WASHINGTON — Muslims in America say that they are fighting an intangible, but visceral misrepresentation in the media – and Muslim nonprofits are no exception.
Muslim nonprofits will deal with the same drop in fundraising that all charitable organizations are facing in a difficult economic climate this holiday season, but they will also be addressing a less quantifiable obstacle—problematic and often inaccurate media portrayals.
“We went from being invisible to only being seen as terrorists,” said one of the students at diversity training conducted through the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, which is based in Oakland, Calif. The institute helps media see how to more fully represent the “Fault Lines” of race, class, gender, generation and geography.
Islam is the most-mentioned religion in mainstream American media, and the majority of the images are negative, according to a 2008 Media Tenor study.
Kamal Nawash, the founder and president of the Free Muslims Coalition, said that one effect of that negative depiction is a fear by non-Muslims that their money will end up in the hands of extremists.
“They are afraid that tomorrow the government might say that this organization is associated with terrorism and the people who gave will look like they are funding it,” Nawash said.
He recalls that one media organization directly accused his group of pretending to fight against extremism while secretly promoting radical ideologies.
“(It was) some ancient concept called Takia,” said Nawash, describing the claim. “ I had to look it up because no one knows what this is. Makes me wonder if these people are really trying to fight against extremism or just to discredit Muslims.”
Negative imagery in videos and stories leaves the impression that Muslims are violent and against America, Nawash said.
A 2010 Gallup study of religious prejudice against Muslims said that four in 10 Americans admit to feeling at least “ a little prejudice towards Muslims.”
“In terms of how people perceive Muslims, the violence shown in the media becomes conflated with religious terms,” said Magali Rheault, senior analyst for the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. “The main actors are presented as speaking on behalf of this very large and diverse 1.6 billion Muslims across the world.”
Dori Maynard, president of the Maynard Institute, said that the negative impact of the media on these organizations stems from the fact that there aren’t enough routine stories done to show the complexities of Muslim people.
“Bernie Madoff is not representative of all rich white men,” Maynard said. “But we know that because the media does a great job of representing the complexities of that group of people.”
The negative imagery in the media directly contradicts what Muslims believe about themselves.
More than 90 percent of Muslims worldwide said that they were against violence and extremism, according to “What Makes a Radical,” a 2008 poll by Gallup. The largest Muslim civil liberty and human rights group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, holds the same stance.
“Associating Islam with the actions of terrorists and religious extremists implies that we accept their argument that what they do is based on a legitimate interpretation of the faith,” said CAIR’s legislative director, Corey Saylor, in a 2008 press release. “It is best to call them what they are – criminals, terrorists, extremists – without giving them the false religious justification they seek.”
When dealing with the biases that the media illustrates, Saylor said that nonprofits often have to put the issue aside to focus on what is in their control to change.
“That’s why you hear us asking what can we do for ourselves,” said Saylor. “We don’t have any control over outside organizations and media.”
Though it is difficult to measure the exact ways in which media portrayls of Muslims after 9/11 has influenced business relations, Zudhi Jasser, founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, proposes that open dialogue about Islam and surrounding issues could counter-act negative representation.
“The founding fathers used to discuss the different divisions in the Christian faith,” Jasser said. “Now, because of political correctness, we never want to criticize or talk about Islam.”
Jasser said that extremism is a threat that can’t be resolved until cases like the Fort Hood shootings can be talked about and openly mention Islam.
“Look at the report about the…shooter,” said Jasser. “You will not see the word Islam or Muslim in it. If the Pentagon can’t say this, then how will these issues be addressed?”
There is however, an effort by media organizations to represent Muslims and Islam more fairly. In collaboration with Muslims on Screen and Television, Gallup’s Center for Muslim Studies is working to share the findings of their studies so that broadcasters, television and film producers will at least be informed.
“They have full creative license,” said Rheault, “We show them findings from our research to inform their work. If you are using empirical research to present your work, you may be presenting a Muslim that is closer to reality.”
In the end, Maynard proposes that coverage of all facets of Muslim nonprofits and people would bring a change to how these nonprofits are viewed.
“We have a season coming up where we cover our routine holiday stories,” Maynard said. “My hope is that we include Muslims in that coverage, so that we think about Muslims as our neighbors who are also happy for the New Year, worried about gas prices just like everyone else.”