Does England have really a problem with muslims ?

format_quote Originally Posted by Life_Is_Short

Not every muslims is a "taliban" or part of al-Qaeda.

Why can't people just understand that?

because there are alot of uneducated ignorant arrogant pathetic toerags in britain!!! who do nothing but delight themselves in taking the 'P' for their amusement out of things that aren't even remotely true! like all the suicide bombing, i mean who in their right mind would do that anyway if they were under a religions name or not? i suppose people succumb to the media speculation just abit too much! There's also no decent education, especially on recent events, to put things right to the people, i blame the government, if they dont want hell breaking loose, they should set the priorities straight. Though unless you had a decent education, care about and understand the society you live in actively, and actually read the news, then there's a glimmer of hope for us, that that person has an initiative & logic to understand our religion, and understands that the paper can be filled with aload of bull half the time to suit their needs!

Britain frustrates me sometimes, the people say things thinking they are right because 'their paper or news said so' but don't want to learn the truth or know it from us REAL MUSLIMS. grrr..

the british media, your newspapers for example. everything about it just encapsulates the whole fake violent concept of Islam, they take one thing thats happend, name it with a big fat ISLAM tag, include the word bomb, gives it a death toll, use some emotive words to scare the reader, and wow, theres all these raving british people getting the complete wrong idea, shouting abuse at any sight of a muslim person, using intimidation and violence against them, yet not questioning their own knowledge and acknowledging their own logic and initiative to think about the WHY? Fact is, how does the british people find out about everything happening outside the country? MEDIA. where does the information come from about Iraq, army, war, Aghanistan, the bombings by 'islamic' *cough* people in other countries? MEDIA. & then mixed up with every person's bloody opinion on it, well what can you expect? a dillusioned society if im honest.

Salaam

Eh? Of course the mainstream media has an effect, to say that it doesn't is naive, after all why would businesses pump millions, billions into the media industry if doesnt succesfully shape and mould public opinion for their own benifet?

Just one example, had a friend who's mum read the Sun regularly in the 1980s during the miners strike. Of course she dutifuly repeated that she didnt believe anything the Sun said, though her attitudes to the strike could be easily identified as being influenced (consciously subconsciously) by the Suns stance towards the strike.

format_quote Originally Posted by Junon

Salaam

Eh? Of course the mainstream media has an effect, to say that it doesn't is naive, after all why would businesses pump millions, billions into the media industry if doesnt succesfully shape and mould public opinion for their own benifet?

Totally agree.
How can people already so quickly forget that the Bush and Blair administrations (along with other western governments) used the mainstream media to successfully advance the case for invading Iraq?

Mainstream media do affect public opinion to a large extent.

Salaam

Totally agree.
How can people already so quickly forget that the Bush and Blair administrations (along with other western governments) used the mainstream media to successfully advance the case for invading Iraq?

Mainstream media do affect public opinion to a large extent.

Iraq example is a classic, if you ever get a chance watch War made Easy, its excellent giving a history of how American government and media work together to manipulate public opinion.

http://www.warmadeeasythemovie.org/

If you want my reason why Western media is generaly hostile, is because Muslims dont submit to Western norms, hence the tantrums. I'll quote from an earlier post

Shalom:

What are the significance and extent of Anti Arab racism?

Chomsky

In the United State, its really the last legitimate form of racism. You don’t have to try to cover it up. You may be racist towards other groups, but you have to pretend you aren’t. In the case of anti Arab racism there’s no pretence required. The things I mentioned before are a perfect example. Distinguished Harvard professors produce statements that regard as hideously racist if they were aimed at any other target – Jews: impossible; Blacks, Italians any of them, unacceptable – but if you say them about Arabs, its fine. Jack Shaheen is one scholar whos done a lot of research on images of Arabs in cinema. Its grotesque right up to the present day. There’s not even much to say about it; its open, its considered natural and normal that you should be an anti Arab racist. Nobody will use the term for it, but it’s the kind of attitude and discourse that we regard as hideously racists if it was directed at any other target. Its all over the place.

Achcar:

And anti Arab racism is probably the sharpest form of even something more general, Islamophobia

Chomsky

Well nobody makes that distinction – Arabs, Iranian, Islam its all the same thing

Achcar

Exactly try to put yourself in the shoes of a Muslim and monitor the mass media. Its appalling. You get the feeling of being assaulted permanently. I am not speaking of actual acts of racists aggression, the discrimination and all that. I am speaking just about the media. Edward Said touched upon that in Covering Islam. The situation has worsened a lot since that book was first published in 1981, and it reached a peak after 9/11. The sheer quantity of ant Islam insanities and racists categorisations being hurled by people who are in most cases totally ignorant is absolutely horrible. I cant measure the difference between Europe and United States but in any case, in Europe this Islamophobia is a huge and worrying phenomenon.

Europe hostile to muslim world? (Post 49)

I am Muslim and I am British and to be honest in real life I have never suffered due to my faith. In my job I have to mix with a lot of people and most the time they are not Muslim, but I have never had a problem. I think even if someone did have a problem they wouldn't be obvious about it.

You have the EDL who are stirring up trouble but if you really look at them its about 300 fat drunken men who dont what day it is let alone about the religion of Islam. They prob wouldnt be able to spell it.

I think the problem is the media and its very biased. If you read stuff like the Sun and Daily Mail yeah they like to pick on Muslims, and some people like to act like Internet Warriors but in real life very few Muslims are attacked for their religion.

I think racism is more of a problem.

Just my opinion.

format_quote Originally Posted by Skavau

You all must be living in a parallel universe. I don't think I've ever met anyone ever, by the way, that entrusts in the media (quite the opposite). When you guys keep complaining about people who just unquestioningly accept the claims of the media, what media exactly is it that you are talking about?

either:
a. Your universe is a very small place under a rock,
b. You know/met extremely few number of people,
c. You don't read/get around much, or
d. all of the above

It is a fact that media affect and has large influence in directing public opinion.
I am not talking about North Korea type where people are brainwashed by government-owned media to the extent where most people believe what is said by their media to the letter.
I am talking about supposedly open and transparent western media where a very large number of americans tune into tv every night and believe everything Fox news says. I am talking about how Berlusconi won and maintained prime ministerships through his control of the media.
I am talking about how majority americans and british initially supported Iraq invasion because the media said it was a good thing.
I am talking about how it is impossible to find mainstream US media that have the guts and spine to tell it as it is and condemn israel.
Of course not all people believe in what media says, but when most media keep sending/broadcasting/writing certain images about something, majority public will tend to agree with it.