Yes, yes, I can see what you're thinking. I can see you right now saying: "Oh no, here comes this topic again!!!" Has this topic been discussed a lot? Sure. Has it been looked at from all perspectives? Unfortunately not. Rest assured that I will get to my main point soon. :)

Nowadays, some of the most important issues that come up when we talk about media's portrayal of Islam include: the sense of sameness that is created between Islam and the Arab culture, the Western understanding that Islam is a philosophy that encourages terrorism, and the claim that Islam is an out-dated religion that doesn't apply to modern times. While those issues are very important, they haven't gotten us very far. Maybe what we need to do is start by thinking about a broader issue and then building an argument that discusses all the other issues from there.

I believe that one of the issues that we really need to focus on is: the media's portrayal of Islam as a political philosophy rather than a religion. Eventhough Islam includes politics because it is afterall a way of life, it is not just limited to that. Islam is everything in life not just politics. Furthermore, when the public thinks of it as a religion, they will be more open to discuss it with Muslims and scholars and learn more about it. Whereas, if they percieve it as some political entity, they will just look at it as if it is merely a "corrupted" political position.

In addition to that, the United States is a country where religion is viewed as a private matter and state and church are separated. Therefore, if non-Muslims living in this country understand that Islam is a whole religion by all meanings of the word, they will not be as hostile towards Muslims. They would not disagree with them on every point they argue. Afterall, humans by nature will shape anything they see by their first impressions. Therefore, when they see Muslims arguing something that they themselves believe, they will not percieve it as such; rather they will attack it eventhough they believe in it themselves!!! In other words, we must make sure that people don't degrade Islam to merely a political position or entity when it really is the perfect and complete religion. If they understand that well, they will stop arguing against everything Muslims have to say and respect them more. They will also be more open to learn about Islam, and once they do learn about the real Islam, they will realize that many of the stereotypes that are framed by the media about our religion are incorrect and biased. That would in turn solve many of the Muslims' troubles.

I was just thinking about that and I wanted to share my thoughts with you... Please give me your opinions on the topic.

Salamat,
Rawan