Following the 9/11 attacks, Islam has been continuously attacked in Western media. Rather than addressing actual political issues, many news sites choose to blame the few Muslim extremists for the world’s issues. This has led to many instances of ignoring and justifying human rights abuses against Muslims in recent years.
According to a study by the University of Alabama, terrorist attacks carried out by Muslims are covered 357% more in the media than terrorist attacks carried out by other groups. This is despite Islamic terrorist attacks accounting for only 18.8% of worldwide attacks. Along with this, 91.2% of the victims of Islamic extremists are other Muslims and almost all of Islamist attacks are carried out in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Despite these statistics, Western media fear mongers with the idea that an attack could happen any time in America. As stated via a poll by Gallup, nearly half of Americans are worried that they or a family member will be the victim of a terrorist attack.
This fear is illogical, with 2,961 deaths due to terrorist attacks on American soil from 2001 to 2014, all but 59 of these being from 9/11. This amount drastically decreased over the following years with 36 Americans killed in terrorist attacks on home soil from 2004 to 2014.
With the Oct. 7 attacks, Israel’s invasion and occupation of much of the West Bank has further increased tension in Western and Muslim relations. The invasion of the Gaza strip marks a repeated cycle of extremely excessive responses to terrorist attacks by Western forces. This has been seen before, with the American post-9/11 conflicts in the Middle East leading to an estimated 900,000 direct deaths and 4.5 million indirect deaths.
Journalism sent to show the truth in the Gaza strip has also been brutally oppressed by Israeli forces, with at least 116 journalists killed in the West Bank since October. In comparison, just 60 journalists were killed during the duration of the Vietnam war. This has made the period since the Oct. 7 attacks the deadliest for journalists since the CPJ began gathering data, a nonprofit organization created to protect journalists from abuses due to their reporting.
However, it seems many Americans have no pity towards those suffering in these conflicts, with only 27% of Americans feeling sympathy for Palestinians in a recent poll. It is evident that negative media coverage influences these sentiments, with a review of articles showing that 80% of American articles mentioning Muslims or Islam were negative. In comparison, a lesser, 49% of American articles mentioning Judaism were negative.
Discrimination against Muslims and Islamic groups are justified by Western media due to the mental toll from the imprint of the 9/11 attacks. The images of this attack have been etched into the brains of Americans through the many media programs regarding it. This has led to Americans being extremely scared of potential terrorist attacks, especially those from Islamic extremists.
American federal interests are to blame for the cause of Islamic extremism. During the height of the Cold War, Afghanistan was controlled by a Soviet backed Socialist government. Opposing US beliefs led to the CIA supporting extremist rebels (known as the Mujahideen) to overthrow the Afghan government, many of whom were rebelling due to their radical ideas.
After the failed intervention of the Red Army, the Mujahideen fought between each other for control of the state, with the Taliban coming up on top and imposing a repressive regime. This marked the first time a Islamic extremist group gained so much power and influence.
With extremist control in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda formed in the country with the majority of its members being made up of ex-Mujahideen. This group organized and carried out the 9/11 attacks, leading a U.S. coalition to overthrow the Afghan government in 2001.
Furthering the development of extremism, the terrorist group ISIS (Islamic state Iraq, Syria) formed in 2004, developing from the remains of the weakened Al-Qaeda. In February 2020, President Donald Trump agreed to the Doha Agreement with Taliban leadership. This led to a U.S. withdrawal in 2021 under President Biden, with the Taliban quickly taking the country over for the first time in 20 years.
The intervention of Western troops in the Middle East has only increased extremist ideas with much of the youth indoctrinated due to the lack of education during wartime. This is seen in Gaza where 625,000 students are unable to go to school due to the current conflict. Even if Israel did withdraw, schooling would be virtually impossible due to Israel’s destruction of 56% of school facilities.
It is likely that without education and the death of friends and family, many young people in Gaza will join Iranian backed extremists groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
These abuses undoubtedly will lead to the spread of Islamic extremism in the Middle East. With the expansion of extremism will come increased attacks in Western countries, leading to Western powers further destabilizing these regions. With destabilization, immigration from Muslim majority nations to the West will increase, where these groups will face social discrimination.
Overall, despite the truth, Western media will continue to report on conflicts involving Muslims with extreme bias. Western articles use words such as “murdered” to describe the Oct. 7 attacks, but use words such as “killed” to describe the murder of Palestinians in Gaza. These purposefully biased aspects dehumanize Muslims simply for their ethnicities and religion. The continued hatred towards Muslims in Western culture, a cycle of hatred and death will repeat unless the truth is reported.
