disney’s ‘Aladdin’ to the Indiana Jones blockbuster ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’, representations of Muslims have helped “demonize Muslims as dangerous and threatening, and reinforce prejudices” (Ward, 2007). Overwhelming, Muslims are often the violent character or ‘bad guy’. Failing that, as in Aladdin, they are daft, impractical and bordering ridiculous in their beliefs and speech. Where Aladdin has an American accident, the rest of the cast has daft and exaggerated ‘Arabic’ accents, and Aladdin’s hometown is explicitly referred to as ‘barbaric’. Ostensibly, the hero or protagonist is overwhelmingly never Muslim in Western film.

The villain Jafar, from the movie Aladdin, one of the only characters to retain his Arabic name from the original story.
Source: Wikicommons

Some of these representations pre-date the 9/11 attacks, thwarting any suggestion that such representations are a natural recourse against the terror attacks. Instead, the representations indicate a deeper politicization of Islam more generally, a faith apparently endemically linked to violence. Since 9/11, this has only become more exaggerated.

Popular news perpetuates this myth. In news stories, the juxtaposition of mass prayer alongside horrific images of bombs and killing implicitly links terror as part of the ritual of Islam. Western media arguably used 9/11 to “capitalize its political gain”, depicting Islam as fundamentalist, extremist and radicalist (Imam). There has been little media in response to this, with images of indiscriminate terrorist acts, underscored by emotive text like ‘Why do they hate us?’ and ‘Is Islam compatible with democracy?’ helping the media to show that the west, collectively, are victims of terrorism and terrorism is inherently linked to Islam.

What is needed is a seismic shift in media representation, starting with a sense of responsibility for the imaging and typecasting of ethnic groups and better education about different groups. The Muslim voice is missing in Western media. Only when the viewing public starts to hear that voice, and understand the religion as fundamentally a peaceful one, will these negative stereotypes be redressed.

References:

Iman, Mizra MESIC. The Perception of Islam and Muslims in the Media and the Responsibility of European Muslims Towards the Media.  Conference paper given at Madrasah,Zagreb Mosque, Zagreb, Croatia. Available at < http://www.culturelink.org/conf/dialogue/mesic.pdf>.

Ward, Lucy. 2007. “From Aladdin to Lost Ark, Muslims get ‘bad guy’ film images.” The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April, 2013, from  <http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jan/25/broadcasting.race>. 

Faith in Nature

What does nature mean? To be in nature, in touch with the physical environment, semantically connotates the natural environment, replete with all the untramelled, untamed majesty of the wild. We picture windows of the globe, untouched by the hand of civilization, where animals and plants live in peaceful union, where the sound of silence fills the lungs, where the atmosphere is clearer, and the soul lies down in the long green grass, where even belief means nothing at all.

 Source: Wikicommons

With the processes of globalization and development, we find these corners become slithers, lit by the glory of nature but shadowed by the walls of man. To be in nature is to be in the urban sprawl. The wild is precious and rare, quantifiable and vulnerable, especially for the city-dweller.  That is not to say it does not exist, nor that its experience is not as tangible as it was pre-settlement. It is to say, however, that nature as a concept and a reality is imbued with a sense of man’s entitlement to it and ownership of it. The feeling that man can quantify and own the land, can tame the wild, and can manipulate the natural form, is assumed as base human extinct and right.

What does this say of man’s relationship to the natural world? Is it too tarnished with the brush of post-Enlightenment rationalism and scientism? Has nature become a child of human understanding, something that we are to grapple with, contemplate and dominate? Even in its preservation we own it. We own it in the green political movements. We own it in clean up Australia day. We own it in the organic produce we buy. We own it every time we quantify its wildness and draw it out of the untouched and into the social.

Is this the attitude that underpins the growth of human rationalism at the expense of metaphysical belief? Perhaps. That does not mean, however, that there is no place for metaphysics, or for the wild, or for faith. It simply involves a re-conception of it.

I sit in merlos, a coffeeshop that borders the manicured edges ‘Great Court’ of the University of Queensland, its own slither of green amidst the towering sandstone of academia. A single tree forms the centre of the courtyard, which students flock to, and cue to be a part of as they sip their soy lattes and sweat over final exams. This is man’s place, but it owes its value to its relationship with nature. The branches canopy the space; they create the space, sheltering the tables from the elements. It reminds us of its presence too, every time the wind blows through the pages of a textbook, or a fly lands on a saucer to sip droplets of chai.

Man’s space could exist without nature, and nature would certainly flourish without man. But does a tree make a sound if it falls in a wood and no one is there to hear it? The two create a sacred union of their own; one which reminds us that we should stretch our minds and our physical capabilities to develop our natural environment. It is a union which tells us that there is something more than us, that we should seek to understand, but that we cannot ostensibly control. We exist in something bigger than ourselves. Nature’s word is final and ultimate. Our spaces take on significance because of their ability to account for nature, and to be one with nature.  This is faith.

As I write a bird relieves itself on the computer. Faith will have the final say. 

Where Religion meets New Media: Evolve or Wither

The internet, as new media, is a hybrid of collection, collation, connection and creation of visual and written information. It offers  a new forum for the sharing and reproduction of meaning.  Institutional religion must move with the development of this media to stay relevant in the meaning-making processes of contemporary society. This had led to the rise of ‘religion online.’

Religion broadly debuted online in the form of online chat rooms and bulletin boards, which provided a new means of communication for people to express their religious interests and ethical concerns. The growth of this as a medium of communication has instigated a reassessment of how religious groups frame the idea of community, authority, written media and texts. Increasingly, now, religious groups can collaborate online, conducting spiritual rituals online and expressing their religious interests. Far from blurring the boundaries of religious communities, my belief is that this phenomenon has helped to solidify the borders of religious identity under institutional religion and ‘new religion’.

Usenet, an online chat forum and bulletin board, which frequently features religious debate. 

Source: Benjamin D. Esham. 25 May 2010.  "Usenet traffic per day". WikiCommons.

The nature of the online community gives unprecedented instantaneity to our lives. Information is available (and expected) with a new sense of immediacy. Communication has effectively been globalized, with the boundaries of local communities obliterated with access to others across the globe at the click of the finger.

This has huge discursive implications in the context of how religion is experienced and practice. First, it means that discussion is not limited to local community and issues. The breadth and scope of discourse is opened. Beliefs can be challenged, and more importantly, find support, from all corners of the globe. Secondly, it means that people can access religious ritual and discussion as they desire, day or night. The domain of religion and spirituality is no longer limited by physical time and space. It can occur in a private sphere, when required or desired. Thirdly, the way we interact with the internet implicates the way we interact with religious discourse and beliefs. Fundamentalist or literalist subscriptions to sacred texts will naturally shy away from debate that challenges conventional meaning and institutionalization of religion. Far from this meaning that the fundamentalist discourse is excluded from the conversation, it finds support through others who subscribe to that discourse. In the same way, those with beliefs that might otherwise grate against the grain of institutional religion find support in numbers online. Religion and spirituality can be reborn into the popular discourse and taken exclusively out of the Church or mosque. Young people in particular can engage with their spiritual concerns in a new way. The inquisitive nature of debate means that beliefs are constantly reassessed. Far from destabilizing religious or spiritual belief, however, this discourse solidifies it.  People find support as much as they find challenge to their belief-sets, and those challenges seek only to solidify the boundaries of religious or spiritual identity.

Source: WikiCommons.

I find the internet to be a primary source of inspiration and ritualization of my spiritual experience. As a yoga teacher, the yoga community online provides a rich and decadent source of information and knowledge that is not otherwise available through the local community. The diversity of contributors means that I can find my niche – and find support with others. This has been incredibly powerful in establishing a form of spiritual, and practical, identity as a teacher and as a philosopher.

Contrary to seeing the internet as a threat to institutional religion, I see it as a re-empowerment of traditional religious discourse. New media, in my mind, strengthens religious identity in line with the social expectations and attitudes of contemporary society. The internet is a case where we must other get on board or be left behind. 

References

Campbell, H. 2010. Where Religion Meets New Media. New York: Routledge. Ebook.

On the Evolution of Religious Branding in the Age of Globalization

The processes of globalization are embedded in the cultural paradigm of modern society. Belying globalization is an ethos of individualism, rationalism, materialism and consumerism. Whether we accept the globalization processes or not, as global citizens, this lens of seeing the world and our place in it is unavoidable.

This has not necessarily been negative for religious discourse. It allows for the globalization of humanist values that are both underlie and are enriched by traditional religion, like human rights and equality.  The rise of a new telecommunications network and transportation enables religious groups to connect with civil societies and each other as a global force to challenge corporate capitalism. However, even in this affront to capitalist and secularist dogma, traditional religion still exists within that schema itself and must evolve in accordance with it or be excluded and become obsolete.

This need for reinvention has not manifest in religious dissonance, but rather in a revival of religion in new forms.  Perhaps this is because the metaphysical questioning and uncertainty of our individual struggles through life, like questions of immortality, self-fulfillment, the good life and salvation, are fundamentally spiritual questions. That is to say, spiritual yearning is an inseparable component of human life.

In any case, Phra Paisal Visalo identifies three new forms of religion in this new paradigm:

1.      Religious fundamentalism;

2. Explosion of ‘new religions; and

3. Growth of religion for consumerism

The growth of religion for consumerism, and as consumerism, is particularly pertinent.  In modern society the conjoining of “the freedom to determine one’s faith” on the one hand with “the ubiquity of mass media and advertising” on the other has led to the growth of religious branding (Einstein, 2011: 331). In an environment where work has replaced the church for social connection and the increase in secularism allows for individuals to essentially “shop” for religious institutions to meet their needs, churches must act as brands to hold onto denominational loyalty.

In this “spiritual marketplace” the United Methodist Church (UMC) is one example of a religious institution fighting for relevance and reinvention (Roof, 1999). Their campaign, “Rethink Church” blatantly targets young people by drawing connections between the political concerns of the demographic and the opportunities or haven offered by the UMC, all framed in casual language and clever visuals.

An example of the UMC "Rethink Church" Campaing from Altoona, PA.

The phenomenon in itself is neither positive nor negative. What it represents in that consumerism is endemic in global culture and in such an environment, everything becomes a commodity for sale and acquisitions. Religion is implicated by this culture insofar as it must adapt to expectations of instantaneity and convenience, individualistic orientation, the ability to “consume” religious services and a focus on materialistic, humanistic values.

References

Einstein, Maria. “The Evolution of Religious Branding”. Social Compass 58.3 (2011): 331-338.

Paisal Visalo, Phra. “The Dynamic of Religion in the Age of Globalization: Lessons from Indonesia, Philippines and Japan.” The First Workshop of Asian public Intellectuals on the theme “The Asian Face of Globalization: Reconstructing Identities, Institutions and Resources,” Shangri-La Hotel, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines. November 19-23 2002. Visalo.org. Internet. 3 April 2013.

Roof, W.C. 1999. Spiritual marketplace: Baby boomers and the remaking of American religion. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

“Rethink Church.” Online Video Clip. YouTube.com. 21 Nov. 2009.  Uploaded by Second Avenue United Methodist Church. 3 April 2013.