New publication byAssociate Professor Dr Lorraine Brown
Brown, L., Richards, B. (2016) Media Representations of Islam in Britain: A Sojourner Perspective Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 36, 3, 350-263
This paper presents findings from a qualitative study on international Muslim students’ perceptions of media portraits of Islam. 18 students were interviewed; they came from a range of countries so that a diversity of opinion could be gathered. The paper reveals that participants perceived the representation of Islam in the British media to be negative, being associated with conservatism, economic backwardness and terrorism. Participants criticised the media’s tendency towards the homogenisation of Muslims and of Muslim countries. They also called on media organisations to balance the negative portrait of Islam with positive news stories and to be more responsible in their reporting of terrorism. Interestingly, their direct consumption of UK media was limited, pointing to the possibility that their views were either ‘discursively’ driven or were the product of ‘passive media consumption’.
Introduction
Global competition for the recruitment of international students is increasing as international education has become a major export industry at the university level, generating foreign exchange and economic benefits for universities and receiving destinations[i] . In the UK context, the Higher Education Statistics Agency[ii] estimated that there were 405,800 international students registered in British Higher Education in 2009/2010, making up approximately 16% of the total UK student population. In recognition of the importance of this income source, institutions are increasingly seeking to understand the issues facing international students in a bid to improve their product[iii]. Research into the international student experience has, therefore, steadily grown, focusing on adjustment to the new society and to the new academic culture[iv].
Among the issues faced by international students in a new culture are racism and religious intolerance. Research has found that international Muslim students in particular experienced verbal and physical abuse whilst studying in England[v]. Further, there is dissatisfaction with the way the British news media misrepresented Islam, which was seen to fuel prejudice[vi]. The findings presented in this paper derive from a research project that aimed to explicitly explore international Muslim student perceptions of media representations of Islam. Little previous research has been done on the topic, and none from the sojourner perspective.
The international sojourn is defined as a temporary between-culture stay[vii]. While there is some debate about the extent and directness of ‘media effects’ upon audiences, it is widely believed amongst media scholars that the media are powerful influences on public attitudes and behaviour[viii] as well as on the well-being of those targeted by negative media messages[ix]. The authors believe that sojourners’ experiences of the media-saturated environment in the country they are visiting is an important research topic.