From Europe News:
LONDON // A campaign is under way for a public inquiry led by a judge into the way some British media whip up Islamophobia by "distorting and even fabricating" stories about Muslims. Politicians, academics, lawyers and Muslim community leaders were among 60 signatories of a letter to The Guardian this week demanding an inquiry similar to the one now being conducted by Lord (Brian) Leveson, a senior judge, into phone hacking and media standards.
Supporters of the inquiry said the media, particularly the tabloid press, concentrate on stories centred on violence and crime involving Muslims, so-called honour killings and the activities of extremists, while rarely showing the community or religion in a positive light.
Although she is not backing the call for an inquiry, Baroness (Sayeeda) Warsi, Britain's first Muslim woman cabinet minister and chairman of the Conservative Party, highlighted the problem last year when she said in a speech that prejudice against Muslims had "passed the dinner-table test" and become socially acceptable in the UK.
She blamed the media for creating an atmosphere where anti-Muslim prejudice was seen as normal among so many Britons.
The letter to The Guardian points to a survey conducted by the ComRes polling organisation last year that indicated that a third of Britons believed the media was responsible for "whipping up a climate of fear in Islam in the UK".
"The Leveson inquiry has so far failed to adequately address unfair media coverage as it relates to less- prominent cases, including those relating to Muslims and Islam, focusing as it does on the effect of phone hacking on celebrities and other high-profile individuals," said the letter. (...)
Calls for UK inquiry into 'anti-Muslim media bias'
The National 27 January 2012
By David Sapsted
By David Sapsted
Supporters of the inquiry said the media, particularly the tabloid press, concentrate on stories centred on violence and crime involving Muslims, so-called honour killings and the activities of extremists, while rarely showing the community or religion in a positive light.
Although she is not backing the call for an inquiry, Baroness (Sayeeda) Warsi, Britain's first Muslim woman cabinet minister and chairman of the Conservative Party, highlighted the problem last year when she said in a speech that prejudice against Muslims had "passed the dinner-table test" and become socially acceptable in the UK.
She blamed the media for creating an atmosphere where anti-Muslim prejudice was seen as normal among so many Britons.
The letter to The Guardian points to a survey conducted by the ComRes polling organisation last year that indicated that a third of Britons believed the media was responsible for "whipping up a climate of fear in Islam in the UK".
"The Leveson inquiry has so far failed to adequately address unfair media coverage as it relates to less- prominent cases, including those relating to Muslims and Islam, focusing as it does on the effect of phone hacking on celebrities and other high-profile individuals," said the letter. (...)
No comments:
Post a Comment