The Branding Of Arab Muslims After 9 11 Aneta Rottier 3121429 Master Thesis 2016 Final Version [626197]

3121429 A. Rottier 1

The Branding of
Arab Muslim s in the U.S. after 9/11
Religion as a New Dimension of Differentiation

Aneta Rottier 3121429
Master Thesis American Studies 2016
Supervisor: Jaap Verheul
Second Reader: Rob Kroes
14 July 2016

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Table of Content

Introduction ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………. 3
Overview of academic discussion ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………….. 6
Research question ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……….. 11
Methodology ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………. 13
CHAPTER 1 Islamophobia ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. . 15
Religion in the U.S. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……… 15
Islam in the U.S. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………….. 16
Islamophobia ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………. 19
Conclusion ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………….. 22
CHAPTER 2 The Gulf War Coverage ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………. 23
The Gulf War and Arab Muslims ………………………….. ………………………….. …………….. 23
The Gulf War Coverage in the New York Times and New York Post ……………………. 24
The Superpower and Arab Muslims ………………………….. ………………………….. ………… 25
Conclusion ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………….. 30
CHAPTER 3 9/11 Coverage Through the Lens of Religion ………………………….. …………… 32
Media and 9/11 ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………… 32
Analysis of 9/ 11 Coverage in NYT and NYP ………………………….. ………………………….. 33
Conclusion ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………….. 48
Conclusion ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………. 49
Bibliography ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………. 58

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Introduction

“‘Islam and Freedom: Are They Destined to Clash?’ ( Newsweek ). ‘Muhammad Cartoon Row
Intensifies’ (BBC). ‘Burka Makes Women Prisoners, Says President Sarkozy’ ( Times
[London]). ‘Universities Urged to Spy on Muslims’ ( Guardian ). The headlines that scream
out at us every day from front pages and television screens seem unanimous in the picture
they paint of Muslims: unenlightened outsiders who, while they may live and work in the
West, still have an allegiance to values different from those recogni zed in Europe and North
America ” (Yaqin and Morey 1). This quote from Framing Muslims by Amina Yaqin and
Peter Morey summarizes the claims echoed in numerous scholarly works on the topic of how
Muslim Americans are being perceived since the 9/11 attacks. It has been well document ed
that Muslims face challenges well -known to all ethnic groups and immigrants in their new
country. However, their experience differs, as their religion and culture tend to take center
stage in the public discussions on Muslim dissenting citizenship and d ual loyalties.
This paper will explore how Arab Muslims are represented or branded by the U.S.
media. The title of this thesis is a metaphor for the brand ing that is being established and
promoted through media, and at the same time to the stigma that Ara b Muslims receive
throu gh negative U.S. media framing. The ambiguity of the title refers thus to the art of brand
management or establishment of a certain image of Arab Muslims, and to the prejudiced
media framing which leaves a mark on this minority group. The wording is assigned to the
African American slaves ’ bodily branding, which was used for identification or punishment
centuries ago. It is important to acknowledge that e ven though media can change their brand
strategy, the mark se t on Arab Muslims will remain for a long time, once deeply rooted in
society ’s consciousness .

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It is essential to analyze what negative or positive attitudes are applied in crisis
situations with regard to this minority group. This will yield a better under standing of public
reactions to them in specific crisis situations, such as terrorist attacks. This might
subsequently provide the media and government organs with information that they can use to
prepare for future crisis situations. In addition, not only Muslim s but also Arab Americans
have been targeted by media and academia after 9/11. These terms are constantly used
interchangeably by the media even though they d efine distinct minority groups. This suggests
either subjectivity on the part of journalist s or lack of knowledge regarding the groups that
they are writing about.
Arabs and Muslims are minorit ies in America whose exact statistics are impossible to
gather . In Being and Belonging: Muslims in the United States Since 9/11 , Katherine Ewing
calls compiling these statistics an ambitious and politically challenging task , due to the lack of
reliable sources providing these data (3). The U.S. Census Bureau, for instance, does not
gather data on religious identification, as a result of the principle of church -state separation.
There is thus a huge discrepancy in these numbers. For example , according to the Pew
Research Center 2016 data, 3.3 million American Muslims constitute 1% of the U.S.
population and include culturally distinct groups, in contradiction to their presentation as one
entity in mass media (Mohamed, par. 1). Aladdin Elaasar, on the other hand, estimates Silent
Victims: The Plight of Arab & Muslim Americans in Post 9/11 America that there are 7
millio n Muslims in the United States, of whom 3.5 million Arab -Americans are concentrated
in industrial states such as New Jersey, Pennsylvani a, Ohio, Illinois , and Michigan. Even
though there are 7 million Muslims in the United States, not all Arab -Americans are Muslim.
Elaasar notes that th ey are mostly Catholic, Orthodox , and Protestant with a heritage that can
be traced back to the first contacts of the Middle East with the Church ( 59). Furthermore,
Bridges TV – American Muslim Lifestyle Network estimates that out of these fe w million

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Muslims, 26% are South Asian, 26% are Arab American, 24% are African American , and the
rest is unspecified (Muslims American Demographic Facts, par.2).
Arab and Muslim Americans are thus not one religious or ethnic minority group but
consist of multiple communities with various geographica l origins, languages, religions, and
customs. This paper will focus on Arab Muslims in the United States, not because they are
one collective group but because they have been treated as such by the media. In the aftermath
of 9/11, due to extensive incidents that have discriminated against Muslims an d people
perceived to be Muslim (Elaasar 187), it is crucial to analyze the context in which Muslim and
Arab Americans are most likely to experience ‘stereotypical’ attitudes toward the m. These
attitudes will be closely examined through textual reading, as the examined articles from
newspapers may have a devastating effect on the Muslim and Arab Americans’ experiences in
crisis situations.
Numerous academic studies have examine d the chang ed attitude s towards Muslim and
Arab Americans after the 9/11 attacks, and this paper is set to investigate whether these
assumptions also apply to the topic events in two mainstream U.S. newspapers. The New York
Times (NYT) and the New York Post (NYP) have been chosen for this research as the former
prominent newspaper represents more liberal views and the latter leans more towards
conservative or neoconservative views. These two newspapers are among the most prominent
in the U.S. sitting in third and fifth places on the 2014 Top Media Outlets’ list and with a
daily circulation of 1,897,890 and 576,711 respectively. In addition, 9/11 is central to this
research and since the WTC terrorist attacks took place in New York City, local med ia
coverage is the most important and most relevant to this paper. That is why these two
newspapers were chosen for this research.
Based on a timeline provided by the Google Books Ngram Viewer, two moments in
the history of Arab Muslims in the U.S. have b een marked as significant, namely the Gulf

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War and the 9/11 attacks. The reporting of these events will be analyzed in this paper from the
viewpoint of two dimensions: religion and race. These two perspectives have been suggested
by the academic literature as opposed to th e ethnicity or class dimensions, which have been
used historically for analysis of minority groups. There has been a clear shift in the
categorization of Arab Muslims before and after the 9/11 attacks, as the coverage of the Gulf
War and 9 /11 will demonstrate.
To sum up, this research will only look at one element to answer the big question of
changing attitudes towards a U.S. minority in crisis situations. It is a tiny part of a much larger
journey that the American minority group of Arab Muslims pursue as a result of their
presentation in the media. The main inquiry is to find out if the perception of Arab Muslims in
the U.S. changed after 9/11 in these two mainstream U.S. newspapers and if so, whether this
shift can be understood through the lenses of religion and race.

Overview of academic discussion

Many scholars argue that in the case of Muslim Americans, religion offers a dimension to
differentiate them from mainstream western culture and exclude them from soc iety. The
history of the United States is filled with cases of discriminatio n and exclusion on the basis of
race, class, ethnicity , or religion. For instance, it has been argued that a similar religious –
rejection experience occurred in 1840s -1850s during large -scale anti -Catholicism movements
in the U.S. (Pestana, par. 1). This thesis will briefly discuss Arab Muslims’ ethnic experiences
in the United States , which, as suggested by the academic literature , are the result of mass
media representation s of this minority group. Several academic discourses have informed this
research of the role that mass media have played in the representation of Arab Muslims in
America.

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Yaqin and Morey state in Framing Muslims: Stereotyping and Representation After
9/11 that Muslims in the United States have been unjustly stigmatized by the western media in
order to exclude them from societal privileges. The authors reject the theory of the clash of
civilizations and instead perceive the discrimination of Arab Muslims in the U.S. as a result of
an encounter of two civilizations . This encounter turns into a confrontation because of the
differences between the eastern and western cultures but mainly, as Yaqin and Morey argue,
because of their exaggeration in the media. Also Ewing argues that western secularization
often creates obstacles in the path of assimilation for Muslims, which include discrimination,
prejudice, and social and political exclusion from American society (2). She claims that t hese
obstacles are the result of media framing and not of the civilization al clash by itself.
Other scholars that support a similar perspective are Amaney Jamal and Nadine Naber .
They argue in Race and Arab Americans Before and After 9/11 that the media have framed
Muslim and Arab Am ericans through the process of racialization. This is a unique
phenomenon experienced by Arabs, and the 9/11 attacks have played a crucial role in its
formation. Jamal and Naber claim that it was not until 9/11 that these minority groups became
visible in discussions of race and ethnicity in America. The most striking example was that
the U.S. government classified them as white, whereas numerous national discourses
vigorously differentiated them from mainstream Americans by depicting them as inferior and
“white but not quite” ( Jamal and Naber , pp. 1-2). It is a new attempt to defin e a minority
group in the United States that differs from the well -known U.S. categories of race . Therefore,
this thesis will also analyze to which extent mainstream media have framed Muslim and Arab
Americans , and which textual ‘racializing’ categories have been used .
Mahmood Mamdani discusses the ‘good Muslim’ and ‘bad Muslim’ dichotomy in his
book Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror . The
terminology comes from the colonial period, when the ‘good’ Muslim label was used to

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describe Muslims cooperating with foreign occupiers. On the contrary, all native Muslims
resisting occupation and fighting colonial forces were labeled ‘bad’ Muslims ( Muslims and
American Popular Culture , volume 2, pp. 151 -152). The contemporary use of ‘good Muslim,
bad Muslim’ involves another context with similar connotations. Mamdani blames President
Bush for having publicly defined ‘bad Muslims’ as terrorists, and ‘good Muslims’ as the U.S.
allies fighting against terrorism. This presidential remark was quickly and widely echoed by
mainstream media, and gave rise to a conviction that all ‘good Muslims’ are suspects and
need to prove their innocence in America (Mamdani 15). This implies that unless Muslims
prove to be ‘good’ , they are all ‘bad,’ and Mamdani accuses mass media of using t his
prejudice to their advantage and influencing public opinion of Muslims in a negative way.
The au thor exemplifies his accusation by condemn ing the NYT constant branding of good
Muslims as westernized, modern , and secular civilians, and bad Muslims as ‘ doctr inal, anti –
modern, and virulent ’ (24). This chasm manifests criticism of Islamic civilization an d refers to
Samuel Huntington’s definition of the ‘ clash of civilizations, ’ or even its more rigorous
version, as Mamdani argues, namely Bernard Lewis’ war against the entire civilization (24).
Also Edward W. Said accuses American media of framing Muslims in these two categories,
who associate ‘bad Muslims’ with threatening terrorists aiming at destroying the West, and
‘good Muslims’ with individuals able to stop their ‘bad’ co-believers ( Muslims and American
Popular Culture , volume 2, pp. 153 -154).
Negative framing of Muslims in the news often results from the lack of knowledge of
journalists and sometimes from the subjective agenda set by the newspapers. Fowler, Hertzke,
Olson, and den Dulk claim in Religion and Politics i n America that the most p owerful and
noticeable is the shift in the perception of Arab Muslims from an ethnic and racial to a
religious category. They argue that this change was caused by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as
there was little or no political commotion within American Isl am before then.

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Moreover, Fowler et al. also emphasize the depiction of American Muslims’
devoutness as the core of their distinction from mainstream Americans. The authors refer to a
survey showing that the majority of American Muslims prays daily and is concerned with
Islam and Muslims in the U.S. and worldwide (61). Their piety is often negatively linked to
Islamic fundamentalism, which in turn is associated with terrorism by the U.S. government
and mainstream media. Strict religious a dherence is also affiliated with Muslims’ dual
loyalties: the inner struggle between the loyalty to America and western values, and the stern
Islamic traditions and law, so called Sharia.
Anne R. Richards and Iraj Omidvar describe this sense of dual ity as a new
predicament which Muslims do not face in their countries of origin ( Muslims and American
Popular Culture 292). For example, the hijab, covering the head of Muslim women, or burqa,
covering the full -body, are visual symbols, common in orthodox Islam. The authors find that
Muslim women in the United States face a decision whether to adopt American culture or to
maintain their religious identit y and cover themselves ( 292). This is just one of examples of
how challenging it is for Muslim Americans to assimilate into modern America. Scholars like
Richards and Omidvar try to defend the traditional concept of America by rejecting customs
of the ‘unknown’ Islamic religion and culture. However, it is important to acknowledge that
societies constantly develop . Cultures are in a state of perpetual development and minorities
can enrich the majority , if given a chance. Not only do minorities have to adapt to the ir new
country, but also the local majority has to adjust some of their customs and find a compromise
to reach a balanced and harmonious n ation.
Similarly , Richards and Omidvar add that the image of Muslims and Arabs has
changed since 9/11. Oriental stereotypes of Arab Muslims , depicted as Cassablanca ’s and
Alladin’s “flying carpets, deserts, harems, genii, camels, Bedouins, queer despots, wily souk
merchants, tiny monkeys, and pirates,” changed into an Islamic threat (Richards and Omidvar

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xiv). They claim that the fear of Islam is now predominant, along with cur iosity about the
Muslim religion and its followers. The authors argue that most Americans associate Islam
with the terrorist attacks of 9/11, which places the religion in a very negative light (xiv). They
underline this by referring to the theory that some Muslims immigrated to the U.S. in order to
remodel the country through terrorism (xiv). This statement creates a sense of fear for Muslim
immigrants in the U.S . Richards and Omidvar summarize this prevailing ste reotype as the
claim that Muslim men a re ‘sexist and violent’ and Muslim women a re ‘passive and
oppressed’ (xvii).
In addition, it is important to establish if representation s by the media are prejudicial
or whether there are other factors stimulating the news reporting from a specific angle.
Promin ent sociologist Gordon Allport developed a theory on prejudice in the context of race
and democracy , which is relevant to this paper. H e argues in The Nature of Prejudice that it is
an inborn capability of every human being to create and think in categorie s throughout their
lives. Categorizing, however, can become negative and lead to prejudice or even
discrimination of a certain group to protect the individual or collective national values
(Allport xi). He explains predicaments such as the clash between Muslims and the United
States, representing the West, by stating that “ethnic conflict” is an unavoidable result of
democracy (478). This theory would explain news framing as ‘unintentional categorizing ’ of
Muslim Americans by journalist s in their subjective news reporting , caused by inborn
prejudiced categorizing. It would thus justify their individual subjectivity as inborn and not as
set by agenda.
Huntington formulated the famous term of ‘clash of civilizations’ which means that
spiritual, religious , and ethnic identities are the main cause of conflict since the Cold War
(Clash of Civilizations 139). His theory recognizes the universal social need of defining the
‘Other’ in order to classify the ‘Self,’ as the classic theory o f Said’s Orientalism has

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suggested . This would imply that Muslims will remain visible subjects in the West because
their religion offers a contrast with western values and culture.
Recent academic literature suggests the term Islamophobia to describe the fear and
discrimination of Muslims. John. L. Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin argue in their book
Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century , that Islamophobia is expressed
through media as the nation ’s reaction to the crisis that is caused by Muslim fundamentalists.
It is common in crisis situations for media to search for guilty perpetrators and speculate
about the identity and motives of these suspects.
To sum up, t he ongoing academic debate about Arab Muslims in America suggests
that mass media have brand ed them as an inferior, hostile, and backward ‘enemy within.’
Scholars also highlight the fact that the media influence the whole society through choosing
what and how to communicate. Donald L. Shaw and Maxwell E. McCombs argue that the
process of news framing or agenda -setting in the media is extremely influential in triggering a
cognitive change among individuals in order to ‘structure their thinking’ ( The Emergence of
American Political Issues 5). Therefore, mainstream media ha ve tremendous power . The
authors conclude that U.S. Muslims have provoke d the media to depict them negatively
through their sudden political activism and visibility. That would justify media framing of all
U.S. Muslims as a threat. Therefore, t his thesis will try to explore the media framing
mechanisms in the coverage of Arab Muslims in the U.S.

Research question

Even though the framing of Arab Muslims in America has been a frequent topic in western
media in the last 15 years, insufficient attention has been paid to the effect of mass media on
the changing perception of this minority group after 9/11. This thesis argues that mai nstream
media representation of Arab Muslims in America ha s contributed to the ir categorizing , and

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consequently to the formation of an American society. Several recent studies on United
States’ Arab Muslims will be discussed shortly in the following chapters of this paper .
It is remarkable that most secondary works discussing Muslims and Islam in the West
describe 9/11 as a shift in reporting on U.S. Muslims and Arabs. There are two implicit but
clear angles the authors take when writing about this topic; namely they use lenses of race and
religion. For instance, in Race and Arab Americans Before and After 9/11: From Inv isible
Citizens to Visible Subjects , Jamal and Naber argue that 9/11 was not the beginning of, but a
turning point in , the history of American Muslims and Arabs, despite the fact that the
mainstream media started singling them out exclusively from that dat e on. The ir book argues
that after 9/11, wealthy sheikh s turned into t erroris ts and Islamic fundamentalists (Jamal and
Naber, pp. 4 -5). The authors add that such prejudice must have been deeply planted before
the attacks, as other terrorist s such as Timot hy Mc Veigh ( the Oklahoma City bomber , 1995 )
or the membe rs of the Irish Republican Army, have not been branded as representatives of
their “entire race, religion, or civilization”( Jamal and Naber 60). In addition, the writers point
out that the inclusion of new and often contradictory lenses through which Arab Muslims are
being depicted, activated discussions about the seriousness of the concept of ‘race’ in Arab
American studies and their positi on within the racial judicial sy stem in America (Jamal and
Naber, pp. 4 -5). Jamal and Naber strongly argue that media used the dimension of race to
frame th is minority group .
Another dimen sion important to this research, and argued thoroughly by Yaqin and
Morey, is religion, and specifically Islam. Numerous schol ars depict Islamic culture and
civilization as contradicting western civilization by Islam’s hostility and backwardness .
Stephen Sheehi also supports this view and presents his critique of mass media’s creation of
the clash of civilizations in his book Islamophobia: The Ideological Campaign Against
Muslims .

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The main question that this thesis aims to answer is to what extent the U.S. media have
influenced shifting attitudes towards religion as a dimension of differentiation of Muslim
Arabs in the United Stat es. In order to answer this question, this paper will analyze the
framing mechanisms that have been used by NYT and NYP when reporting on the religious
identity of Arab Muslims in the United States by identifying it as a category of differentiation.
In thi s way, it is possible to determine what textual attitudes these newspapers express
towards the Muslim religion , as well as its constructed connection to the minority group of
Arab Muslims. The second sub -question is to determine if the NYT and NYP style of reporting
on Arab Muslims has changed throughout the last few decades throug h the process of
‘racialization, ’ one of the elements of Islamophobia. Both chapters 2 and 3 will focus on the
terminology associated with religion and race.
This research will examine possible shifts in media presentation of Arab Muslims in
America in the period from the Gulf War (August 1990) to the present . The purpose is to
establish whether an ethnic categorization of those minority groups has been replace d by race
and religion as categories. This study will establish attitudes towards the American Muslim
minority group of Arabs within the context of prejudicial orientation and clash of
civilizations, through the analysis of the NYT and the NYP’s coverage.

Methodology

To find answers to the main inquiry, relevant articles from the NYT and the NYP covering two
specific and earlier described marked moments in the history of Arab Muslims will be
selected. Through thorough textual analysis of relevant articles , the discursive processes and
methods will be documented in which the journalists differentiate Arab Muslims from
Americans. Media representation of this minority group through two lenses: religion and race
is thus central to find ing out to what extent re ligion has been used in the media to differentiate

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Arab and Muslim A mericans from other Americans.
For each of these two dimensions, the same key words will be used to find articles on
the Gulf War and 9/11. Out of the found results, articles with religious references will be
selected for the analysis in chapters 2 and 3. Here, search terms: ‘religion,’ ‘Islam,’ ‘Muslim,’
and ‘Arab’ will be used to determine whether these articles are subjectively referring to
religion as a category to replac e ethnici ty when depicting Muslim Arabs. The first chapter will
introduce the phenomenon of Islamophobia, and the following two chapters will focus on
textual analysis of the chosen articles within the framework of Islamophobia.
LexisNexis will be utilized to find relevant articles of the liberal NYT and conservative
NYP. This research will be conducted by analyzing the titles of articles and determining
whether they justly imply what they cover. Moreover, the following elements will be checked:
terminology used, potential subjectivity of the journalists implied by lack of supporting
evidence, volume of articles writ ten on a particular news item and the choice of checked facts
as opposed to assumptions included in the coverage. This method will reveal whether two
marked historic moments have been framed by these articles and if they have, in what way,
and how they hav e influenced the societal attitudes towards Arab Muslims in the United
States. The used articles were selected by means of search terms related to Islam and therefore
include religious references. This means that they are not representative of the full med ia
coverage of these newspapers, as this thesis will focus on the manner in which religious terms
are used in reference to Arab Muslims in America.

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CHAPTER 1
Islamophobia

This chapter will attempt to determine whether the media are a reliable or a prejudiced source
of information on Islam and Muslims in America. It will provide a context in which the
concept of Arab Muslims has been constructed by U.S. media through the introduction of and
emphasis on Islamophobia. A brief background of religion and Islam in the U.S. will enable a
better understanding of the shift in societal position of this minority group in the U.S.

Religion in the U.S.

The United States is well known for its separation of church and state and the freedom of
religion, granted b y the First Amendment. Despite this separation, religion is deeply woven
into American cultural identity . In contrast to Europe, religion in America is present in
various national institutions. The country struggles with accommodating numerous religious
minorities, especially when it involves non -Christian religions. Fowler et al. point at the
complexity of providing such a freedom, and call the U.S. the most ‘complex and pluralistic
mix of religions’ within one nation. They also highlight America’s Christi an roots with the
largest denominations being Catholics and Protestants. The Pew Research confirms this claim
by estimating that approximately 71% of Americans are Christians.
Although America is a Christian nation today, some of Christian minorities were
perceived as a threat in the past. I n 1840s , for example, Catholics were persecuted due to their
religion and treated as a danger to the American way of life (Pestana, par. 1). This minority
rejection has been compared by some scholars to the 21st-century discriminations against

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Muslims in America. However, this chapter will partly demonstrate that it is an incorrect
observation.
Moreover, Fowler et al. argue that religious minorities are bound to each other through
the fact that they are essential for the existence of a society (Fowler et al. 55). Nevertheless,
they make an interesting point about minorities’ diasporic belonging, which has been
frequently mentioned by the U.S. media as minorities’ dual loyalties. Minorities are a part of
the nation of their origin, and at the same time they are a part of the ir new society, and these
two are not always compatible in their values and norms.
In addition, minorities change and help to re -form a society and therefore the country’s
policies are established mainly to create balance between its majority and minorities. The
more fragile the minority, the more complex the policies pertaining to them are. As a result ,
some policies are established to protect the majority and impede the influx of minorities, and
accordi ng to many scholarly works, this is what American Muslims have experienced since
9/11.

Islam in the U.S.

This section aims at exploring whether Islam is a new and homogeneous religion in America,
and whether it is correctly presented by the U.S. media. A clear depiction of Islam in America
and the West will follow to demonstrate how media representation of Islam in America
compares to the reality.
The first mentions of Islam in America date back to the late ninth century. Kambiz
GhaneaBassiri argues in A History of Islam in America that Muslims did not come in masses
to America nor did they colonize the Americas. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries,
however, Muslims played an important role in politics and were commer cially significant in
the formati on of the states surrounding the Atlantic Ocean, a region dominated by Muslim

3121429 A. Rottier 17
empires at the time , but attractive for European traders (GhaneaBassiri 1 -2). Once the
Americas were colonized by Europe, Muslims from North and West Africa became part of the
economic and imperial plans of the American and European powers, and consequently , most
of them became slaves in America (GhaneaBassiri, pp. 1 -2).
It is important to acknowledge that there are various forms of Islam and that Muslims
constitute a heterogeneou s population. Today, American Muslims make up the most diverse
Muslim population of the world accommodated in one country. Fowler et al. confirm that the
U.S. Muslims come from various corners of the world and have diverse ethnic and parochial
backgrounds. In addition, they were joined by other ethnic groups who converted to Islam (1).
The authors point out that U.S. Islam distinguishes itself by having developed some new
religious movements such as the Moorish Science Temple or the Nation of Islam, as
explained by GhaneaBassiri ( pp. 1 -2). Islam has various teachings which have result ed in
splitting Muslim communities into even smaller religious groups, such as Sunni and Shi’a.
Fowler et al. explain that both traditions vary principally over the identity of the authentic
successor to the Prophet Muhammad (61). It is estimated that Sunni Muslims are a majority
both among American Muslims and globally.
Another Muslim community consists of Ameri can converts to Islam, who, as Richards
and Omidvar contend, need to find a balance between the traditions of Islamic civilization and
American culture in order to establish their new Muslim identity (292). The authors call this
process a negotiation and p oint at the difficulties the converts have to undergo , due to the lack
of ‘American Islam.’ By this statement the authors indicate the necessity of creating a new
form of Islam which differs from the old form practiced for example in Saudi Arabia , as they
suggest (292). This is necessary as, according to the authors, there are “some unspecified
cultural practices connected with Islam,” which contradict American norms and values, and
therefore do not fit in the modern United States. Richards and Omidvar adop t an interesting

3121429 A. Rottier 18
approach according to which Islam needs to assimilate and adjust to western values. Instead
of pointing at the need to acquaint oneself with various forms of Islam and choosing one, or
finding a balance between being an American and being a Muslim, the authors choose to
target religion as the core problem. Moreover, American converts are set in a higher category
than other Muslims, and the authors give them the right to adjust Islam to their needs and to
fit within American culture. Therefo re, also in the case of American converts, the Muslim
religion is perceived as problematic.
In contradiction to all the different types of Islam and all the differences between
Muslims, western media categorize Muslims as belonging solely to two groups of ‘bad
Muslims,’ and ‘good Muslims.’ By using this method, media place all Muslims in one
homogenous group with only two variations . This positions Muslims as a threat to the West
and a predicament to the Westerners, who have to be watchful and alert to catc h ‘bad
Muslims.’
Such negative categorization of Muslims has reigned in various mainstream media in
the aftermath of 9/11. The media presentation of Muslims as one group of terrorists practicing
one and the same religion, and preserving the ir brutal cult ure has left a mark on all Americans
and certainly increased the phenomenon of Islamophobia. It is important to learn from
Muslim minorities in the U.S. how they protect themselves and advance their values, but an
even more important task is to investigate the sources that promote discrimination and
prejudice against them. The identification of such sources will indicate the power tools, which
in the end, are used to form American attitudes, through influencing public opinion and
societal attitudes towards minorities.

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Islamophobia

“These people [Arabs and Muslims] need to be forcibly converted to Christianity. …
It’s the only thing that can probably turn them into human beings.”
-Michael Savage, syndicated talk -radio host

This part will look into the phenomenon of Islamophobia, its forms and presence in the media.
It will try to establish whether post-9/11 news reporting in America has been branded solely
by Islamophobia .
Although the phenomenon of Islamophobia is not new, one can argue that, its presence
has increased enormously in the West since the 9/11 attacks. There are many connotations to
the term, but Richards and Omidvar provide the clear and simple definition that will be used
in the following chapters: “ Islamophob ia is the fear and/or hatred of Islam, Muslims, or
Islamic culture. Islamophobia feeds on spreading fear of Islam and designating Muslims as
the enemy” (vol. 1, p. 237). There are several elements of Islamophobia that can be found in
western media and politics . The most prominent are: fear of Islam and its followers due to the
threat caused by the unknown, hostile religion and culture promoting terrorism, hatred of
Muslims because they endanger the na tion’s western values and norms , and bigotry against
Islam nourished by nationalist sentiments of superiority. These three elements will be
identified in the NYT and NYP articles in order to determine whether these categories were
used to report on Muslims in America.
The argument that 9/11 spread Islamophobia in the West is widely defended in
numerous scholarly works. Due to the results of a 2010 survey conveyed by the Council on
American -Islamic Relations (CAIR), Isla mophobia scored 6.4 out of ten. The report shows
that the people surveyed were clearly influenced by media’s demonization of Islam ( Nina
Markowic , Samina Yasmeen, Muslim Citizens in the West, 2). In addition, Sheehi argues in

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Islamophobia: The Ideological Campaign Against Muslims that after 9/11, hate -speeches
against Arab s and Muslims suddenly became acceptable (29). Another example is provided
by the statement made on September 13, 2001 by Ann Coulter, a conservative social and
political commentator, who was allowed to publish “We should invade their countries, kill
their leaders and convert them to Christianity,” without being censored by editors.
Furthermore, Sheehi accuses the media of promoting Islamophobia through their
emphasizing and justifying of the killing of Muslims abroad, which was followed by using
uncensored and negative statements about Arab Muslims and Islam. The author argues that in
the post -9/11 era, ‘Muslims, Arabs, Iranians, and Islam itself’ became targets in published
media (Sheehi 30). He adds that especially in the direct aftermath of these tragic events,
media focuse d on presenting the Islamic fundamentalists’ acts such as “honor killings, female
circumcision, not allowing women to drive … [saying] Jews are monkeys, pigs” (30). The
discussion of Islam’s intolerance of Jews will be continued in the third chapter.
In addition, the author points out that even media discussions of the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars, the nuclear threat of Iran, and oil and energy are filtered through the hatred and fear of
Islam and Muslims (31). These signs of Islamophobia have dangerous effect on Muslims in
America and around the world. It is argued that Muslims in the Arab world are anti -American,
due to the U.S. meddling in their domestic affairs and their oil politics. This association , when
depicted in media , increases the sense of national vulnerability and therefore the sense of fear
and the need to defend oneself .
Sheehi takes this discussion even one step further by stating that Islamophobia has
become part of American culture, and affects American Arab Muslims in va rious areas (141).
This statement is supported in practice, for example, by the establishment of the U.S.
PATRIOT Act, which has been widely described as racial and discriminatory of all Muslims
and Arabs in America. Sheehi also suggests that America has b een changed through

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Islamophobia and that it has become a deeply rooted part of American culture with little
chance of its retreat. This is supported by the implementation of special registration, FBI
investigations and even the presidential campaign of Ba rack Obama. The latter is
unambiguous evidence of prevailing Islamophobia in the U.S., as it includes the extraordinary
reaction of the electoral campaign spokesperson Robert Gibbs to accusations of Obama being
a Muslim. He proclaimed that ‘Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised as a
Muslim, and is a committed Christian’; a statement which was aimed at distancing Obama
from his father’s Islamic heritage (Richards and Omid var, Muslims and American Popular
Culture , xvi).
Another argument made by numerous scholars is that Islamophobia is one of the
expressions of racism. This school of thought, as S. Sayyid claims in Thinking Through
Islamophobia , is often rejected because o f the fact that Muslims are not a race , and also due to
the common acceptance of Islamophobia being justified by “the ‘realities’ of Islam or
Islamicate cultural practices” (12). Nevertheless, racialization has never been purely based on
biological charact eristics. The process has involved the religious, cultural, historical and
territorial aspects which needed to be defended by the dominant mainstream inhabitants. In
addition, Sayyid argues that such a stance also excludes the possibility of re -structuring one’s
culture by choice of another culture in a different context (13). It is an illogical theory, as
immigrants around the world are faced with such a choice every day. Moreover, Sayyid
argues that the process of racialization relies on “ the construction of collective identities as a
product of social processes. It does not follow that just because Muslims are not a ‘race,’ or
there is yet no Muslim gene, their subjugation is not racism.” (Sayyid, 14).
Said also acknowledges the media framing by which “Mu slims and Arabs are
essentially covered, discussed, and apprehended either as suppliers of oil or as potential
terrorists” ( Covering Islam , pp. x -xi). Said proclaims that unequipped and incompetent

3121429 A. Rottier 22
reporters place the Muslim world within negative connotati ons instead of mentioning their
rich culture and Muslims’ passion for life. Indeed, the attention of western media in the last
decades has been directed towards negative events caused by Islamist terrorists. However, in
the context of intensified terrorist attacks, journalists must try to determine the reasons and
motives behind the criminals’ deeds. The fact that there is, at first, little known about the
terrorists, except for that they are Islamic jihadists, influences the paths of investigation of
these journalists. That can be the reason why they often pay more attention to the terms of
Islam and jihadist during their coverage. It can be argued that they speculate instead of
providing evidence to the readers and spectators. Their negative presentations of Muslims and
Islam cannot be justified by their lack of background information, but it would be abnormal to
focus instead on, for example, the rich culture of the Middle East in this context, as suggested
by Said.

Conclusion

There is a thin line betwe en discriminat ory speculations and objective reporting, and most
scholars accuse the western media of implementing Islamophobia in their reporting on
Muslims and Islam. This predicament is difficult to solve in the context of increasing
terrorism and the constant threat posed by Islamic jihadists. Nevertheless, it is certain that
there has been a clear shift not only between the pre – and post -9/11 news reporting, but also in
reporting on Muslim terrorism in relation to non -Muslim terrorism. Muslim terrorists are
depicted in the role of representatives of a whole religious or cultural group, whereas non –
Muslim bombers or mass shooters are seen as individuals with mental problems. The
following two chapters will try to reveal to what extent Arab Muslims were framed in the
NYT and NYP coverage of the Gulf War and 9 /11 via the aspect s of religion and race.

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CHAPTER 2
The Gulf War Coverage

This chapter will investigate which branding processes were used by the NYT and NYP in
reporting on Arab Muslims in the U.S. in the articles on the Gulf War. The following sections
include a short introduction to the Gulf War and a thorough analysis of i ts coverage in
relevant articles of the above -mentioned newspapers.

The Gulf War and Arab Muslims

The Gulf War was chosen for th e analysis because this particular historical moment has been
the most extensively described in secondary sources in comparison to other pre -9/11 events
when searching for articles on Arab Muslims. This chapter aims to analyze the pre -9/11 NYT
and NYP coverage of the Gulf War fought between 2 August 1990 and 28 February 1991.
Huntington calls the Gulf War the first civil izational war, as it evolved into part of the
Cold War due to the Soviet Union’s will to sustain a satellite regime in Afghanistan. As a
result, the U.S. became engaged in the Afghan War which turned into a civilizational war
because of such perception by anti-Soviet Muslims. The fact that the West became involved
militarily in a Muslim conflict sparked the conviction among Muslims that it was a western
imperialis t encroachment , and subsequently a war against all Muslims ( Clash of Civilizations ,
247). In th e context of the American militant presence in Muslim countries, the contact
between the two cultures restored the discussion of differences between the glorious Western
values and the backward Middle -Eastern religion and Muslim traditions. Consequently, the
western media ha s been accused by Said of diminishing the Islamic culture by depicting Islam
in ancient and contrasting terms, as a means of distinguishing Muslims and The Orient from

3121429 A. Rottier 24
the West. The further sections of this chapter will examine relevant articles of liberal and
conservative U.S. newspapers to determine whether this allegation is correct.
In order to find out which framing mechanisms have been used in these articles, four
themes have been identified for a framework, out of which three belo ng to Islamophobic
views and one leans more to the imperialistic school of thought. These elements of
Islamophobia include hatred against Muslims, the threat of Islam and its followers, and
bigotry against Islam. The remaining imperialistic view emphasizes the superiority of the
U.S., by diminishing the significance of Islam and the Arab world. Therefore, it actually
refers to bigotry against Islam, a common element of Islamophobia used by media. The
following sections will use this framework to find the framing tactics used by the NYT and
NYP.

The Gulf War Coverage in New York Times and New York Post

Of 802 NYT’ articles on ‘Gulf War,’ 29 include religious references to ‘Islam,’ ‘Muslim,’
‘Arab’ and ‘religion.’ Nine of them were written after the 9/11 attacks, so were excluded from
this research. The three most relevant of these, with their religious connotations , are analyzed
below.
In the case of NYP, the same search resulted in 743 articles on the Gulf War, wherein
20 mentioned terms of ‘Muslim ,’ ‘Islam ,’ ‘Arab,’ and ‘religion.’ From this selection, 11
articles were written before September 11, 2001. These 11 a rticles were written by 6
journalists, from whom 2 distinguish themselves: Niles Lathem who wrote four of the found
articles and Patrick J. Buchanan, who wrote three of them. For the purposes of this paper, two
articles written by Buchanan were chosen as m ost relevant, as they indicate the discussion of

3121429 A. Rottier 25
America’s superiority and its interest in the Middle East. They also add terrorist motives to
the news reporting, whereas Lathem reports in a more diplomatic manner on the political
events without using religious references.
It is evident that both newspapers’ pre -9/11 coverage of the Gulf War strongly focuses
on depicting the U.S. as the superpower with its superior politics and culture. The examined
articles show that this is the most prevailing common theme , mirroring the Islamophobic
attitudes held by their authors.

The Superpower and Arab Muslims

During the Cold War (1947 -91), as Huntington argues, two superpowers construed their
identities by ideologies, such as , liberalism, socialism , communism, conservatism,
nationalism, and Christian democracy ( Clash of Civilizations , 53). These ideologies were
perceived to be the hall of the West. Many scholars argue that nowadays democracy, freedom
of choice, human rights, and Christianity create the biggest challenge in the encounters of the
West with the Arab Muslim world. This challenge is also present in the U.S., the biggest
promotor of these political values.
Three NYT articles in the period 1991 -1992 refer to the superio rity of the U.S. by
contrasting the Arab world’s instability with America’s harmonious and high position on the
global pedestal. The first article from April 28, 1991, by Thomas L. Friedman, titled “ After
the War: Murk of Politics Obscures Baker’ s Path to Peace in the Middle East” is an example
of such positioning. The title implies the difficulties of reaching peace in the Mi ddle East . The
article reports on the Gulf War fought in 1990 and 1991. Friedman describes the meetings
between the Secretary of Stat e James A. Baker and the Soviet Foreign Minister Aleksandr A.
Bessmertnykh from 1991, and concentrates on the foreign political significance of the war.
The journalist demonstrates his belief in the dominance of America by calling U.S. ‘the

3121429 A. Rottier 26
savior ’ of Kuwa it and Arab states. The only reference to religious groups is in the context of
foreign affairs of Kuwait, Saudi and other Arab states, who harass all Muslim communities
allying with the U.S. against Iraq. In this article, Muslims are presented as a remote religious
group but able to co -operate with America. Muslims are depicted as the inhabitants of the far
Middle East without any mention of their American minority.
A sim ilar comparison is made by Paul Lewis in his article from May 6, 1991, titled
“After the War: Iraq Christian Minority Begins to Look for Door.” As the title suggests, the
journalist describes the Gulf War aftermath by focusing on the Iraqi Christian minority. He
describes an encounter with t hree middle -aged Arab women covered in black bur qas and
willing to move to America, where they can freely practice their Christianity. Through this
example, Lewis refers to the Iraqi 800,000 -member Christian minority, who is able to finally
leave Iraq, as the 9 -year emigration ban was lifted. In this ar ticle, Christians in Iraq are a
religious minority that is presented not as an ‘enemy within’ but as ‘victims within.’ He writes
that they have been persecuted by Iraqi Muslims as crusaders and allies of America and
blamed for the Gulf War. Although Muslim s are presented in a negative light by being
accused of oppressing the Christian minority, Lewis does not analyze Islamic culture or
religio n; he simply refers to them as a majority in Iraq. By doing so, America is pointed out as
being superior due to one of its glories: freedom of religion. It is a country that oppressed
Christian minorities from Iraq can escape to. In short , the journalist highlights an important
western value to indicate a better s ystem and country to live in. He also reminds the re aders of
the Christian roots of the West, and therefore depicts the contrast between Arab states and the
West.
A slightly different aspect is introduced in the NYT article published on January 5,
1992, within a year of Friedman’s and Lewis’ articles being written on the aftermath of the
Gulf War. Youssef M. Ibrahim’s piece , “The World: The Arab World Comes to the End of

3121429 A. Rottier 27
Illusions ,” enumerates the consequences of the Gulf War in the Arab World. Correspondingly,
it implies the superiority of American values and ideologies as opposed to the Arab world’s
religion and politics. The title refers to the political plans and ‘illusions’ of the Arab world of
uniting through Islam. The journalist points to Muslims’ rejection of western development
due to their suspici ons of falling into the trap of western Crusades. He summarizes the
aftermath as the collapse of ‘the Arab system.’ He argues that even though the Arab states do
not follow western developments and cannot be called democratic, they have already provided
their citizens with personal, entrepreneurial and political liberties , even though they are
limited . This way, the journalist adduces the impossible brotherhood of the Arab states, each
extre mely different from the other. For example, he indicates the imposs ibility of Saudi
Arabia’s economical interaction with poor third -world countries like Algeria and Egypt.
Through this tactic, the article highlights the superiority of America and the impossibility of
reaching unity between Arab states through Islam. Under mining the power and significance of
Islam also entails a suggestion that this religion is too weak in comparison with the West and
its Christian roots. The positioning of America as a superpower is also present through the
journalist’s questioning of the place of the Arab world within the new world order. He
criticizes their attitude toward democratic civil rights and calls it their biggest failure. The
journalist doubts the Arabs’ progress due to an increasing pressure from Islamic
fundamentalists to prohibit the freedom of choice for the rest. This statement places the Arab
world also in the context of the clash of civilization s, as democracy is one of the main
priorities and principles of the West with its greatest promotor, America.
In addition , by presenting Islam as a religion failing to unite the Arab states, the
journalist underlines the dominance of the Christian roots of the West, which are known as
the foundations of western values. This method diminishes Islam and its followers by locating
them on a much lower pedestal than Christianity and America.

3121429 A. Rottier 28
In comparison, the NYP’s reporting also describes America in superlatives, and paints
the country as the dominant global agent. However, some articles mention the West’s decline
and question America’s ability to bring back order and peace in the Middle East. The NYP’s
political commentator, Patrick Joseph Buchanan (born in 1938) is an influential personage in
American politics and his pieces are therefore also influential. He was a senior advisor to the
Presidents Richard Nixon , Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan . He was also a host on CNN 's
Crossfire and ran several times in presidential elections.
In an article from January 14, 1998, titled “Détente in the Gulf?” Patrick Buchanan
refers mainly to the plans of America’s imperialism and its dominant global position. Through
the title, Buchanan qu estions whether there has been an agreement or the restoration of
harmony in the Gulf by using the word ‘détente’ and a question mark at the end. The title
refers to his doubts on Iran’s acceptance of America’s help, which is seen by the journalist as
the only act leading to peace in the Middle East. American superiority is expressed here
through the use of wording: ‘America’s help ,’ and later through naming the U.S. a ‘pacifier
and policeman of the Near East.’ He also relates to the power of Iran, whose nu clear, political,
and regional dominance can influence relations between the West and its neighbors: India,
Pakistan and Iraq. The journalist argues that simply through Iran’s opening to what America
has to offer, a ‘better life for millions’ will be grant ed in the Arab world. He remarks that it is
a realistic objective, as both countries differ solely in their ideologies. Thus, once Iran follows
American values, everyone will benefit. Buchanan adds America’s independence to its
superiority by stating that “[o]f all the great powers, the United States is the farthest removed
from the Gulf and the least vulnerable to an oil embargo.” Therefore, the cultural guidelines
of this independent and powerful country should be followed , as this is the only way for the
Middle East to benefit , make progress and reach peace.

3121429 A. Rottier 29
Also in “ The Giant Superpower Bluff” from June 6, 1998, Buchanan places America
on the pedestal of world’s politics and questions its position by calling it a bluff. The title
suggests the content of the article which is explicitly accusative of America’s bluffing about
its supremacy. The journali st exemplifies this constant exaggeration by providing a few
statements, such as the one made after Desert Storm, when the U.S. was ‘the world’s last
superpower,’ and the U.S. president’s declaration that after the American victories in the Gulf
and Cold W ars, the establishment of a ‘new world order’ was their next responsibility.
Moreover, Buchanan states that America was also obliged to impede whenever another
‘regional power’ would try to take its place on the global scene. The U.S. authorities clearly
present America as the superpower deciding on the world order and the fate of the world,
including the Arab states. That image is ridiculed by Buchanan, who just six months earlier
was an eager proponent of this notion. It is noticeable that his attitude to wards the superiority
of the U.S. changed, and that was caused supposedly by the decline of the West’s global
influence. The journalist describes America’s diminishing power and influence on a global
scale in the spirit of Huntington’s theo ry of the declin e of the West. He justifies it by
exemplifying several countries’ refusal of cooperation with the U.S. in the Gulf. Thus, even
though the U.S. was the biggest economic and military power at that time, its political
influence had clearly started to decline. One of the reasons lies in its materialism and
corruptive nature, as the journalist argues. He concludes with a remark that everyone realizes
that U.S. is abrupt, and contemplates that despite American ambitions of setting the new
world order, other natio ns will follow their own dreams, even if they entail future hegemony.
The future does not depend on the U.S. any more.

3121429 A. Rottier 30
Conclusion

To sum up, many prominent scholars have accused mainstream media of framing Arab
Muslims in America, and this chapter has looked into this allegation presented by two
newspap ers in articles on the Gulf War through the lens of religion and race. Framing or
agenda -setting is an important aspect in media communication, as it has an enormous effect
on the receivers of the messag e spread . The impact is even bigger if the author spreading the
message is active in politics and therefore influential. That is certainly the case of the NYP
with its politician Buchanan. Moreover, i t has been confirmed numerous times that media
affects n ational politics, and consequently a society and its attitudes to minorities.
Furthermore, Islamophobia has various forms, and it has been proved in the above
analysis that these newspapers use bigotry against Islam, which is implied by the positioning
of the Arab and Muslim world as inferior next to the superpower U.S. This inferiority is
highlighted by creating a physical and cultural distance between two worlds: the feeble Arab
states and the distant , economically and militarily independent power ful U.S. Additionally, all
of the articles on the Gulf War depict Muslims from the Middle East and do not mention
American minorities. This seems to confirm the theory of Jamal and Naber, who argue that
Arab Muslims in America were invisible citizens before 9 /11 and turned to visible subjects in
its aftermath. This invisibility also suggests their absence from mainstream American society
or at least their invisibility. Subsequently, it implies that Arab Muslims are excluded from
mainstream America by being presented and discussed solely as inhabitants of the Middle
East, the only part of the world they were entitled to inhabit.
The analyzed articles from the pre-9/11 period contain the admiration and emphasis of
America’s global superiority. They depict America n ideologies and culture as superior to the
Islamic civilization. For example, Friedman’s depiction of America has imperialistic
connotations , where he chooses the U.S. to play the role of a policeman and to decide on the

3121429 A. Rottier 31
order in both the Arab world and g lobally. The NYT and NYP articles position the U.S. and its
policies as admirable and prevailing, and suggest that the Middle East should follow the U.S.
developments.
Moreover, one of the articles suggests that the western decline would be followed by
the revolution of Arab states. This hypothesis mirrors Huntington’s claim that Western decay
has given rise to the anti -western movements (52). These statements introduce a fear of a
rising but not yet present threat posed by Muslims.
In both newspapers, articles mention the Muslim and Arab world, but do not contain
deep religious references and direct indication of Islam as an upcoming and threatening
superpower. The presentation of America as a global superpower was clearly visible in
articles until 1998, where, the last analyzed article questions the exceptional position of the
U.S. This shift is an interesting finding of this research , and the next chapter will explore
which methods were used by the same newspapers in the period after the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001. It will examine whether the newspapers still refer to America as a
superpower and to the Arab states as inferior.

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CHAPTER 3
9/11 Coverage Through the Lens of Religion

Media and 9/11

“Washington , Sept. 11 — Today's devastating and astonishingly well -coordinated attacks on
the World Trade Center towers in New York and on the Pentagon outside of Washington
plunged the nation into a warlike struggle against an enemy that will be hard to identify wit h
certainty and hard to punish with precision.” New York Times 2001 by R.W. Apple

This very first reaction of the NYT to the events of 9/11, published on September 12th and
titled “U.S. Attacked,” proclaimed that it would be difficult to find the responsi ble ones and to
punish them in the right way. This initial diagnosis has turned out to be correct , and has been
echoed in the following decades by various journalists and reporters. Media have tried to
identify the enemy by pointing more often at the terro rists’ religious implications. Richards
and Omidvar state in Muslims and American Popular Culture that American Muslims became
targets and were doomed to a collective punishment for deeds conducted by individuals
motivated by a conviction that their deeds are justified by Islam’s teachings (4). Roger
Streitmatter also confirms in Mightier than the Sword: How the News Media Have Shaped
American History that the media emphasis on these generalized religious connotations led to
the national acceptation and jus tification of targeting all Muslims as ‘the enemy within’ (190).
Therefore, as far as the media is concerned, the Muslim religion is at the core of terrorism ;
which subsequently justified reason s for open discriminatio n against American Arab
Muslims.

3121429 A. Rottier 33
The post-9/11 academic discourses on Arab Muslims in America started to concentrate
much more on Islam as a religion , distinguishing them from western Christians . This shift is
examined in this paper through the NYP and NYT coverage of the Gulf War and the 9/1 1
terrorist attacks. The events of 9/11 have been chosen due to the strong emphasis , by
numerous scholarly works , on September 11, 2001 as a turning point in the history of
Muslims in America. It is also argued that by promoting certain attitudes towards m inority
groups, the media influences the form ing of society, as their agenda is set by governments.
Yaqin and Morey also claim in Framing Muslims that authorities seek ‘tried and tested
vehicles of imagined communities,’ such as TV and press, to create a s table framework for
their agenda ( 3).
This chapter aims to analyze the framing mechanisms used by both newspapers to brand
Arab Muslims, and to show whether they have been religiously branded in the U.S. media
after September 11, 2001. It will also explore whether the articles include Islamophobic
reporting, and if so, which elements were chosen to emphasize religion as a category of
differentiation.

Analysis of 9/11 Coverage in NYT and NYP

The articles examined in this chapter were chosen through Lexis Nexis by selecting ‘9/11’
and successively using four search terms: ‘religion,’ ‘Muslim,’ ‘Arab,’ and ‘Islam.’ As a
result, LexisNexis showed more than 1000 articles on ‘9/11’ published solely by NYT. The
number was narrowed down to 738 after selecting ‘the Unite d States’ under ‘Geography.’ O f
these 738 articles written between 200 1 and 2016, 31 articles include discussion of the terms
chosen for the search. Out of these, six were written by Th omas L. Friedman, an American
Jew, born in 1953, a widely recognized author and columnist, and a journalist respected by

3121429 A. Rottier 34
American and international politicians. Four of his articles are most relevant to this paper’s
questions and that is why they were chos en for further analysis.
Similarly, t he NYP, the second largest conservative newspaper in the U.S. , published
more than 1000 articles covering the terrorist attacks of 9/11; however in the U.S. solely,
Lexis Nexis found that there are 667 articles written on 9/11. Among them, seven articles
include all of the search terms of ‘religion,’ ‘Islam,’ ‘Muslim,’ and ‘Arab.’ Three were chosen
for the analysis due to their high relevancy.
This paper argues that some elements of Islamophobia have been intensified in these
newspapers after 9/11, and this section chose three of them fo r the thematic textual analysis.
They consist of the threat of Islam, hatred against Muslims and bigotry against Islam.

Threat of Islam in the West

This section will pursue a close examination of articles posing Arab Muslims as a threat to
America. The following analysis will try to reveal which tactics were used by journalists to
spread this particular element of Islamophobia in their news reporting.
Creating fear of Islam through the claim that they are the ‘enemy within’ leads to
hostility, prejudice, violence and discrimination in a society. Media’s role in spreading such
fear is extremely important, as it has been proven that they influence reade rs’ attitudes
through news reporting. Samina Yasmeen and Nina Markovic underline in Muslim Citizens in
the West that after 9/11, media created a sense of urgency in ‘u ncovering, contesting and
repackaging Muslim identity’ by setting it in the context of vi olent terrorism, ethnicity and
gender and the clash of civilizations (71). They add that in achieving this goal, media used the
sudden need of examination of the ‘soul of Islam’, as opposed to the ‘soul of America.’
Therefore, the superior American society became challenged by numerous scholars in order to

3121429 A. Rottier 35
redefine the ir Americanness (71). By focusing on national sentiments, immigrants and other
minority groups that seem un -American often become excluded from the majority.
In the first analyzed article: “Wa r of Ideas,” published in NYT on 2 June 2002,
Friedman not only defines the Muslim world as enemies, but also implies that there were
signs that 9/11 would happen through constant hateful plots against America and teachings in
mosques and Muslim schools. H e suggests that to prevent such c atastrophes, it is necessary
not only to be suspicious of them but also to fight Islamic traditional teachings in public. In
this way, the journalist creates a sense of fear of the unknown , of what happens behind ‘our’
back s in the Muslim world or communities. This fear leads to suspicion , and therefore , to
mistrust of Muslims. This context is well captured by Huntington’s theory that the post -Cold
War world is governed by a ‘ civilization -based world order’ with the prevaili ng dichotomy of
‘the West’ and ‘the rest’ (20). Friedman defines ‘the rest’ as a hostile and conspiring Muslim
world, a representation thoroughly described in Said’s Orientalism from 1979. By suggesting
that war within Islam is what Muslims need, the journalist contradicts another Orientalist
claim made by Said. Namely, the author states that through studying Arab Muslims, ‘we’ can
learn their way of life and understand their reasoning. His es sential point is that Muslims’ true
image can be created only by themselves and therefore, they should be given a voice to speak
for themselves ( Orientalism 293). Thus, any presentation of ‘the Other’ by someone from a
mainstream newspaper is false.
Identi fying all Muslims as violent terrorists, who kill in the name of Islam and are
enemies of the West, is also common in U.S. media presentation s. The theory of ‘bad
Muslims’ and ‘good Muslims’ exemplifies this stance . The categorization of all Muslims as
bad, associates them with terrorists and places them as suspicious neighbors in America who
must be constantly watched. In “War of Ideas ,” Friedman specifies the real enemy,
Wahhabism, which is “[an] austere and intolerant brand of Islam” spread by Muslim lea ders

3121429 A. Rottier 36
through using their oil wealth. Although b y pointing to this intolerant stream of Islam, he tries
to omit Islam’s generalization, he directs readers’ attention to the religion as a source of
terrorism.
Friedman adds positively that there are enough p eople within Islam, who support
America in introducing modernization and tolerance to Islam. Here, he uses the dichotomy of
‘us’ and ‘them’ to depict Muslims as inferior by assuming that ‘they’ want the U.S. to
intervene. He then claims to have received a letter from a Saudi woman with a cry for help to
stop religious authorities from paralyzing their lives. Friedman’s accusations against Muslims
imply that Islam needs to be modernized and westernized. This is a very interesting point
already coined by Hunt ington, who explains that Islam does not necessary need to be
westernized to be modernized and that only the most extr eme fundamentalists reject both
(73). Friedman’s reporting, therefore, represents a typical western perception which
diminishes Islam and its culture and promotes the process of westernization.
The NYP also contains some elements of Islamophobia. In the article titled “ Menace of
9/11 Myths ,” and published on September 26, 2010, Michael G oodwin condemns the 9/11
myths, which deny Muslims’ responsibility for the attacks of September 11, 2001. The title
suggests that the 9/11 myths are a real peril. In the article, Goodwin presents a few examples
of such myths in a ludicrous way to persuade his readers of these theories’ ridicul ousness and
their danger ous consequences to America and the West . He states that these conspiracy
theories “[deflect] Muslim guilt and [inflam e] a new generation of jihadists, many of them
living in the West.” Such def lection of Muslim guilt leads thus t o the exacerbation of
jihadists, as watchfulness of the West diminishes in these circumstances and gives jihadists
the opportunity to grow in power.
The journalist is mainly concerned with the wide acceptance of such myt hs by the
West, a development which enables the threat of the Muslim world to grow. He argues that

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the terrorists’ motives and capabilities feed on the theory that Islam is being victimized by the
West. He accuses Muslims of exaggeration in victimizing the mselves. As an example, he
states that even the objection of New Yorkers to the Ground Zero mosque is seen by Muslims
as more evidence of that theory, whereas the local New Yorkers simply wanted something
else built on that place. This victimization narrat ive has been examined and described by
many scholars cited in this paper, and this conservative journalist clearly opposes such
discourse .
Goodwin exemplifies his point with the allegation of Tony Blair, the former British
prime minister, who stated that “ the wide acceptance of the victimization narrative [is] a
major factor fueling terrorism.” Also here , the journalist not only penalizes Muslims with the
collective guilt for the 9/11 attacks, but he also alleges non -Muslim acceptation of the
victimization theory. These allegations call indirectly for proactive hostile attitudes towards
Muslims in America. Goodwin argues that this narrative challenges and threatens the
foundations of ‘politics, security and religion’ in the U.S. T his misguided theory, as he calls
it, has enormous consequences, and he suggests that its wide acceptance will lead to other
tragedies like 9/11. This conviction parallels the argument made by Yasmeen and Markowic,
which suggests that Muslims exclude themselves from the majority through the process of
victimization. The authors argue that a minority choose s to exclude the majority in order to
change the society (pp.2 -3). This strand accuses Muslims of taking part in a global conspiracy
against the Wes t through distracting western authorities and non -Muslim citizens from being
alert, so that they can plan other terrorist attacks.
Therefore, “Menace of 9/11 Myths ” reverts the proclaimed media promotion of the
tolerance towards Muslims through their accu sation of Muslims for the terrorist attacks of
9/11. This form of Islamophobia advocates hatred against this minority group and sets the
article in a very prejudicial light.

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A similar strand is present in Michael Starr’s “‘Muslim’ show takes on 9/11,”
published in NYP on 30 December 2011. The title of this article is ambiguous as the author
indicates a show that is being prepared for the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and at the sa me time
he refers to the emotional and fake show, that is put by Muslims in expressing exaggerated
sentiments of their being victims of the 9/11 aftermath. He even places ‘Muslim’ in reverted
commas to question whether this show is performed by real Muslim s, as they are Americans
and have other background s than Muslims from the Arab world. The TV show is called “ All-
American Muslim” through which the journalist emphasizes a different kind of Muslim.
Throughout the article, Starr uses a mocking style in rep orting on the American –
Muslim interviews where they claim that terrorists ‘hijacked’ their religion, and now they
have to deal with the bitter consequences. It is an implied tone and objection to the acceptance
of the theory of victimization of Muslims aft er 9/11. There is no reference to academic works,
just Starr’s subjective opinion expressed in his article.
The last two articles, analyzed above, are written in an extremely prejudicial tone,
derogatory towards Muslims and blam ing them for the 9/11 attack s. The journalists condemn
the acceptance of the victimization narrative and call Americans to be alert for Muslims, as
they pose a threat.

Islam’ s Dunces, Bigotry Against Muslims

This section will focus on another form of Islamophobia found in the analy zed articles,
namely the bigotry against Muslims through mocking Islam’s backwardness. Here, the
examination will try to reveal how journalists construct Muslims’ image as dunces.
At first sight a n innocent discussion on the need of modernizing an old Islamic
religion turns into bigotry against Muslims, as it leads the believers of this notion to various
forms of prejudice against Islam and the rejection of Muslim values. By stating that Islam

3121429 A. Rottier 39
need s to be reformed and modernized, many prominent writers suggest that the West is much
further developed and superior to the backward Muslims.
Friedman is one of the NYT journalists who promotes this notion, and who sees it as a
victory over terrorism . He calls it the ‘war of ideas ’ in most of his articles . The title of the
article “War o f Ideas” sets the aggressive and combative tone of the whole piece . ‘War’ is
associated with military maneuvers or combat, whereas ‘ideas’ refer to an intellectual
capacity . Its concept, reminiscent of Joseph Nye’s soft power used by America during the
Cold War, is Friedman’s attempt to convince the readers and perhaps even all Muslims that
Islam needs to undergo a ‘war of ideas. ’ The term was officially defined 6 years afte r the
article was published, because of the co -existence of two schools of thought on how the U.S.
coalition should win the existing war of ideas against al-Qaeda and their partners. The first
underlines the power of public diplomacy and the second calls o n treating it as a real war
aiming at eradicating the opponents and their legacy ( Antulio J. Echevarria II, “Wars of Ideas
and The War of Ideas,” June 2008). Friedman clearly leans towards the second definition and
calls Muslims for action to change Islam.
The only way to win the ongoing war on terror, Friedman states, is to change it to a
conflict among Muslims who need to challenge their outdated teachings and modernize their
religion. However, he clarifies that this war is not religious, but rather it is “a war between the
future and the past, between development and underdevelopment, of authors of crazy
conspiracy theories ver sus those espousing rationality .” He continues his call to Arabs and
Muslims for action by arguing that only they can win it, of c ourse with the U.S.
encouragement of the progressives. Friedman’s barbed criticism of Islam is evident in this
proclamation. To strengthen his point, he refers to the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, who
argued that Islam missed ‘the Enlightenment or the Refo rmation,’ the processes necessary for
the church -state separation and for the implementation of ‘modernity, democracy and

3121429 A. Rottier 40
tolerance’ into societal and political system s. This is a clear message that Islam is both an
undeveloped religion and a system which needs reformation in order to be assimilated in the
American context, and in the West.
To summarize Friedman’s stance, Islam is depicted as backward, old, and in need of
modernization. There is no plea to fellow American citizens who are Muslim but there is ‘us’
and ‘them;’ and if ‘they’ cooperate, the West will win and modernize Islam to solve the
problem of terrorism. Friedman uses the Orientalist tone and dichotomy, excoriated by Said
and other academics already in 1979, which places ‘us’ as good and ‘t hem’ as worse
(Orientalism 54). It is ironic, as by distancing himself from the inferior and backward Islam, it
is Friedman’s reporting that needs modernization.
A similar strand is taken by Friedman in his next article called “ Death to Dictators,”
published on December 15, 2002, where the concept of the war of ideas returns to the
discussion. Already in the title “Death to Dictators,” the reporter personalizes the subject of
the Iranian students’ protest from the article, which is originally a dicta torship. The journalist
uses ‘dictators’ as he aims at specific persons and not the system. In this way, he singles out
dictators instead of aiming at something too abstract to kill. Therefore, he presents an easier
problem to solve, as dictators can be ki lled but the system, even if abolished, leaves its
believers behind throughout generations. His articles on Islam usually have an aggressive tone
and this one is no different.
Friedman writes about the Iranian students’ protest and expresses his astonishme nt at
their change of cries from ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to the Great Satan’ to ‘Death to
Dictatorship.’ The journalist’s subjectivity is evident throughout the whole article, as he
explains to the readers that it is a great accomplishment that Irani an students finally have
“identified their real problem as their own bad mullahs, not ou tsiders – and their real solut ion
as true democracy, not some rigged Islamic version.” He pleads to other A rab Muslims to

3121429 A. Rottier 41
understand that “it is their own autocrats, re ligious fanatics and education systems that are
holding them back, not America.” Realizing that, will ‘cure the madness of 9/11,’ as he calls
it. It is thus necessary for Muslims and Arabs to understand that it is their own fault that they
are held ‘back.’ Such offensive allegations directed at Islam’s teachings originate in
Friedman’s view of Islam as one religion with the s ame old and backward teachings.
Friedman is undoubtedly painting a negative and prejudiced image of Arab Muslims in his
reporting.
In addition, the concept of the ‘war of ideas ’ is also employed in the claim that 9/11
triggered ‘the conversation’ among Arabs Muslims. He believes that such a movement has
existed for years but just recently, more courageous Muslims started to call for a ch ange of
Islam in public. By mentioning the anonymous calls for “Death to the old lies,” the journalist
implies that Islamic religion spreads old and backward teachings filled with lies. To support
his claim, he chooses an example of a similar accusation ma de by a Saudi columnist Abdullah
Abu Sameh in Okaz directed at Muslim extremists who are blamed in the article for poisoning
their youth with lies and wrong interpretations of Jihad. This columnist pleads for the re –
education of the Muslim youth, a plea pr esent in all of Friedman’s articles analyzed in this
research. By giving a voice to a local columnist, his stance is strengthened and the urgency of
re-education or modernization of Islam is emphasized.
Friedman can be called the representative of NYT in reporting on Muslims, due to his
numerous pieces on this topic. However, as a journalist, he acts unprofessionally by
exhibiting so much of his personal intolerance and bigotry against Islam. This article clearly
shows signs of Islamophobia.
Friedman demon strates the same prejudice against Islam in the article published on
March 3, 2005 and titled “ Brave, Young and Muslim,” where he re -claims that both the
Muslim religion and culture are in need of modernization. The article’s title implies the

3121429 A. Rottier 42
anomaly of p utting these three attributes next to each other through the usage of the
conjunction ‘and,’ which creates a distance between ‘Muslim,’ and ‘Brave’ and ‘Young.’
Instead of using the title of “Young and Brave Muslims,’ Friedman suggests that it is unusual
for Muslims to be Muslim and young and brave at the same time. He further defines ‘brave ’
as speaking against the traditional and fundamental Islamists and trying to modernize Islam in
line with American values. The title thus underlines the challenge of be ing all three of these
connotations at the same time, and the disbelief in such a paradox. This division resembles
Mamdani’s separation of Muslims into ‘bad Muslim’ and ‘good Muslim .’ Brave Muslims are
depicted as ‘good Muslims’ in this article because the y try to fight against terrorism by
challenging backward Islam through the call for its modernization. Moreover, the journalist
calls Muslim youth ‘brave’ if they fight for democracy, a system widely promoted by the
West for decades. ‘Bad Muslims’ are not specified in the article but the journalist implies
their relations with the non -brave Muslims.
Friedman’s example of a young and brave Muslim is Ms. Manji, a young Canadian
Muslim woman who was courageous enough to write a book titled The Trouble With Islam
Today . Friedman admires her public call for “reopening [of] the gates of independent
thinking” among Muslims, which will lead to Islam updated for the 21st century. Here,
Friedman refers to the concept of the ‘war of ideas.’ In this piece, not only does he create the
dichotomy of ‘we’ and ‘them,’ but he also implies that ‘we,’ as in America, must ‘help them,’
Muslims, in creating room for the reformation of Islam. Democracy and Americans are being
presented as superior agents who need to help Arabs and M uslims in achieving their full
potential.
Friedman asserts his conviction that Arab Muslim youth begin to challenge their
religion ‘out back,’ and more and more of them are demanding to have these discussions ‘out
front.’ The choice of the wording ‘out ba ck’ is used as a reference to unofficial, underground

3121429 A. Rottier 43
conversations which one day will become ‘out front,’ meaning that it will affect mainstream
Islam in the near future. In addition, it is remarkable that the journalist constantly makes a
distinction bet ween the U.S. and Muslims’ ‘part of the world. ’ By doing so, he excludes
Muslims living in the West. He refers solely to the Middle East, as if this is the only part of
the world Muslims may ‘own’ and rule with their ‘backward ’ religious convictions.
The whole article is very subjective, as the story is based on personal encounters of
Friedman with Arab -Muslim youth who are in the need of westernization. He points out that
this development is a significant turning point in history, a s until 9/11, all A merica “cared
about was that their pumps were open and their prices low, and that they be nice to the
Israelis.” Moreover, he states that as long as this agreement was in place, Muslim Arabs
“could treat their women however they wanted, they could write ab out America in their
newspapers however they wanted, and they could preach intolerance of other religions all
they wanted.” This negative depiction of Muslims emphasizes, as suggested by the journalist,
the urgency of a change within ‘their world,’ within Islam and their culture. The relations
between the U.S. and Middle East were peaceful in the past due to the two -sided oil and
political benefits. This claim is also confirmed by Mamdani, who states that the U.S. closely
cooperated with Taliban and al -Qaed a in Afghanistan in the period of the Cold War, and their
policy was to collaborate ‘by all means necessary’ (13). By adding this fact to the article,
Friedman points not only to the wrongdoings of the U.S. foreign policy, but also to the long
history of t he hostile customs of Islam which, according to him, need to be urgently altered
and modernized. In this way he paints a very negative image of the Islamic states, their
religion and laws.
Friedman’s concluding warning is that if Americans do not provide Arab Muslims
with an opportunity to freely discuss the possible transformation of Islam, they are asking for
another 9/11. This statement is an ideal example of the orientalist and even imperious

3121429 A. Rottier 44
demeanor that numerous historians have described in their wo rks. The belief in the superiority
of the West and in the necessity of helping the inferior natives in modernizing their lives, has
been the main catalyst for the processes of imperialism and colonization.
A direct mockery of Muslims is expressed also in “ Dubai and Dunces,” a piece written
on March 15, 2006 and continuing Friedman’s epilogue on the necessity of the ‘war of ideas’
within Islam. Its title, “Dubai and Dunces” forecasts the negative tone of the article with
regard to the Muslim -Arab world by ca lling them explicitly ‘dunces.’ The title splits the
subjects into two groups: Dubai, representative of modern and progressive Muslim -Arabs, and
dunces, the backward rest. It is a very strong and direct attack on all Muslims , who in the eyes
of the journal ist, do not want to modernize, and therefore westernize, the Islamic religion.
Throughout the article, Muslim civilization is painted as “ falling deeper and deeper
into the grip of crackpot clerics, tin -pot dictators, violent mobs and madmen like bin Lade n
and Saddam.” Friedman also reminisces on the theory of the clash of civilizations through
quoting an Arab -American psychiatrist , Dr. Wafa Sultan who proclaims in an interview with
Al Jazeera that the current clash is between ‘two eras,’ between modernity and Middle Ages,
between ‘the civilized and the primitive .’ This clash is further summarized as a clash between
ideologies of liberties and despotism. The use of the term ‘clash’ and the denial of its
definition as a clash of religions or a clash of civil izations , is a reaction to the ongoing
academic debate in itiated by Albert Camus in 1946, later ex amined by Bernard Lewis in
1990, and elaborated by Huntington in his book Clash of Civilizations from 1996.
Friedman assures the readers of the existence of t he clash within Islam , by clarifying
what an Arab -American professional described as the existence of the clash between western
values and the old and ignorant Islamic teachings. In his strident criticism, Friedman disputes
that many Muslims are aware of the fact that their Islamic civilization also does not follow
global developments in disciplines such as ‘science, edu cation, industry and innovation .’ He

3121429 A. Rottier 45
calls Dubai, an optimist ic bridge, as Dubaians build their future ‘on butter not guns,’ and
engage in stable and fruitful international relationships instead of terror networks. Moreover,
the society of Dubai “nurtures success, not suicide,” as he states. Muslim s and Arabs are th us
one and the same group from which Dubaians are a better and an exemplary kind. In
Friedman’s eyes, a ll Arabs and Muslims should follow this example and embrace the future,
which equates with cooperation with the U.S. It is a very short -sighted and opini onated tone
with which the journalist chose to persuade readers of his convictions.
To conclude, all analyzed articles from this section demonstrate the journalists’
prejudiced attitude towards Islam and Muslims. Their reporting on 9/11 related issues is filled
with contradictions of the superior and further developed America, as opposed to the ignorant,
uneducated and backward dunces of Islam. It is a harsh and subjective criticism, which should
never have been published. It demonstrates the unprofessiona l writings of the biased
journalists.

Hatred Against Muslims

The last theme analyzed in this chapter is the hatred against Muslims. This section will
examine through which methods, the NYT and NYP journalists implement this element of
Islamophobia in their reporting on Arab Muslims.
The first analyzed article from the NYP, titled “ Save the 9/11 Museum ,” written by the
columnist Adam Brodsky and published on May 14 2006, laments that the 9/11 Museum must
be built because the majority of the American youth does not know what 9/11 entails. It is
remarkable that the journalist compares the lack of remembrance of 9/11 with the
circumstances of the Holocaust, which remains unrecognized by many Arabs, as he claims.
He expresses his wrath at the fact that multifarious Jews and historians spent time and efforts

3121429 A. Rottier 46
on writing on the Holocaust so that the world remembers it. He is annoyed that still, “many
folks have doubts, especially in the Arab world.” According to Mamdani, the genocides of the
Holocaust often became involved in post -9/11 discussions in America ( Good Muslim, Bad
Muslim 11). For an outside observer, this comparison seems extreme and outlan dish.
However, Mamdani mentions in his book that both of the events were aimed at civilians.
Moreover, American media compare s Osama bin Laden’s vile character with the ailing
personage of Adolf Hitler. The fate of the 9/11 victims is also presented as res embling the
unthinkable genocide of Jews, conducted between 1933 and 1945. Brodsky is clearly
influenced by the ongoing American discourse on the Holocaust narrative. Nevertheless, by
echoing the 9/11 -Holocaust comparison, Brodsky evokes associations of th e Arab Muslim
world with religious intolerance of Jews and a serious threat to non -Muslims. This type of
Islamophobia is extremely dangerous and can lead to physical violence and discrimination
against Muslims in America. The journalist’s comparison of 9/1 1 to the Holocaust, and the
mention of its repudiation among most Arabs and Muslims, is construct ed on an implied
emphasis on the inferiority and abomination of Islam.
The journalist’s belief that most Muslims do not recognize the Holocaust and therefore
are intolerant of Jews is contradicted by numerous scholars preceding Brodsy’s article.
Sayyid, for example , argues in Thinking through Islamophobia that antisemitism is a product
of the West and not of Islam or Middle East. He claims that Muslims have alwa ys lived in
harmony with Jews and other religious representatives. He adds that “we have had despotism
and dictatorship, but never had fascism or Nazism” (5). Moreover, according to the author
antisemitism is a tool in the hands of anti -Muslim authorities, who express Nazism and
fascism in the form of Islamophobia (5). This notion insinuates that the western media are led
by an agenda -setting conspiracy, and therefore everything that is published is fueled by lies.

3121429 A. Rottier 47
Furthermore, Brodsky sees the 9/11 museum as a represen tative of ‘clear memories’
and ‘honest history ,’ as a motivator for America’s domestic sharpness and aggressiveness
abroad. In addition, he argues that “any move that allows that memory to fade will help
administer sleeping pills to Americans and undermine our [the U.S.] defense.” He sees the
9/11 muse um as a symbol of American memory and defense against terrorism within the
country and abroad. This suggests the need of constantly being awake as an American and
paying attention to the abnormal behavior of terrorist suspects, identified as Arabs and
Musl ims in America. Brodsky clearly supports the concept of building the 9/11 Museum at
Ground Zero and by his choice of metaphors, he places a negative light on the Arab world and
Muslims. He emphasizes that Americans are persistent in their ‘Never again’ att itude. This
statement is directed at all readers, but the Arabs and Muslims are certainly distinguished and
addressed in particular.
Hatred again st Muslims is expressed in this article through various means. The most
striking is the implication suggesting that most Muslims do not recognize the Holocaust, and
therefore do not mo urn its victims and are unable to draw conclusions from this tragedy. Such
ignorance creates a sense of dislike and distance between the readers and described subjects.
In addition, Brodsky creates a correlation of Muslims’ rejection of the Holocaust narrative
with their supposed intolerance of Jews and other religious minorities. Most American readers
of this article will certainly become angered at Muslims presented in this Jihadist way. The
last mechanism used for this theme is an attempt to convince the readers that Americans
should be watchful as they are united in the decision of ‘Never again.’ This calls on the
national non -Muslim unity and on their alert suspicion of all Muslim s. This article
demonstrates the worst form of Islamophobia, as it implies the need o f active and public
discrimination, based on one’s religious connotations.

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Conclusion

The analysis of NYT and NYP demonstrates the use of Islamophobic elements in the n ews
reporting on Arab Muslims after 9/11. All three elements of Islamophobia: the fear of and
threat posed by Muslims, hatred and bigotry against Islam and its followers, are present in the
articles. The theme of hatred was found , surprisingly , only in the conservative newspaper,
whereas the liberal journalists focused on the threat and ridiculing of Islam.
It is also remarkable in the NYT what a difference there is in Friedman’s reporting on
the Muslim world in the context of the Gulf war and 9/11. It is clear that for the journalist,
before 9/11, Muslims were j ust a religious minority group. Whereas in the post -9/11 context,
Muslims became backward, evil and an inferior enemy of the West. Friedman’s coverage
places Muslims and Islam in a negative light, b y calling them mainly backward and in need of
enlightenment and modernity. He attests the concept of ‘war of ideas’ which was echoed by
numerous journalists in their reporting on terrorism ever since 9/11. He also implements a few
personal political and re ligious statements into his articles , which have been mirrored in
academic discourses in the last few decades. These parallels prove that Friedman is
acquainted with the academic discussions on the topics of Arabs, Muslims and Islam.
Nevertheless, his pers onal criticism is highlighted throughout all of the articles by using terms
of bigotry against Islam. This form of Islamophobia in the NYT places Arabs and Muslims in
the lowest societal class and labels them as backward dunces unwilling to modernize. This
news framing is a vicious method of branding Muslim Arabs through their religion.
In the case of Arab Muslims in America, media framing or branding through the lens
of religion has been used by both the NYP and NYT in the articles on the 9/11 attacks. In these
articles, religion is the core category of differentiation of Arab Muslims in America.

3121429 A. Rottier 49
Conclusion

Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.
–George Orwell

This thesis argues that media influence and form a society. By choosing two U.S. newspapers,
and two critical moments in Arab Muslim history , only a small part of the Muslim and Arab
American journey has been covered. Nevertheless, it is a tiny representat ion of the methods
the media use in reporting on minority groups and their impact on the lives of millions of
people. Although there are limitation s to the choice of primary and secondary sources used for
this paper, it also needs to be acknowledged that t hrough the use of search terms in order to
find primary sources, not all articles written on the topic have been analyzed. The method
chosen for this research is selective . Still, it offers an analysis of relevant articles on Muslims
and Arabs in the context of 9/11 and Gulf War, and provides informative and objective
insights. Nevertheless, the conclusion of this thesis is based on the selected articles and does
not aim to generalize the res ults. It relies however on these articles and newspapers as
qualitative representatives of the U .S. media.
The analysis of both conservative and liberal newspapers proved that both NYT and
NYP use the main elements of Islamophobia. In the articles on the Gulf War, branding Islam
and Muslims is identified through its comparison with the global power of America and the
West. The examined articles show that t hrough the discussion of American supremacy and its
Christian roots, the U.S. is illustrated as a highly-developed, modern country, which sets an
example to the inferior Arab states. Even in the last analyzed article from 1998 on the Gulf
War, where the decline of the West is being predicted, the newspaper underlines the
superiority of the U.S. without ind icating a rise of a new one, such as the often suggested

3121429 A. Rottier 50
Islamic radicalism. The latter is argued and introduced in the articles from the post -9/11 era.
In the 9/11 coverage of NYT and NYP, the journalists change their brand strategy and mark
Muslims as a threat, and Islam as backward and in urgent need of modernization.
Moreover, the NYP introduces the theory of Muslims’ victimization into the
discussion . Arguments that Muslims create a real threat by acting as victims contradict
multifarious scholars who argue that because of the media promotion of Islamophobia,
American society will suffer great losses , such as the lack of domestic harmony . The NYP
journalists contradict Said’s indication of Islam as a scapegoat in the post-Cold War
unsatisfactory and distressing political, social, and financial world order ( Covering Islam xv).
There are clearly two schools of thought, and the NYP uses the accusative -of-Muslims
conviction to spread a threat of Islam among its American readers.
On the other hand, the vic timization narrative has been defended by other scholars.
Peter Bergen, for instance, agrees in United States of Jihad: Investigating America's
Homegrown Terrorists with these accusations and claims that the American government is
spreading an ‘endemic par anoia’ and is terrorizing Muslims based on their appearance and
religion . Also Mamdani argues that ‘bad Muslims’ are blamed by the media of terrorism and
that ‘good Muslims’ are expected to “clear their names and consciences of this horrible
crime” ( Race a nd Arab Americans , pp. 2 -3). This leads to the conviction that such terrorizing
is justified. Examples of this categorization include many cases of discrimination against Arab
Muslims, which have been recorded in the 9/11 backlash and described extensively by
Yvonne Haddad (Haddad, Muslims in the West: From Sojourners to Citizens , 174). The
analyzed articles attempt to turn this complex discourse into a one -sided accusation of Arab
Muslims as a threat to America and the West.
Another example of the misre presentation of Muslims, found in the article s which
have been analyzed, is the presentation of Islam as a homogenous religion, which al so

3121429 A. Rottier 51
represents its followers. The journalists imply that Islam is one religion with the same
teachings around the world. Their presentation confirms essential elements of the concept of
Islamophobia discussed by Said, for example. According to him, Islam is used and described
as a ‘single thing,’ and therefore it has become ‘part fiction, part ideological label, part
minimal designation of a religion called Islam’ ( Covering Islam x). Such depiction of NYT
and NYP supports the claim that the majority of Ameri cans misunderstand what Islam really
entails . That is why the complexity of this religion needs to be recognized and acknowledged
in order to achieve a societal harmony between mainstream Americans and Muslims , a plea
argued by Fowler et al. (62). Jamal an d Naber have described such simplification of Islam a s
the cause of racialization of Arab Muslims , which in turn is linked to American racism, and in
the case of Arab Muslims to Islamophobia. This correlation leads to a conclusion, that all of
the analyzed articles have used the main elements of Islamophobia, as none of them makes a
distinction between certain types of Muslims and Islam.
Numerous scholars argue that t he process of racialization of Arab Muslims correlates
to the phenomenon of Islamophobia. In this context, knowing that t he United States is a
country constructed on racial conscience, every discussion of minority group will include the
discussion of race. Nevertheless, as Jamal and Naber point out in Race an d Arab Americans
Before and After 9/11 , Arab Americans arrived in the country which never created a new
racial category for them. They are placed with the choice of being “white ,” “black” or “other”
on the immigration forms , and also forms provided to them by employers and schools , for
example . The writers also claim that the fact that there is no separate racial category box for
them, is symbolical for their exclusion from American society (80). In this context, all of the
analyzed articles include the ele ments of racialization, and therefore of Islamophobia. The
oblivious reporting of the NYT and NYP journalists, can also be interpreted as their lack of

3121429 A. Rottier 52
knowledge on the issues of Islam. Such incompetent reporting leads to dangerous soci al
reactions and res ults in targeting Arab Muslims in America.
In addition, the media ha ve been criticized by academi cs for their coverage of Islam
even before the 9/11 attacks. Although, American Arab Muslims were perceived as invisible
in the pre -9/11 media coverage, Huntin gton indicates in Clash of Civilizations that after the
decline of the Soviet Union, Islam became perceived as the main enemy of the West. By some
authorities and media, Islam was seen as the upcoming superpower, which tried to replace
America’s high statu s. This theory of t he rising power of Islam is absent in any Gulf War
coverage analyzed in this thesis , but is clearly present in articles on 9/11. In addition,
American Muslims are excluded from pre -9/11 reporting but became the main focus with
their religion in the 9/11 coverage. This shift from invisible citizens to visible targets also
demonstrates the chang ing strategy of both newspapers after September 11, 2001.
In the 9/11 aftermath, U.S. media have discussed Islamophobia on a daily basis. This
sudden visibility of Muslims in the media has been used to highlight their victimization and
present them in a negative way. America and the West are promotors of democracy, equality
and freedom, and that is why the issues of minorities are so complex to solve. For mainstream
white Americans, as called by Elaasar, the phenomenon of this increased Muslim visibility
and victimization resembles overly exaggerated reactions and sensitivity of Muslims to the
fact of being a minor ity, and not of being treated as such. It may be news framing , but it can
also indicate an opportunity to discuss these issues. According to the analyzed media
presentation, it is the case of Muslims willing to change the western values’ system and adjust
the West to the Islamic traditional culture.
Another theme found in the articles is creating a sense of threat of Muslims. This
theme has been discussed by Brian Bowe, Shahira Fahmy and Wayne Wanta, who state that
some constructed links of Muslims to “cri me, terrorism, danger, and risk” underline terro rism

3121429 A. Rottier 53
and consequently endanger American civil rights and security (“Missing religion: Second
level agenda setting and Islam in American newspapers” 638). Bowe et al. argue that despite
Muslims’ repudiation of terrorism and the context of domestic terrorist attacks, Muslims are
still singled out and seen as a prevailing danger to national security (638). Richards and
Omidvar add that t he most dangerous consequence of spreading such a notion is that
Americans ha ve become afraid of their neighbors, who through an Arabic or Muslim
appearance are automatically label ed as suspects full of hatred and violence against the West
(226). Therefore, such media presentation of Muslims works as fuel to fire the hatred against
Arab Muslims in America.
Richards and Omidvar correlat e Muslims with a threat and being backward, and argue
that the discourse accusing Arab Muslims for being enemies of the West, presents them as
“culturally and psychologically primitive prisoners of th eir emotions, trapped in a patriarchal
vise, and locked into jihad (interpreted as sanctifying bloodthirsty violence against all
westerners)” ( Muslims and American Popular Culture , 221). This notion therefore connects
the lack of knowl edge and education wi th crimes and has been supported by journalists of the
analyzed articles. In some cases it is true but making such generalizations of Islam and
Muslims illustrates the pure prejudice of the journalists.
Furthermore, t he binary opposition of East/West, desc ribed by Said, has also been
visible in the post -9/11 coverage . This is also exemplified by President George W. Bush’s
division of the world into two camps: ‘you are either with or against us’ (news conference on
November 6, 2001). President Bush’s public statements on terrorists only accelerated the
spread of Islamophobia in Ameri ca. In one of his speeches, he accused Islamic
fundamentalists of using terror “as a weapon to try to shake the conscience of the free world”
(Richards and Omidvar 221). The President’s statement was echoed in media, and as a result
most Americans associat e Islam with ‘despotism, sexism, and oppression’ and see this

3121429 A. Rottier 54
religion as contradicting western values . Analyzed articles argue a belief of the majority of
non-Muslim Americans that no Muslim country can practice democracy and therefor e cannot
be modernize d. Muslims’ rejection of modernization is seen by Paul Saba as a revolt, and it is
compared with an Islamic revolution aiming at establishing a societal system based in
traditional Islamic culture. Saba argues that their main goal is to ban Western values because
the West is believed to have brought the Muslim world into decline. He continues that such a
movement has met with success in the Middle East and as an example, Iran’s revolution
against the Shah and American imperialism was possible due to Islamic unity (Saba, par. 8 -9).
The conviction that Islam can unify the Arab world is quickly dismissed in one of the
analyzed articles on the Gulf War from the NYP. Here the theory is contradicted by the
journalist through his claim that the Muslim religion is t oo weak in comparison to the West’s
power.
To summarize, the newspapers report on the Gulf War in a political way . The
journalists mainly focus on U.S. foreign affairs , rather than on the religious group of Arab
Muslims. This shows that there has been a sh ift, post 9/11, in the categorization of Arab
Muslims in America, which moves them from being an invisible ethnic and perhaps even
class group in America to being a religious, hostile and inferior Middle Eastern minority
group. This change is noticeable in articles, where Islamophobia was used to convince readers
of the differentiation of Arab Muslims from the rest of Americans . Therefore, th e right for
their discrimination or exclusion from the American society and its benefits is implied . The
Gulf War art icles represent an interesting phenomenon: they confirm the theory of invisibility
of Muslims on the media agenda before 9/11. “ After the War: Murk of Politics Obscures
Baker ’s Path to Peace in the Middle East” is an excellent example of the journalist’s shift in
reporting on Islamic religion, as there are barely any religious references in this article in
comparison to the pieces written by the same author after 9/11.

3121429 A. Rottier 55
In the aftermath of 9/11, news stories of terrorist attacks, on Osama bin Laden and
Muslims’ complots on the WTC gave a rise to stigmatization of Arab Muslims in America
through the processes of Islamophobia, including their racialization. One of the strong
commonalit ies of the NYT articles on 9/11 is the belief in the need of Islam ’s refor mation as a
solution against terrorism. Friedman has written numerous times on the ‘war of ideas, ’ which ,
he argues, has replace d the war on terror. This term was picked up by more journalists from
NYT and describes the ‘ideological war within Islam ’ (Rich ard A. Clarke in April 25, 2004
Sunday article, “ The Wrong Debate on Terrorism” ).
In the NYP, on the other hand, the articles focus mostly on the ‘enemy within’ and
direct their coverage to the threat , and e ven hatred , of Muslims. Friedman clearly shares the
views of Richards and Omidvar, who claim that the “Islamic world has been marked by a long
period of backwardness and comparative powerlessness (…) and it has fallen out of step with
contemporary global culture, an uncomfortable situation for both side s” (221).
Said’s summary of the media’s attitude towards Islam confirms that the right depicts it
as ‘barbarism’ and the left as ‘medieval theocracy’ ( Covering Islam xv). This theory was
confirmed by this research . Indeed, the analyzed conservative artic les present Islam as a
barbarian, hostile religion and culture with customs of oppressing their women. The liberal
newspaper s, on the other hand, depict the Muslim religion mainly as a backward and antique
church -state system.
It can be concluded that Isla m is presented in the U.S. media in the form of an allegory
to backwardness , leading to crimes and which needs a life lesson to become modern and co –
exist in peace in the West. Moreover, in these two newspapers, Muslims are generally
described as less educated, unemployed and terrorists. The main metaphors used in
association with the Muslim world refer to the Middle East as ‘out back ,’ and to the ‘war of
ideas.’ ‘War of ideas’ in this context is actually a hyperbole indicating the movement within

3121429 A. Rottier 56
Islam but in a negative and aggressive way. The denouement of most pieces is that the
solution to the problem of terrorism is the modernization and therefore westernization of
Islam, followed by constant watchfulness of suspicious Arab Muslims.
The analy sis of the U.S. media, represented in this paper by selected articles of the
NYT and NYP, has demonstrated a clear shift in reporting on Arab Muslims in the pre – and
post-9/11 period. This change is marked by the use of several core elements of Islamophobi a,
and therefore, defines religion as a differentiation category of this minority group. To answer
the main research question of this paper, Muslim religion has certainly become a new
dimension of differentiation of Arab Muslims.
Although this research pap er cannot change the way media frame news stories, it is
certainly a valuable source of information on what influence and poss ible consequences mass
media have on a particular society and its minority groups. The case study of Arab Muslims,
analysed in thi s paper, provides an overview of a probable social view construction based on
information gathered from the mass media coverage. Additionally, i t should be seen as an
instructive set of guidelines for journalists and communicators, which demonstrates how a
society is being formed by constructing news stories , and indirectly by the social perception
of a particular news subject. Literary research also shows that there is a strong relation ship
between media coverage and creating opinions of the readers. Throu gh being cautious with
the tone of an article, the positioning of the story in the newspaper and the frequency and
volume of the news coverage, one can easily draw a conclusion on the journalist’s intentions
and political stand.
Hopefully, readers look fur ther than just at one source of information , and compare
what several media angles have to report on a particular subject , in order to create one’s own
opinion instead of copying a journalist’s one. In the spirit of Thomas Hardy’s claim, “[t]here
is a cond ition worse than blindness, and that is, seeing something that isn’t there,” one should

3121429 A. Rottier 57
realize that there are always more than one side to a story. Moreover, America is a
multicultural country and every decade will bring social changes either due to polit ical or
cultural circumstances. The true art lies in being as well informed as possible in order to draw
“correct” conclusions and create a truth -worthy opinion.

3121429 A. Rottier 58
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