The Listening Post

Is the British media Islamophobic?

British Muslims are a minority but the majority of news stories about them are negative. Is it Islamophobia?

We have reported before on the impact 9/11 had on media discourse in the US, and the way American Muslims and their religion have been covered by news outlets –  often with fear and suspicion. In 2005, Britain had the 7/7 attacks which also affected the media in the UK.

Read the British press, and not just the tabloids, or go online and there are some scary stories about Muslims – the most recent being one on a supposed ‘secret’ Islamic plot to radicalise school students in Birmingham. There is a steady stream of reports on Muslim women and whether they should be covered or not, sharia law and a recent story on what os being called the ‘surreptitious’ serving of halal meat to ‘unsuspecting’ Britons.

Is the UK, as reflected through its media, Islamophobic? Or is this just a case of a community growing and the news media failing to cover them accurately? The Listening Post’s Nic Muirhead now on Islam and the British media.

undefined

Listening Post can be seen each week at the following times GMT: Saturday: 0830, 1930; Sunday: 1430; Monday: 0430.

Click here for more Listening Post.