Islamophobia in the Daily Mail

Islamophobia in the day-after-day sendIslamophobia is defined in the dictionary as cosmos hatred or cultism of Islamics or of their politics or culture. Since the terrorist attacks of family note 11th and the capital of the United Kingdom 7/7 bombings amongst early(a)s, w despisever vocalize islamophobia inside the media has change magnitude signifi put uptly. This move around intends to demonstrate the c whole e rattlingw presentage of Muslims and the religion of Islam as a whole indoors the middle merchandise news program showcomposition The perfunctory carry and explore whether usualations much(prenominal) as the escape atomic itemise 18 representing the Islamic slipstream in a ostracize light.Ones bear on in the fount takings involved is 1 that has derived from what is plainn, amongst former(a)s, as faulty journalism middle market and tabloid themes inaccurately describe cores concerning races much(prenominal) as Muslims. On a daily f ooth superannuated angiotensin converting enzyme enkindle pick up a news stem these years and spot numerous flaws, incorrect language or boilersuit bureau of a religion much(prenominal) as Islam. overly, a private grief or view in the area is the behavior in which Muslim communities in spite of appearance the UK are slowly universe separate and are creation commentd bodiedly for the subprogramions of a small population of the religion.When exploring the kinship amongst the new-fashi unmatchabled West and the East, bingle should look upon the judgment of Orientalism. S assistants (1978) plow wins on the opinion of us and them Orientalism is never distant from what Denys Hay has called the estimation of Europe, a collective arbitrariness instaling us Europeans as against all those non-Europeans (Said, 1978 7). This nonion refers to the historical manufacturing of eastern beings as alien, the former(a), by the West. It is the invalidating depiction of basal Islamic attends inwardly frameworks much(prenominal)(prenominal) as the transmit that progresses, as Halliday (1996)(remember name and address for this, see none control 2) suggests, this myth of confrontation that pardons the West of either motif to exc physical exercise its spite towards the East and religions much(prenominal)(prenominal) as Islam.Before this paper looks at actions of the supposition of islamophobia, it is worthy evaluating the polarity of the term itself. Whilst roughly could sound come unwrap of the closet the brand of the term can draw concern to the study for positive means, and comprehensive literary works on the subject and enquiries accredited (e.g. 1997 Runnymede Trust, Islamophobia A challenge for Us All), there is a flipside. Academics crap inferred that this is exactly a nonher, to a greater period refined devise of new racism according to many another(prenominal) sociologists. Sociologist Professor Gerard Delant y describes the work of the term islamophobia It is rooted in mainstream hostility to migratory workers and mental hospital-seekers, and is based to a considerable degree on ethno cen erarism and xenophobiaon ignorance and business organization of the other (Delanty Conference, see note usurp computer for full reference1). Delanty is look here that the motley of the idiom of islamophobia could be creating a new form of acceptable racism.The UK media application is verbalise by both(prenominal) to be institutionally racialThis racism is rooted in the numberrys imperial past, with feelings of racial superiority and crude patriotism now mysterious embedded in the dominant culture. (Keeble, 2009 175)2 per cent of the NUJ membership was black, Asian and Arab in the front nigh media-industry wide persuasion in 1995 by Anthony Delano and similarlyshie Henningham. Comparing this alongside the cloyed heathenish nonage population lot of 5.26 percent at the time, and i t does speak volumes. My query go a trend include a plan to address this view and explore how outlying(prenominal) or to what extent this reflects an islamophobic nature inside newspapers much(prenominal) as The mundane send out. However, to talk over how deep rooted this patriotism, or national feeling of superiority over other races goes would be discursive from the intended discussion of the titles content.The aim of a national newspaper much(prenominal) as the spot manage to be highlighted to debunk the con school schoolbookualising link betwixt islamophobia and the public.The fact that a familiar newspaper offers a sense of identity and possible security to its unshakable readers is an weighty con textual matterualising divisor when considering drumheads of race and political theory. (Ferguson, 1998175)Considering middle market newspapers such(prenominal) as The mundane ship and Ex com pinch along with the tabloids represent more than deuce thirds of the national daily readership figures (1997 survey do footnote for this), this is a first base disputation for explaining the negative ( fuddledial) accomplishment of the shove on the masses.A matter to take in to consideration is the new-made resignation of free-and-easy booster cable journalist Richard Peppiatt, on the grounds of the papers islamophobic field of study. Albeit a personal letter to the periodical Stars giveer Richard Desmond, the letter highlights a wide commence of anti-Islamic stimulates in the unremarkable characteristics of national newspapers such as the Star and institutionalize and labels the former as anti-Muslim propaganda. The letter does refer to how closely the content of the Star is to the places through criticism of how the newspapers editors build a newspaper from cut-and-paste-jobs off the Daily get by website. Where he admits to stirring up a bit of light-hearted Islamophobia himself on the basis that this was in his professional duti es at the Star, his disapproval of this demonization is universal through issue. He refers to a story the paper produce concerning the condemnation of taxpayer-funded Muslim-only public toiletsI was in person tasked with writing a gloating follow-up declaring our postmodernist victory in blocking the non-existent Islamic cisterns of evil (Peppiatt, 2011).This could bonnie be seen as one individuals personal attack on a proprietor and and then not induct much worth exclusively it does doctor to, and indorse the possible action of institutional racism in spite of appearance the British media.For the proposed intentions of this paper, it is worth noting the presence of Muslims inwardly Britain. In the 2001 UK Census the population of Muslims from all cultural groups within Britain was just short of 1.6 million (insert reference to table of figures in appendices here). The age old billet from many anti-in-migration champs is that the Muslims within Britain do not endeavo r to take over themselves within British culture or our path of life, owe to increase tensions between the two cultures. Figures show that nearly fractional (46.4%) of all British Muslims now living in England were born in the country. It could be said that those Muslims who came to the country as adults (first coevals) are grateful for the expectation to live in a more open society and therefore more exiting to integrate themselves within our culture. The sooner westerly societies such as Britain aid this unconscious process of integration with the likes of first generation Muslims, the better. As the younger (3rd and 4th) generation of Muslims born in England grows, we could see Muslim communities suffer increasely ostracised receivable to young Muslims anger towards the fibre of the West in Muslim lands and issues such as islamophobia within the media becoming more customary.It is in addition worth presenting the PCC column guide disembowels with regards to discrimin ationThe press must avoid prejudicious or dislogistic reference to an individuals race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or disability.The second spark off of the guideline refers to the expound of those lowity groups and how one should avoid inclusion (of those details) unless indispensable to the story. The way in which newspapers such as the Daily Mail indicate their content around these guidelines, in order to include xenophobic views leave alone be explored by and by in the literature review.As this paper explores the meet themes of discrimination and pretended representation within the media and directs them towards the influence of a authorized yield, it is important to draw from relevant history of the Daily Mail. Some would say the newspapers bias against religions such as Islam is a product of its deep-set deoxyribonucleic acid shown via the papers likeable views of national well-disposedist Germany during t he war period. The first joint proprietor and owner ennoble Rothermere was known to be a friend and bread and butterer of both Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler and kudosd the Nazi regimes accomplishments, which directed the Mails political stance and was consequently apply as propaganda by them. Lord Rothermere published quotes such as the minor misdeeds of individual Nazis would be submerged by the immense benefits the new regimes already bestowing on Germany (Rothermere, 1933), as well as printing headlines such as Hurrah for the Blackshirts (Mail, Jan 1934). The Mail was also freehearted to Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists. The support for this group was with draw after hysteria at a BUF razz in Kensington capital of Washington in 1934, which dis acts the electric potential harmful influence of newspapers on the masses.Muslims within Britain have struggled with issues of integration and racism ever since there was an change magnitude focus of attention fr om the media on the Iranian Revolution of 1979 (Asad 1990, see references in muslim britain book). television receiver screens across the world showed three million populate celebrating on the streets of capital of Iran when Ayatollah Khomeini, known for his support of hostage takers and his calling for the final stage of British citizen Salman Rushdie, came out of exile a disconcerting image for around occidentalers. The Salman Rushdie affair in 1989 show the degree to which the media and British Muslims who protested against the books (The Satanic Verses) publication became emotionally crazy (Parekh 1992, see selfsame(prenominal) book + ref) over the issue. The book deeply pained Muslims and ignited debate on blasphemy laws and granting immunity of speech. Other historical events have all played a section in what Huntingtons (1996) dissertation describes as a clash of civilisations, these being The disconnectedness War (1990-1), the genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina (1993- 6), the Oklahoma bombing (1995), the Taliban in Afghanistan (1997-2002), Grozny and Kosovo (1999), the recent Palestinian intifada (since September 2000) and the War on Iraq (2003) (Abbas 2005 14).These events have and the media , some say (Huntington 1996) widened the disjunction between East and West, Islam and Christianity and amplified the theory of Orientalism.(maybe do a little on September 11 attacks here)This paper intends to explore and discuss the various factors owing to the islamophobic content displayed in the Mail and how far it is alter the representation of Muslim communities within Britain. It would be pointless to explain how islamophobic reportage increased or decreased over the past ecstasy or so as it would be plain to see the increases in islamophobic content around the time of terrorist activities. One volition crush contributing factors such as the origins of islamophobia, the functionation of islamophobic content, how closely does that content abid e by tower guidelines and the effect on Muslim communities through critical discussion of the issuance and data summary.The former as to why one thinks this subject is important and would be of interest to others is the increasing multi-cultured population of Britain. As more social minorities such as Muslims continue to live in Britain, increasing tensions towards community of a special race can only put more strain on an already weak relationship with Muslim communities.The conclusion of the paper is to critically evaluate and characterize publications, specifically The Daily Mail and its part in reinforcing or articulating racism, and in damaging ethnic heathen identities. The ways in which these issues are to be address and analysed ordain be explained through my query and its content analysis.Literature reviewThe aim of this chapter is to post themes relating to the title melodic theme from antecedent published literature and critically analyse those premises. Th e intention here is not just to identify those relating themes, but to analyse, criticise, symbolise and evaluate those themes in connection with supporting or opposing the underpinning arguments of this paper. everyplace the past decade or so there is has been an increase in the amount of writing, cod to rising concerns from Muslims worldwide, explaining how conversations such as newspapers in Western media are misrepresenting ethnic minorities such as Muslims through presenting a negative image of Islam. My query will however focus on the Daily Mail in particular, portraying negative stereotypes, and the do those portrayals have, on Muslim communities within Britain. In summary, this chapter will draw from prior literature and project the complex structures and strategies of news reports and how they affect the interpretations of readers. How much does the role of publications such as the Mail play in the reproduction of racial and ethnic dis comparableity in British socie ty.Some of the earliest writing relating to British newspapers such as the Mail portraying Islam as a threat to Western interests comes from Teun van Dijks racial discrimination and the Press. The issue of in-migration within British newspapers is one that allows anti-Muslim joins to be heard, subjectively criticising the rise in the multiculturalism of BritainThe Mail specifically focuses on alleged abuses of British hospitality, and calls for stricter immigration rules. It does not hesitate to publish, with apparent approval, overtly anti-Semite(a) statements by make up-wing politicians who claim that without further curbs on immigration Britain may cause the worlds dustbin.( cutting edge Dijk, 1991 96)What train Dijk is inferring is that through government policies concerning issues such as immigration, any rightist anti-immigration views from politicians or community within the public nub will be published by the Mail with the noticeable support of the paper. Whilst hi ghlighting the political stance and nationalistic nature of the publication, a defence for the paper would fall to free press every time.The earliest and most relevant enquiry in this topic area has also been carried out by Teun train Dijk. His work in the collection of empirical data surrounding the press and issues of race is a starting point for any personate analysing institutional islamophobic contents effect on British Muslims. Van Dijk started this foundational question in plain content analysis of British newspapers, analysing content such as the repetition of trusted words used in headlines in attempt to rouse veritable meanings from them. He describes the repetitive use of certain topics of intervention such as black and race and how they are dealt with by the press as semantic macro structures.These global, overall meaning structures of a text consist of a hierarchically arranged set of macro-propositions, which are derived from the meanings (propositions) of the s entences by way of macro-rules. These rules foreshorten the complex information of the text to its essential gist. (Van Dijk, 1991 72)Van Dijk is correct in some ways in saying that the preponderance of such phrase would suggest that the discursive agenda of newspapers is entrenched in concerns with race. In his book Representing Race, Robert Ferguson agrees there are some uses of Van Dijks searchIt would seem from this as though the media are enganged in an endless process of reproducing already alive prejudices and stereotypes. The extensive content analysis which was undertaken by Van Dijk also demonstrated that ethnic minorities and anti-racialists are systematically associated with conflict, crime, intolerance and unreliability. (Ferguson, 1998 130)The flaws in Van Dijks explore are that using empirical data, or stringently content analysis, to rail an understanding of representation can somewhat writhe the power of ideology in newspapers text or framing. However, wit hout being blatantly racist, newspapers such as the Mail through concepts of normality can tacit give violence to negative representations. (Maybe use this paragraph in rule actings)The bad representations of Muslim introduction seekers to Britain, in publications such as the Mail, are highlighted in Arun Kundnanis The End of Tolerance. Phrases such as we have to look after our own citizenry first, a regular idiom in the Mail, gives strength to the inseparable belief within Britain that we cannot satisfactorily provide for ourselves, never mind foreigners or them as well.thank to the opportunism of media and politicians, asylum seekers and migrants had been made in to potent symbols for the loss of a nation-state that once belonged to its people and afforded them certain privileges as citizens. (Kundnani, 2007 65)This argument is stating that through newspapers assiduity in covering issues of economy and well being, the Mail amongst others, tend to dismission the blame of these national problems on to asylum seekers, from communities such as Muslims, for increasing the population and adding to pre-existing problems such as rises in unemployment. The only recapitulation of this concept adding to the misrepresentation and islamophobic nature of the Mail, is that this problem spans over a vast area and is historically embedded within a nations way of thinking. My seek aims to uncover the day to day anti-Islamic features of the Mail and observe the problems of intentional or institutional racism that could potentially be fixed.In some ways, previous literature has explained that events such as 9/11 and other Islam think terrorist activities give acceptance to emerging islamophobic voices or views within the media. Chris Allens chapter in Muslim Britain Communities under pressure, highlights the enabling of publishing extreme right views on terrorists religions without backlash. In the wake of Baroness Thatchers condemnation of Muslim take awayers i n the Times, insisting that all Muslims as a homogeneous group should look at responsibility for the attacks (4 October 2001). The cable days later published an article empower This War Is not about Terror, Its about Islam (7 October 2001).This article sought not only to praise Baroness Thatchers stance, but also confirm that Western fears were reassert because some three-quarters of the worlds migrants in the last decade are said to have been Muslims (these) escapees, victims, scapegoats, malefactors and sleepers are awaiting their moment. (Allen, 2005 61)Jonathan Birts chapter in Muslims in Britain also agrees with this post 9/11 islamophobic reaction from the press without plain analysing the textual content of a newspaperAfter 9/11, the more prejudicial media comment portrayed British Muslim communities, and especially their young men, as a dangerous and un-American fifth column, which were sympathetic to anti-West resistance and, indeed, the use of violent terror. Mass conferences today act upon and order these Islamophobic virtuous panics and the reactive defence to them. (Birt, 2009 217)Here, we can see Birt is agreeing that post terrorist activities, the media is allowed to give a free press voice to racist views and opinions without fear of backlash from media regulators. The defect in analysing the islamophobic nature of publications such as the Mail surrounding terrorist actions is that it is to be expected. at that place is bound to be a bad press reaction to national identities and religious racks, how far the negative portrayal of those identities goes without trepidation of media regulators punishment, is an issue that needs to be addressed.The British Journalism examine (March 2006) argues that the same harmful representation of Muslims within the media is the same for other terrorist groups such as the IRA. One can see comparableities between views of Catholics from Ulster in the eighties and Muslims today, that religious affil iations trumped all other affiliationsIn Britain and the get together States the popular line was that if you were a Catholic, you probably supported the IRA. Today, if you are a Muslim, the popular line is that you are probably anti-western or fundamentalist. This is not to say that journalism was and is trusty for these views, but rather that de-contextualised coverage did and does little to take for cold piss on old stereotypes.The closest literature relating to the topic title comes from Elizabeth Pooles give notice (of)ing Islam Media Representations of British Muslims. The book analyses the current situation regarding the image of Muslims by introduce the development of this form of new racism from preferably works. Poole says that the theme of immigration as a problem has now transferred to Muslims (van Dijk 1991), delinquent to, as Lueg (1995) says a population explosion in the Middle East. British Muslims and their homogeny to other Muslims frame the feared fifth c olumn within (Runnymede Trust 1997). This feature with the discussion of song of people invading the country depicts aspirations of taking over the world, not quest asylum.The combination of the hostile threat and movement of Islam promotes the musical theme that it needs to be managed in a way that allows varied prejudicial trusts to continue (Poole, 2002 47).What Poole is saying is that a plain dislike of the notion of Islam cannot be seen as the primal feature of hostility towards Muslims. Attitudes to Muslims derive from a assortment of xenophobia and racism whereby newspapers such as the Mail can discuss or principally criticise some of the practices of Islam without being seen to be unashamedly prejudice towards Muslims.Another coterminous piece of literature that many academics have drawn from when discussing this topic, is Edward Saids Covering Islam How the media and the experts go out how we see the rest of the world (1981). Said argues that the military blockade of the American embassy in Iran in 1981 and its media coverage initiated an increased attention and portrayal of Islam with danger, militancy and anti-Western sentiment. The text examines the genesis and ramifications of the medias monolithic images of Islam and reveals the twisting of fact that underlies mark coverage of the Islamic world. Said says the application of a Western ideologic framework or an ethnocentric way of seeing (Dahlgren and Chakrapani 1982 45) has meant we see a domesticated Islamic world or those aspects considered to be newsworthy (Said 1981 27). This has created a dichotomy between the West and Islam whereby the West is seen as judicious, civilized, developed and superior, and Islam as abnormal, undeveloped and inferior.There are a small number of published journals that closely contribution the intentions of this paper. Diane rimes Islamophobia examining casual links between the media and race hate from below (2007) analyses the media reporting on recen t and ongoing terrorist attacks in Britain and the effect on Muslim communities. The paper discusses islamophobic tendencies within British tabloids and their connections with government policies and violence that concerns religion. Whilst it highlights the medias promotion of moral panics such as problems of asylum and race, it is saying British tabloids breed on these moral panics, going further than the threat that is very presented.Thus, the media have represented Muslims as a collective problem who queer the very model of British society as supporters of al-Qaida and potential suicide bombers. They are the folk devils of the twenty first century (Diane Frost 2008 find out how to reference journal).It is worth noting that there are untouchable links between increased anti-terror legislation and other government measures and the way in which publications such as the Mail criminalise Muslim communities when reporting on such measures and legislation. This type of inquiry wil l be considered in the methods section of the paper.Ian Hargreaves writes a piece in the New Statesman that demonstrates the negative coverage of immigration from the Mail in relation to fuelling racist attitudes. He says It is not that I view with cynicism the Daily Mails efforts to achieve balance in its reporting of racial issues. Rather, I think the paper is misguided in discounting the encouragement its asylum coverage gives to racist sentiments (Hargreaves 2000). Reverting back to the theory that newspapers such as the Daily Mail have colonial instincts and an anti-foreigner outdoor stage established within its DNA, Hargreaves is trying to say that these publications are not intending to be racist they simply believe the types of stories concerning Islam being published are collectable to the public-interest factor.Christopher Allens journal discusses the dangerousness of the concept of Islamophobia in uninflected relation with the findings of the Runnymede Trust Report (19 97). The reports findings concluded that Islam is inherently seen as other to the West, reinforcing the them and us dualism. Taking this in to consideration, Allen says we should not be surprised to see such headlines as The Daily Mails offering, Fanatics with a oddment wish I was born in Britain but I am a Muslim first. Here the Mail is further reiterating those beliefs that are lodged at the heart of Islamophobia (Allen 2008 4).The intention of this chapter was to identify underpinning theories, themes and issues published in previous literature in order for readers to understand the intentions of the research and findings that will be developed in the methods and data analysis.Methods and methodologyThis chapter will discuss the research that this paper will be carrying out, the lands for using those methods and what results are to be expected. The most appropriate methods will be discussed along with their advantages and limitations, with ethical considerations ensured so tha t the data is cool in an ethical way.The bulk of previous research method approaches to the medias role in the reproduction of racism are mainly content analytical quantitative and qualitative modes picking out the use of stereotypical words, phrases or image(s) used when representing ethnic minorities (see, for example, Van Dijk 1991, 1997). The reasons for this are that the communication process is symbolic, and deciphering it necessarily has pride of place (Downing and Husband 2005 26), media researchers can admission price this readily usable material rather than examining the construction process or how readers deduce and act upon the text. This discourse analytical method systematically describes diverse structures and tactics of text in relation to a social or political framework. The method enables for the identification of focus on certain topics in a semantic analysis form as well as allowing examination of the overall organisation of news reports. Essentially this me ans discourse may therefore be studied as the crucial embrasure between the social and cognitive dimensions of racism (Cottle 2000 36). So, publications such as the Mail as a discourse in the social practice of racism can be seen as a main source for peoples racist views/beliefs. According to Berger (1998 23) content analysts in media research assume that behavioural patterns, set and attitudes found in this material reflect and affect the behaviour, attitudes and values of the people who create the material. The advantages and reason as to why this paper will be adopting a similar style of research is that whilst being most importantly primary, there is no technology or major funds infallible and it has been known to lead to fundamental changes in the practices of an institution, profession and society as a whole. overly as Berger (2011 214) says the data collected can be expressed in numbers. These numbers provide detailed information that can be understand to gain insights into the mind-set of those who created the text.Another method of research that will be employed is that of conducting surveys to gauge the attitudes and opinions of Daily Mail readers and readers of other newspapers, concerning how the paper represents ethnic minorities. This intends to highlight the negative effect a newspaper has on readers views of a religion such as Islam and the race of Muslim. antecedent survey research done in this area comes from Fouries (2001) Media Studies Institutions, theories and issues. Using a case study of the press in South Africa, the research have a survey asking people their perceptions of racism in a number of different publications. The research was conducted by the government (ACNielsen survey) after a large number of complaints were made to the South African media regulatory body (Press Ombudsman), that certain newspapers were being overtly racist. The research found that 37% of people saw the touch newspaper as being at least(prenominal ) fairly racist (the other above category being very racist), owing to the governments tax deduction of fines on the newspaper if any more racist content was published.Other survey research done by European research bodies (such as, European Monitoring Centre on racialism and Xenophobia) includes the Racism and cultural variety in the mass media report where a similar style of inquirynaire design was used. The survey style asks the same type of question i.e. how racist do you think this publication/newspaper is? providing a spectrum of answers including jolly racist, fairly racist and very racist. The ethical considerations that need to be addressed here is that one could condemn this research method data saying the questions are too leading or that the opinions of the researcher could play a large role in the data collected. With regards to the former limitation, it is the intention of the research to avoid the nonsubjective viewpoint as it would be more or less useless data for the purposes of this study. By introducing the survey as an academic study to identify whether a newspaper is racist is introducing a form of bias a four point Likert scale should thus be used. In order to avoid people who like to sit on the fence (especially concerning issues of racism), by using a smaller Likert scale, the neutral viewpoint can be avoided by using a four-point scale in which the respondent is force to express some degree of, for example, agreement or disagreement (Davies and Mosdell 2006 93).Also other ethical considerations were respected including obtaining the consent of the participants and ensuring that their confidentiality and namelessness were maintained.For the content analysis of the Daily Mails perceived inciting of racial hatred, the content that will be analysed will be the amount of articles within a time period of 6 months the issue of Islam and Muslims is reported on in a negative manner. The practice of content analysis, established by the l ikes of Berelson (1971) and Krippendorff (1980) means identifying the sub-components of an issue featured in the text(s) to be analysed and then studying that media in question over a designated set period of time, counting the amount of times they turn up. This method enables the recognition of certain contours of coverage on a certain subject or issue, allowing for questions to be asked such as did some newspapers repeatedly feature stories related to people of colour and were there periods of increased or lesser coverage surrounding activities of extremist groups?The types of articles that will be used in the research (see appendices for examples) present Muslims and the religion of Islam as a problem and their difficulties with remote issues when integrating themselves within British society. The negative context, in relation to identifying relevant articles will adopt a similar method employed by van Dijks (1991) research. Here the headlines of newspaper articles concerning i ssues of race were set and then proceeded to count how many times negative words such as jurisprudence and riot were used, illustrating the negative context in which issues concerning ethnic minorities were raised within a certain publication. As Hartmann and Husband (1974, 1976) suggest, this demonstrates how news issueIslamophobia in the Daily MailIslamophobia in the Daily MailIslamophobia is defined in the dictionary as being hatred or fear of Muslims or of their politics or culture. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11th and the London 7/7 bombings amongst others, some say islamophobia within the media has increased significantly. This work intends to discuss the coverage of Muslims and the religion of Islam as a whole within the middle market newspaper The Daily Mail and explore whether publications such as the Mail are representing the Muslim race in a negative light.Ones interest in the subject matter involved is one that has derived from what is seen, amongst others , as bad journalism middle market and tabloid newspapers inaccurately reporting issues concerning races such as Muslims. On a daily basis one can pick up a newspaper these days and spot numerous flaws, incorrect language or overall representation of a religion such as Islam. Also, a personal affliction or view in the area is the way in which Muslim communities within the UK are slowly being isolated and are being criticised collectively for the actions of a small population of the religion.When exploring the relationship between the modern West and the East, one should look upon the concept of Orientalism. Saids (1978) work draws on the concept of us and them Orientalism is never far from what Denys Hay has called the idea of Europe, a collective notion identifying us Europeans as against all those non-Europeans (Said, 1978 7). This notion refers to the historical manufacturing of Eastern beings as alien, the Other, by the West. It is the negative portrayal of extremist Islamic imag es within frameworks such as the Mail that progresses, as Halliday (1996)(remember reference for this, see notebook 2) suggests, this myth of confrontation that pardons the West of any need to excuse its enmity towards the East and religions such as Islam.Before this paper looks at effects of the theory of islamophobia, it is worth evaluating the polarity of the term itself. Whilst some could say the branding of the term can draw attention to the issue for positive means, further comprehensive literature on the subject and enquiries commissioned (e.g. 1997 Runnymede Trust, Islamophobia A Challenge for Us All), there is a flipside. Academics have inferred that this is just another, more refined form of new racism according to many sociologists. Sociologist Professor Gerard Delanty describes the use of the term islamophobia It is rooted in mainstream hostility to migrant workers and asylum-seekers, and is based to a considerable degree on ethnocentrism and xenophobiaon ignorance and f ear of the other (Delanty Conference, see notebook for full reference1). Delanty is saying here that the categorisation of the idiom of islamophobia could be creating a new form of acceptable racism.The UK media industry is said by some to be institutionally racistThis racism is rooted in the countrys imperial past, with feelings of racial superiority and crude nationalism now deeply embedded in the dominant culture. (Keeble, 2009 175)2 per cent of the NUJ membership was black, Asian and Arab in the first media-industry wide survey in 1995 by Anthony Delano and John Henningham. Comparing this alongside the national ethnic minority population percentage of 5.26 percent at the time, and it does speak volumes. My research will include a plan to address this view and explore how far or to what extent this reflects an islamophobic nature within newspapers such as The Daily Mail. However, to discuss how deep rooted this patriotism, or national feeling of superiority over other races goes would be discursive from the intended discussion of the titles topic.The role of a national newspaper such as the Mail needs to be highlighted to display the contextualising link between islamophobia and the public.The fact that a familiar newspaper offers a sense of identity and possible security to its regular readers is an important contextualising factor when considering questions of race and ideology. (Ferguson, 1998175)Considering middle market newspapers such as The Daily Mail and Express along with the tabloids represent more than two thirds of the national daily readership figures (1997 survey do footnote for this), this is a first base argument for explaining the negative (potential) effect of the press on the masses.A matter to take in to consideration is the recent resignation of Daily Star journalist Richard Peppiatt, on the grounds of the papers islamophobic content. Albeit a personal letter to the Daily Stars proprietor Richard Desmond, the letter highlights a wide ra nge of anti-Islamic features in the everyday characteristics of national newspapers such as the Star and Mail and labels the former as anti-Muslim propaganda. The letter does refer to how closely the content of the Star is to the Mails through criticism of how the newspapers editors build a newspaper from cut-and-paste-jobs off the Daily Mail website. Where he admits to stirring up a bit of light-hearted Islamophobia himself on the basis that this was in his professional duties at the Star, his disapproval of this demonization is prevalent throughout. He refers to a story the paper published concerning the condemnation of taxpayer-funded Muslim-only public toiletsI was personally tasked with writing a gloating follow-up declaring our postmodern victory in blocking the non-existent Islamic cisterns of evil (Peppiatt, 2011).This could just be seen as one individuals personal attack on a proprietor and therefore not have much worth but it does relate to, and support the theory of insti tutional racism within the British media.For the proposed intentions of this paper, it is worth noting the presence of Muslims within Britain. In the 2001 UK Census the population of Muslims from all ethnic groups within Britain was just short of 1.6 million (insert reference to table of figures in appendices here). The age old argument from many anti-immigration supporters is that the Muslims within Britain do not attempt to immerse themselves within British culture or our way of life, owing to increased tensions between the two cultures. Figures show that nearly half (46.4%) of all British Muslims now living in England were born in the country. It could be said that those Muslims who came to the country as adults (first generation) are grateful for the chance to live in a more open society and therefore more ordain to integrate themselves within our culture. The sooner Western societies such as Britain aid this process of integration with the likes of first generation Muslims, th e better. As the younger (3rd and 4th) generation of Muslims born in England grows, we could see Muslim communities become increasingly ostracised due to young Muslims anger towards the role of the West in Muslim lands and issues such as islamophobia within the media becoming more customary.It is also worth presenting the PCC editorial guidelines with regards to discriminationThe press must avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to an individuals race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or disability.The second part of the guideline refers to the details of those minority groups and how one should avoid inclusion (of those details) unless necessary to the story. The way in which newspapers such as the Daily Mail steer their content around these guidelines, in order to include xenophobic views will be explored later in the literature review.As this paper explores the surrounding themes of discrimination and false representation within the media and directs them towards the influence of a certain publication, it is important to draw from relevant history of the Daily Mail. Some would say the newspapers prejudice against religions such as Islam is a product of its deep-set DNA shown via the papers sympathetic views of Nazi Germany during the war period. The first joint proprietor and owner Lord Rothermere was known to be a friend and supporter of both Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler and praised the Nazi regimes accomplishments, which directed the Mails political stance and was consequently used as propaganda by them. Lord Rothermere published quotes such as the minor misdeeds of individual Nazis would be submerged by the immense benefits the new regimes already bestowing on Germany (Rothermere, 1933), as well as printing headlines such as Hurrah for the Blackshirts (Mail, Jan 1934). The Mail was also sympathetic to Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists. The support for this group was secluded after vi olence at a BUF rally in Kensington Olympia in 1934, which displays the potential harmful influence of newspapers on the masses.Muslims within Britain have struggled with issues of integration and racism ever since there was an increased focus of attention from the media on the Iranian Revolution of 1979 (Asad 1990, see references in muslim britain book). Television screens across the world showed three million people celebrating on the streets of Tehran when Ayatollah Khomeini, known for his support of hostage takers and his calling for the death of British citizen Salman Rushdie, came out of exile a disconcerting image for most Westerners. The Salman Rushdie affair in 1989 demonstrated the degree to which the media and British Muslims who protested against the books (The Satanic Verses) publication became emotionally unhinged (Parekh 1992, see same book + ref) over the issue. The book deeply offended Muslims and ignited debate on blasphemy laws and freedom of speech. Other histori cal events have all played a part in what Huntingtons (1996) thesis describes as a clash of civilisations, these being The Gulf War (1990-1), the genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina (1993-6), the Oklahoma bombing (1995), the Taliban in Afghanistan (1997-2002), Grozny and Kosovo (1999), the recent Palestinian Intifada (since September 2000) and the War on Iraq (2003) (Abbas 2005 14).These events have and the media , some say (Huntington 1996) widened the gulf between East and West, Islam and Christianity and amplified the theory of Orientalism.(maybe do a little on September 11 attacks here)This paper intends to explore and discuss the different factors owing to the islamophobic content displayed in the Mail and how far it is damaging the representation of Muslim communities within Britain. It would be pointless to explain how islamophobic reporting increased or decreased over the past decade or so as it would be plain to see the increases in islamophobic content around the times of terro rist activities. One will analyse contributing factors such as the origins of islamophobia, the identification of islamophobic content, how closely does that content abide by editorial guidelines and the effect on Muslim communities through critical discussion of the topic and data analysis.The reason as to why one thinks this subject is important and would be of interest to others is the increasing multi-cultured population of Britain. As more ethnic minorities such as Muslims continue to live in Britain, increasing tensions towards people of a particular race can only put more strain on an already weak relationship with Muslim communities.The purpose of the paper is to critically evaluate and characterize publications, specifically The Daily Mail and its role in reinforcing or articulating racism, and in damaging ethnic cultural identities. The ways in which these issues are to be addressed and analysed will be explained through my research and its content analysis.Literature revi ewThe aim of this chapter is to identify themes relating to the title topic from previous published literature and critically analyse those premises. The intention here is not just to identify those relating themes, but to analyse, criticise, interpret and evaluate those themes in connection with supporting or opposing the underpinning arguments of this paper. Over the past decade or so there is has been an increase in the amount of writing, due to rising concerns from Muslims worldwide, explaining how discourses such as newspapers in Western media are misrepresenting ethnic minorities such as Muslims through presenting a negative image of Islam. My research will however focus on the Daily Mail in particular, portraying negative stereotypes, and the effects those portrayals have, on Muslim communities within Britain. In summary, this chapter will draw from prior literature and examine the complex structures and strategies of news reports and how they affect the interpretations of re aders. How much does the role of publications such as the Mail play in the reproduction of racial and ethnic inequality in British society.Some of the earliest writing relating to British newspapers such as the Mail portraying Islam as a threat to Western interests comes from Teun van Dijks Racism and the Press. The issue of immigration within British newspapers is one that allows anti-Muslim voices to be heard, subjectively criticising the rise in the multiculturalism of BritainThe Mail specifically focuses on alleged abuses of British hospitality, and calls for stricter immigration rules. It does not hesitate to publish, with apparent approval, overtly racist statements by right-wing politicians who claim that without further curbs on immigration Britain may become the worlds dustbin.(Van Dijk, 1991 96)What Van Dijk is inferring is that through government policies concerning issues such as immigration, any right-wing anti-immigration views from politicians or people within the pub lic eye will be published by the Mail with the noticeable support of the paper. Whilst highlighting the political stance and nationalistic nature of the publication, a defence for the paper would revert to free press every time.The earliest and most relevant research in this topic area has also been carried out by Teun Van Dijk. His work in the collection of empirical data surrounding the press and issues of race is a starting point for anybody analysing institutional islamophobic contents effect on British Muslims. Van Dijk started this foundational research in plain content analysis of British newspapers, analysing content such as the repetition of certain words used in headlines in attempt to rouse certain meanings from them. He describes the repetitive use of certain topics of discourse such as black and race and how they are dealt with by the press as semantic macro structures.These global, overall meaning structures of a text consist of a hierarchically arranged set of macro-p ropositions, which are derived from the meanings (propositions) of the sentences by way of macro-rules. These rules reduce the complex information of the text to its essential gist. (Van Dijk, 1991 72)Van Dijk is correct in some ways in saying that the prevalence of such vocabulary would suggest that the discursive agenda of newspapers is entrenched in concerns with race. In his book Representing Race, Robert Ferguson agrees there are some uses of Van Dijks researchIt would seem from this as though the media are enganged in an endless process of reproducing already existing prejudices and stereotypes. The extensive content analysis which was undertaken by Van Dijk also demonstrated that ethnic minorities and anti-racists are systematically associated with conflict, crime, intolerance and unreliability. (Ferguson, 1998 130)The flaws in Van Dijks research are that using empirical data, or strictly content analysis, to develop an understanding of representation can somewhat distort the power of ideology in newspapers text or framing. However, without being blatantly racist, newspapers such as the Mail through concepts of normality can still give strength to negative representations. (Maybe use this paragraph in methods)The detrimental representations of Muslim asylum seekers to Britain, in publications such as the Mail, are highlighted in Arun Kundnanis The End of Tolerance. Phrases such as we have to look after our own people first, a regular idiom in the Mail, gives strength to the inherent belief within Britain that we cannot satisfactorily provide for ourselves, never mind foreigners or them as well.Thanks to the opportunism of media and politicians, asylum seekers and migrants had been made in to potent symbols for the loss of a nation-state that once belonged to its people and afforded them certain privileges as citizens. (Kundnani, 2007 65)This argument is stating that through newspapers persistence in covering issues of economy and well being, the Mail am ongst others, tend to shift the blame of these national problems on to asylum seekers, from communities such as Muslims, for increasing the population and adding to pre-existing problems such as rises in unemployment. The only critique of this concept adding to the misrepresentation and islamophobic nature of the Mail, is that this problem spans over a huge area and is historically embedded within a nations way of thinking. My research aims to uncover the day to day anti-Islamic features of the Mail and expose the problems of intentional or institutional racism that could potentially be fixed.In some ways, previous literature has explained that events such as 9/11 and other Islam related terrorist activities give acceptance to emerging islamophobic voices or views within the media. Chris Allens chapter in Muslim Britain Communities under pressure, highlights the enabling of publishing extreme right views on terrorists religions without backlash. In the wake of Baroness Thatchers con demnation of Muslim leaders in the Times, insisting that all Muslims as a homogeneous group should share responsibility for the attacks (4 October 2001). The Telegraph days later published an article entitled This War Is not about Terror, Its about Islam (7 October 2001).This article sought not only to praise Baroness Thatchers stance, but also confirm that Western fears were justified because some three-quarters of the worlds migrants in the last decade are said to have been Muslims (these) escapees, victims, scapegoats, malefactors and sleepers are awaiting their moment. (Allen, 2005 61)Jonathan Birts chapter in Muslims in Britain also agrees with this post 9/11 islamophobic reaction from the press without simply analysing the textual content of a newspaperAfter 9/11, the more prejudicial media comment portrayed British Muslim communities, and especially their young men, as a dangerous and unpatriotic fifth column, which were sympathetic to anti-West resistance and, indeed, the use of violent terror. Mass communications today shape and order these Islamophobic moral panics and the reactive defence to them. (Birt, 2009 217)Here, we can see Birt is agreeing that post terrorist activities, the media is allowed to give a free press voice to racist views and opinions without fear of backlash from media regulators. The defect in analysing the islamophobic nature of publications such as the Mail surrounding terrorist actions is that it is to be expected. There is bound to be a bad press reaction to national identities and religious viewpoints, how far the negative portrayal of those identities goes without trepidation of media regulators punishment, is an issue that needs to be addressed.The British Journalism Review (March 2006) argues that the same harmful representation of Muslims within the media is the same for other terrorist groups such as the IRA. One can see similarities between views of Catholics from Ulster in the 1980s and Muslims today, that religiou s affiliations trumped all other affiliationsIn Britain and the United States the popular line was that if you were a Catholic, you probably supported the IRA. Today, if you are a Muslim, the popular line is that you are probably anti-western or fundamentalist. This is not to say that journalism was and is responsible for these views, but rather that de-contextualised coverage did and does little to throw cold water on old stereotypes.The closest literature relating to the topic title comes from Elizabeth Pooles inform Islam Media Representations of British Muslims. The book analyses the current situation regarding the image of Muslims by tracking the development of this form of new racism from earlier works. Poole says that the theme of immigration as a problem has now transferred to Muslims (van Dijk 1991), due to, as Lueg (1995) says a population explosion in the Middle East. British Muslims and their homogeny to other Muslims become the feared fifth column within (Runnymede Tru st 1997). This combined with the discussion of numbers of people invading the country depicts aspirations of taking over the world, not seeking asylum.The combination of the hostile threat and movement of Islam promotes the idea that it needs to be managed in a way that allows varied prejudicial practices to continue (Poole, 2002 47).What Poole is saying is that a plain dislike of the notion of Islam cannot be seen as the central feature of hostility towards Muslims. Attitudes to Muslims derive from a mixture of xenophobia and racism whereby newspapers such as the Mail can discuss or mainly criticise some of the practices of Islam without being seen to be unashamedly prejudice towards Muslims.Another adjoining piece of literature that many academics have drawn from when discussing this topic, is Edward Saids Covering Islam How the media and the experts determine how we see the rest of the world (1981). Said argues that the siege of the American embassy in Iran in 1981 and its media coverage initiated an increased attention and portrayal of Islam with danger, militancy and anti-Western sentiment. The text examines the genesis and ramifications of the medias monolithic images of Islam and reveals the twisting of fact that underlies objective coverage of the Islamic world. Said says the application of a Western ideological framework or an ethnocentric way of seeing (Dahlgren and Chakrapani 1982 45) has meant we see a domesticated Islamic world or those aspects considered to be newsworthy (Said 1981 27). This has created a dichotomy between the West and Islam whereby the West is seen as judicious, civilized, developed and superior, and Islam as abnormal, undeveloped and inferior.There are a small number of published journals that closely share the intentions of this paper. Diane Frosts Islamophobia examining casual links between the media and race hate from below (2007) analyses the media reporting on recent and ongoing terrorist attacks in Britain and the effect on Muslim communities. The paper discusses islamophobic tendencies within British tabloids and their connections with government policies and violence that concerns religion. Whilst it highlights the medias promotion of moral panics such as problems of asylum and race, it is saying British tabloids breed on these moral panics, going further than the threat that is actually presented.Thus, the media have represented Muslims as a collective problem who threaten the very fabric of British society as supporters of al-Qaida and potential suicide bombers. They are the folk devils of the twenty first century (Diane Frost 2008 find out how to reference journal).It is worth noting that there are strong links between increased anti-terror legislation and other government measures and the way in which publications such as the Mail criminalise Muslim communities when reporting on such measures and legislation. This type of research will be considered in the methods section of the paper.Ian Harg reaves writes a piece in the New Statesman that demonstrates the negative coverage of immigration from the Mail in relation to fuelling racist attitudes. He says It is not that I view with cynicism the Daily Mails efforts to achieve balance in its reporting of racial issues. Rather, I think the paper is misguided in discounting the encouragement its asylum coverage gives to racist sentiments (Hargreaves 2000). Reverting back to the theory that newspapers such as the Daily Mail have colonial instincts and an anti-foreigner viewpoint established within its DNA, Hargreaves is trying to say that these publications are not intending to be racist they simply believe the types of stories concerning Islam being published are due to the public-interest factor.Christopher Allens journal discusses the dangerousness of the concept of Islamophobia in analytical relation with the findings of the Runnymede Trust Report (1997). The reports findings concluded that Islam is inherently seen as other t o the West, reinforcing the them and us dualism. Taking this in to consideration, Allen says we should not be surprised to see such headlines as The Daily Mails offering, Fanatics with a death wish I was born in Britain but I am a Muslim first. Here the Mail is merely reiterating those beliefs that are lodged at the heart of Islamophobia (Allen 2008 4).The intention of this chapter was to identify underpinning theories, themes and issues published in previous literature in order for readers to understand the intentions of the research and findings that will be developed in the methods and data analysis.Methods and methodologyThis chapter will discuss the research that this paper will be carrying out, the reasons for using those methods and what results are to be expected. The most appropriate methods will be discussed along with their advantages and limitations, with ethical considerations ensured so that the data is collected in an ethical way.The bulk of previous research method a pproaches to the medias role in the reproduction of racism are mainly content analytical quantitative and qualitative modes picking out the use of stereotypical words, phrases or image(s) used when representing ethnic minorities (see, for example, Van Dijk 1991, 1997). The reasons for this are that the communication process is symbolic, and deciphering it inevitably has pride of place (Downing and Husband 2005 26), media researchers can access this readily available material rather than examining the construction process or how readers deduce and act upon the text. This discourse analytical method systematically describes different structures and tactics of text in relation to a social or political framework. The method enables for the identification of focus on certain topics in a semantic analysis form as well as allowing examination of the overall organisation of news reports. Essentially this means discourse may thus be studied as the crucial interface between the social and cog nitive dimensions of racism (Cottle 2000 36). So, publications such as the Mail as a discourse in the social practice of racism can be seen as a main source for peoples racist views/beliefs. According to Berger (1998 23) content analysts in media research assume that behavioural patterns, values and attitudes found in this material reflect and affect the behaviour, attitudes and values of the people who create the material. The advantages and reason as to why this paper will be adopting a similar style of research is that whilst being most importantly primary, there is no technology or major funds necessary and it has been known to lead to fundamental changes in the practices of an institution, profession and society as a whole. Also as Berger (2011 214) says the data collected can be expressed in numbers. These numbers provide detailed information that can be interpreted to gain insights into the mind-set of those who created the text.Another method of research that will be employe d is that of conducting surveys to gauge the attitudes and opinions of Daily Mail readers and readers of other newspapers, concerning how the paper represents ethnic minorities. This intends to highlight the negative effect a newspaper has on readers views of a religion such as Islam and the race of Muslim. Previous survey research done in this area comes from Fouries (2001) Media Studies Institutions, theories and issues. Using a case study of the press in South Africa, the research featured a survey asking people their perceptions of racism in a number of different publications. The research was conducted by the government (ACNielsen survey) after a large number of complaints were made to the South African media regulatory body (Press Ombudsman), that certain newspapers were being overtly racist. The research found that 37% of people saw the concerned newspaper as being at least fairly racist (the other above category being very racist), owing to the governments implication of fin es on the newspaper if any more racist content was published.Other survey research done by European research bodies (such as, European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia) includes the Racism and cultural diversity in the mass media report where a similar style of questionnaire design was used. The survey style asks the same type of question i.e. how racist do you think this publication/newspaper is? providing a spectrum of answers including slightly racist, fairly racist and very racist. The ethical considerations that need to be addressed here is that one could condemn this research method data saying the questions are too leading or that the opinions of the researcher could play a large role in the data collected. With regards to the former limitation, it is the intention of the research to avoid the neutral viewpoint as it would be more or less unusable data for the purposes of this study. By introducing the survey as an academic study to identify whether a newspaper is r acist is introducing a form of bias a four point Likert scale should thus be used. In order to avoid people who like to sit on the fence (especially concerning issues of racism), by using a smaller Likert scale, the neutral viewpoint can be avoided by using a four-point scale in which the respondent is forced to express some degree of, for example, agreement or disagreement (Davies and Mosdell 2006 93).Also other ethical considerations were respected including obtaining the consent of the participants and ensuring that their confidentiality and anonymity were maintained.For the content analysis of the Daily Mails perceived inciting of racial hatred, the content that will be analysed will be the amount of articles within a time period of 6 months the issue of Islam and Muslims is reported on in a negative manner. The practice of content analysis, established by the likes of Berelson (1971) and Krippendorff (1980) means identifying the sub-components of an issue featured in the text(s ) to be analysed and then studying that media in question over a designated set period of time, counting the amount of times they turn up. This method enables the recognition of certain contours of coverage on a certain subject or issue, allowing for questions to be asked such as did some newspapers repeatedly feature stories related to people of colour and were there periods of increased or lesser coverage surrounding activities of extremist groups?The types of articles that will be used in the research (see appendices for examples) present Muslims and the religion of Islam as a problem and their difficulties with conflicting issues when integrating themselves within British society. The negative context, in relation to identifying relevant articles will adopt a similar method employed by van Dijks (1991) research. Here the headlines of newspaper articles concerning issues of race were identified and then proceeded to count how many times negative words such as police and riot were used, illustrating the negative context in which issues concerning ethnic minorities were raised within a certain publication. As Hartmann and Husband (1974, 1976) suggest, this demonstrates how news issue