Media Bias Against Muslims: Myth or Reality?

By Maher Arar

When it comes to judging whether there is bias against Muslims in the media look no further than to the latest press coverage regarding the terrorist attack that took place in Norway.

I have waited impatiently to read this act being explicitly described as a “terrorist attack” or an “act of terrorism” by the mainstream media.

To my disappointment, and after many media outlets pointed the finger at “Muslim terrorists” only within minutes of the attack, no single mention of the terrorist label was used to describe the attack (or the person who committed the attack) after it was revealed the perpetrator was not a Muslim.

Only recently few responsible journalists, such as Doug Saunders from the G&M, woke up to reality. I can’t of course claim that I have read all the media articles that were written about the incident. To do an exhaustive search would have taken me weeks, if not months.

Despite the fact that the alleged perpetrator of the attack was a Christian who is well known in Facebook circles, the religion, while mentioned in some articles, was never the focus. The attacker was rather described as a “far right-wing” extremist who is influenced by a “Neo-Nazi” type of ideology.

Never once the “Christian” label was used despite the fact that Mr. Breivik was a self-described devout Christian often comparing his “holy” mission to that of the Knights Templar, a group of warriors that formed the core of the Crusades who invaded Muslim lands during the 12th century.

To use the Christian label would of course be wrong as it is well established that Christianity, like Islam and Judaism, never condones acts of violence against innocent people.

But the important question is this: Why is it when the perpetrator of the terrorist act happens to be Muslim all of a sudden the religion becomes the focus instead? Terms such as “Islamic terrorism”, “Islamic extremism” or “Islamic fundamentalism” is often used to describe the ideology the killer adheres to.

If you have doubt about what I am writing just listen to this episode of The Current on CBC Radio and notice how the “Islamic terrorism” label and its derivatives is being used (between the 17th and the 21st minutes). In contrast, notice that the terrorism label (or one of its derivatives) was never used to describe the Norway attack (or attacker). Remember this is being uttered by a human rights activist who is supposed to be more careful about the use of these sensational terms!

In my opinion the public (including many activists !) got so much used to using these house-hold labels because they have been printed extensively on front pages almost on a daily basis.

Will the mainstream media admit they too share some responsibility in helping promote hatred towards Muslims?

The media has the power to shape the public opinion one way or the other. In the words of Malcolm X “The media is the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power”

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