Media Framing of the Muslim World

Conflicts, Crises and Contexts

H. Rane,J. Ewart,John Martinkus

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781137334831
• Topic: Scienze sociali
• Subtopic: Scienze della comunicazione

Media Framing of the Muslim World examines and explains how news about Islam and the Muslim world is produced and consumed, and how it impacts on relations between Islam and the West. The authors cover key issues in this relationship including the reporting on war and conflict, terrorism, asylum seekers and the Arab Spring.

1

Islam and the Muslim World

Largely as a consequence of intense media coverage since 9/11, Islam has been brought to the attention of people across the globe. However, most Westerners know little about the faith and its adherents. This chapter begins with a basic overview of Islam’s main teachings and looks at the prevalence of Islamic beliefs and practices among Muslims around the world. Contrary to media representations of Muslims as a monolithic group, this chapter highlights the unity and diversity of Muslims in respect to culture, religiosity and ideology. The chapter also presents what Muslims really think about a range of social and political issues. We then examine the question of coexistence, with a focus on Muslim integration in the West.

A brief history of Islam

Islam is a monotheistic faith that has its origins in 7th-century Arabia. Islamic tradition tells us that Islam began in the year 610, when the Prophet Muhammad is said to have received the first revelation of the Quran, the holy book of Muslims. By the time of his death in the year 632, Muhammad had unified the Arab tribes under his rule and most had converted to Islam. Muhammad’s close companions expanded Arab Muslim rule beyond the Arabian Peninsula, conquering the lands of the Persians and much of the Byzantine territory as well. Internal conflict resulted in the emergence of the first of many Muslim empires or caliphates, which were political entities that ruled over vast territories and were led by a caliph, who possessed both political and religious authority. The Umayyad Caliphate ruled from 661 until 750. During their reign, the Umayyads established an empire, with Damascus as its capital, that extended throughout the Middle East, westward across North Africa to Spain and eastward to India. When they were overthrown by the Abbasid Caliphate, the surviving Umayyads established another flourishing caliphate in Spain, with Cordoba as its capital. The Abbasids inherited the Umayyad’s Middle Eastern territories, but by the mid-10th century the Muslim world rapidly became divided among multiple rulers until the last of these, the Ottoman Caliphate, was replaced by the Republic of Turkey in 1923. By this time, many of the Muslim lands that had formerly been Ottoman territories had met the same fate already experienced by much of the Muslim world, falling under the colonial rule of various European powers, particularly Britain and France.

While Islam’s history is one of continuous political turmoil, the Islamic religion, guided by Islamic law (sharia) and its traditional custodians, the ulema (religious scholars), was a vital stabilizing and harmonizing force. Largely due to the social order that the sharia provided, coupled with the economic strength that Muslim empires acquired, the Muslim world boasted a glorious Islamic civilization characterized by high culture, great works of philosophy and literature, and advancements in the sciences, mathematics, medicine and technology that laid the foundations for the Renaissance in Europe. The Umayyad capital at Cordoba in Spain, the Abbasid capital Baghdad in Iraq, the Fatimid capital Cairo in Egypt and the Ottoman capital Istanbul in Turkey were once global centers of power, trade and scholarship, attracting the world’s greatest minds, irrespective of race or religion. However, as the economic fortunes of the Muslim empires declined, by the 14th century their rulers’ ability to patronize and support the arts and sciences led to the decline of Islamic civilization. Although the Ottoman Empire remained a potent force until the 17th century, much of the Muslim world outside the Ottoman domain was vulnerable to colonization by the ascending European powers at the time, beginning with Portugal and Spain and followed by the Netherlands, Britain, France and Italy in the colonial endeavor.

The Muslim world

It was not until the mid-20th century that most Muslim countries gained their independence from their European colonial rulers, which resulted in the emergence of today’s modern Muslim nation-states. A combination of Islam and nationalism was often central to the Muslim struggles for independence. While some Muslim states, such as Saudi Arabia and, to a lesser extent, Pakistan, asserted their Islamic identity from the outset, others, such as Turkey, Tunisia and, to a lesser extent, Indonesia, imposed a secular regime. Today, there are only a handful of Muslim countries that self-identify as Islamic states: these include Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Mauritania. Most Muslim countries, particularly those in Central Asia (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan), South and Eastern Europe (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo) and sub-Saharan Africa (Chad, Guinea, Mali and Senegal) are secular to the extent that the affairs of state and religion are officially separate. Many Muslim countries, however, have endorsed Islam as the state religion, including Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. Effectively, this means that, while there is a separation of state and religious authority, many of the laws of the country, usually family and personal laws, are based on Islamic sharia law and Islamic courts operate to deal with such cases. In many Muslim countries there has been an ongoing struggle over the nation’s identity and, in particular, the appropriate role of Islam in society and politics. In many Muslim countries, such as Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey, Islamic-oriented groups and political parties have struggled against the state to assert their rights and views, and in some cases, such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, have endured brutal repression.

Today there are currently 49 Muslim-majority countries. Globally there are over 1.6 billion Muslims, who comprise one-fifth of the world’s population. A major study by the Pew Research Center estimates that the world’s Muslim population will increase by about 35 per cent over the next 20 years. The Muslim population is expected to grow at twice the rate of the world’s non-Muslim population. This means that the number of Muslims globally will rise to 2.2 billion and comprise one-quarter of the world’s population. Currently the world’s most populous Muslim nation is Indonesia, followed by Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria, Iran, Turkey, Algeria and Morocco. By 2030, Pakistan will be the world’s most populous Muslim nation, followed by Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and Iraq. Three-quarters of the world’s Muslims live in Muslim-majority countries (in which over 50 per cent of the population is Muslim). All Muslim-majority countries are in the less developed regions of the world (with the exception of Albania and Kosovo, which are in Europe). Over one-fifth of the world’s Muslims live in non-Muslim countries in the developing world, mainly in sub-Saharan African countries and certain developing countries in the Asia-Pacific and Central and South American regions. Only 3 per cent of the world’s Muslims reside in the developed or Western world (Pew Research Center, 2011).

Only about 20 per cent of the world’s Muslims live in the Middle East and North Africa, which has been the case for several decades and is expected to remain so into the foreseeable future. Sixty per cent of the world’s Muslim population reside in the Asia-Pacific region. Within this region, Muslims continue to increase as a proportion of the population, up from 22 per cent in 1990 to 25 per cent in 2010, and are expected to increase to over 27 per cent by 2030 (Pew Research Center, 2011).

As far as the Western world is concerned, the largest numbers of Muslims are found in Europe. Over the next two decades, the Muslim population in Europe is expected to grow from 44 million in 2010 to 58 million in 2030, and will comprise 8 per cent of the continent’s population. Several Western and Northern European countries will soon have Muslim populations that approach or exceed 10 per cent, including the United Kingdom (8.2 per cent), Austria (9.3 per cent), Sweden (9.9 per cent), Belgium (10.2 per cent) and France (10.3 per cent). Across Europe, the countries that are estimated to have the largest Muslim populations by 2030 are Russia (18.6 million), France (6.9 million), the United Kingdom (5.6 million), Germany (5.5 million) and Italy (3.2 million) (Pew Research Center, 2011).

In the United States, the population of Muslims is expected to double from 2.6 million today to 6.2 million in 2030. In Canada the Muslim population is expected to triple from just below 1 million in 2010 to almost 2.7 million in 2030. The Muslim population in Australia is expected to increase by 80 per cent over the next two decades, with the number of Muslims increasing from about 400,000 in 2010 to over 700,000 by 2030. The increase in Muslim populations in the Western world is due to a combination of high fertility rates and immigration, while the increase in Muslim populations in the broader Muslim world is a consequence of high fertility rates, the high proportion of Muslims entering the prime reproductive years, and improved health and economic conditions in Muslim countries, which have resulted in lower infant mortality rates and higher life expectancy (Pew Research Center, 2011). These figures alone make it clear that understanding Islam and Muslims is essential for the future of international relations and social harmony within Western countries.

Islam and Muslims

The term ‘Islam’ means ‘submission’ to God. A Muslim is one who follows Islam, which teaches that there is only one God and that Muhammad (d. 632) is a prophet of God. According to the Islamic tradition, Muhammad was the last in a long succession of prophets that included Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and many others. Islam also teaches that that all human beings are accountable to God and, following a final judgment, will either be rewarded with a place in eternal heaven or punished by being sent to hell. The primary sacred text of Islam is the Quran, which Muslim tradition holds was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over a two-decade period between the years 610 and 632. In the centuries following the death of Muhammad, narrations of his sayings and actions, known as the Hadith, became the second major source of Islamic teachings.

According to the Quran, Islam is not a new religion but a revival or renewal of the same basic teachings of the previous monotheistic faiths, namely Judaism and Christianity. The basic rituals of Islam are also found in earlier monotheistic religions. Islam is based on five pillars: a testimony of faith which states that there is only one God and that Muhammad is a prophet of God; prayers which are performed five times per day; almsgiving, charity or welfare tax of 2.5 per cent of annual savings, which is given to the poor and needy; fasting between dawn and sunset for the entire month of Ramadan; and a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime if possible.

The central teachings of Islam are almost 1500 years old, but to what extent do Muslims today still adhere to the beliefs and practices of the religion? The Pew Research Center (2012a) conducted over 38,000 face-to-face interviews in over 80 languages with Muslims in 39 countries, a sample that represents two-thirds of the world’s Muslim population. The study found that Islam is very important in the lives of the overwhelming majority of Muslims globally. Islam is most significant in the lives of Muslims in Southeast Asia, South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East and North Africa, but less so among Muslims in Southern and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. However, Islam tends to be more important in the lives of Muslims aged over 35 than for those aged 34 and under (Pew Research Center, 2012a). A majority of Muslims around the globe believe that there is only one correct interpretation of Islam. However, at least a third of the population in Chad, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Iraq, Kenya, Lebanon, Mozambique, Palestine, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda, as well as over half the population in Morocco and Tunisia, say that multiple interpretations of Islam are possible (Pew Research Center, 2012a).

Belief in God and the prophethood of Muhammad is almost universal among Muslims globally, and overwhelming majorities believe that the Quran is the literal word of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. Other teachings of Islam, including the existence of angels, fate or predestination, the reward of heaven for the righteous and punishment of hell for the wicked, are accepted by a majority of Muslims around the world, and almost universally among Muslims in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa (Pew Research Center, 2012a).

In general, Muslims are observant of Islam’s basic rituals, namely prayer, charity and fasting. In most Muslim countries a majority of the population perform the five-times-daily prayers. Prayer is particularly prominent in the lives of Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa, but observed by far fewer Muslims who reside in Southern and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Muslims also attend mosques regularly. A majority of Muslims globally attend the mosque at least once per week, specifically on Fridays to perform the Friday or jumma prayers. While there is no significant difference between men and women in the observance of the five-times-daily prayers, women are far less likely to attend mosques than men, especially in Central and South Asia, where cultural norms and local customs restrict women from attending mosques. By contrast, there is little difference between men and women in mosque attendance among Muslims in Southeast Asia, as well as those in Egypt, Morocco and many countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Pew Research Center, 2012a).

In all but three of the 39 countries surveyed, a majority say they engage in the Islamic tradition of almsgiving or charity, including nine out of ten Muslims in Southeast Asia, at least eight out of ten Muslims in South Asia, and at least seven out of ten Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa. Fasting during the month of Ramadan is the most observed of the Islamic rituals, with near-universal observance among Muslims in Southeast and South Asia and (with the exception of DR Congo) between 85 and 100 per cent observance among Muslims in the Middle East, North and sub-Saharan Africa. Outside these regions, fasting is observed by at least three-quarters of the Muslim population in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Tajikistan and Turkey. However, performance of the pilgrimage to Mecca is rare among Muslims. Generally, the further the region from Saudi Arabia, the fewer the number of Muslims who have made the journey. While 17 per cent of Muslims from the Middle East and North Africa and 13 per cent of those from sub-Saharan Africa have completed the pilgrimage, only 8 per cent of Muslims from Southeast Asia, 6 per cent of Muslims from South Asia and 3 per cent from Central Asia and Southern and Eastern Europe have done so (Pew Research Center, 2012a).

There are two major Muslim sects: Sunnis and Shia. Sunnis are the majority, constituting about 90 per cent of the world’s Muslim population. The two differ mainly on issues of leadership and succession rather than on matters of Islamic belief or practice. Sunnis contend that lineage is not a criterion for a Muslim ruler, while Shias claim that a legitimate Muslim ruler must be a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, specifically from the family of Ali and the Prophet’s daughter Fatima. While sectarian differences and conflict between Sunnis and Shias are often a focus of media reports, most Muslims are either unaware of or unconcerned about such issues. In many of the countries surveyed, most respondents preferred not to identify as Sunni or Shia but as ‘just a Muslim’ (Pew Research Center, 2012a, p. 9). However, in many Muslim countries large pluralities of the Sunni population do not accept Shias as fellow Muslims, particularly in Egypt and Morocco, where half the population do not regard Shias as Muslims, and in Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Palestine and Tunisia, where around 40 per cent of the population share this view. Interestingly, in those countries with significant Sunni and Shia populations, namely Iraq and Lebanon, around 90 per cent of the Sunni population accept Shias as fellow Muslims. The study posits that, in these cases, ‘the experience of living side-by-side may increase, rather than decrease, mutual recognition between Sunnis and Shias’ (Pew Research Center, 2012a, p. 89).

Aside from the major Sunni–Shia divide, Muslims tend to be unified in their basic beliefs and practices, specifically Islam’s core articles of faith (belief in God, angels, previous sacred scriptures, previous prophets, day of judgment, heaven and hell) and the five pillars (testimony of faith in God and Muhammad’s prophethood, prayer, charity, fasting and pilgrimage). However, Muslims are very diverse in terms of their cultures, languages, ethnicities, nationalities, geographical distribution, histories, education levels, economic development and political experiences. All of these factors have a bearing on the various approaches to Islam and multiple political, jurisprudential, theological and ideological groupings that have developed across the Muslim world.

Shortly after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, Shias, Kharajites and Sunnis emerged as the earliest Muslim political factions. Additionally, within the first century of Islam’s founding, individuals began to emphasize living the austere life of the Prophet as a rejection of the luxurious lifestyle of the new Muslim rulers and practiced a more spiritual and mystical approach to Islam that developed into Sufism. Furthermore, in the following centuries, various schools of theology emerged, including the Mutazilite, Atharite and Asharite. Also, between the 8th and 9th centuries a number of schools of Islamic legal thought developed, including the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi, Hanbali and Zaydi.

Today, numerous sufi orders as well as the major schools of Islamic jurisprudence continue to define and interpret Islam for their respective adherents. The modern world has also given rise to a number of other Muslim groupings. Saeed (2007b) identifies eight trends in contemporary Islam, and classifies Muslims as legalist traditionalists, theological puritans, militant extremists, political Islamists, secular liberals, cultural nominalists, classical modernists and progressive ijtihadis.

Legalist traditionalists stress adherence to classical Islamic law as developed by the classical jurists. Theological puritans, namely salafists, emphasize adherence to what they regard as correct, strictly monotheistic, Islamic beliefs. Militant extremists, such as Al-Qaeda, advocate the use of violence and terrorism for what they consider to be the defense of Islam and Muslims. Political Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, are committed to establishing Islamic states in Muslim countries and an Islamic social order elsewhere based on what they consider to be Islamic values, laws and institutions. Secular liberals see faith as a more private rather than a public matter and advocate personal freedom, civil liberties and human rights. Cultural nominalists focus on culture rather than religion and are Muslim due to their family background rather than a commitment to Islam’s beliefs and practices. Classical modernists emphasize the reform of Islamic law and theology from within the Islamic tradition and based on classical methods. Progressive ijtihadis are also concerned with the reform of Islamic law in order to respond to the realities of contemporary Muslims, but emphasize the spirit and principles rather than the letter of the law.

What Muslims really think

Morey and Yaqin describe the media portrayal of Muslims as ‘a problematic presence, troubling those values of individualism and freedom said to define Western nations’ (2011, p. 1). However, as the above-mentioned groupings indicate, there is a diversity of Muslim perspectives in response to the realities of modernity and life within a Western country. A number of major studies have been conducted that examine the views of Muslims concerning religious, social, moral and political issues as well as their perceptions of the West. Among these studies are the Pew Research Center’s (2013a) Religion and Public Life Project on ‘The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society’ and a Gallup World Poll study, Who Speaks for Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think (Esposito and Mogahed, 2007). Between 2008 and 2012, the Pew Research Center conducted 38,000 face-to-face interviews in over 80 languages and dialects across 39 Muslim-majority countries, including a number with significant Muslim minorities, on the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. Overall, Muslims around the globe are deeply committed to their faith and want it not only to guide their personal lives but also to inform the social and political order of their respective countries. A majority of Muslims consider Islam to be the one true faith, and belief in God is seen as necessary in order for one to lead a moral life and attain eternal life in heaven. Many Muslims support the implementation of sharia (Islamic law) as the official law of their country and think that their religious leaders should have at least some influence over political matters. However, such views are more prominent among Muslims in the Middle East, Africa, and South and Southeast Asia than they are among Muslims in Central Asia and Southern and Eastern Europe. Generally among Muslims, support for sharia varies little by age, gender or education. It is noteworthy that Muslims support the religious freedom of non-Muslims and that Islamic law should only apply to Muslims. In respect to the impleme...