Western press creates Islam's stigma<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid criticized on Tuesday the
\nWestern media for associating Islam with violence, saying that
\nthe move had led to an inaccurate perception of the religion.<\/p>\n
The incorrect perception, according to Nurcholish, has
\nresulted in misunderstanding and exacerbated conflicts among
\nfollowers of different religious groups in the world.<\/p>\n
\"The Western media does not really understand Islam and lately
\nthey have identified Islam with violence just because several
\nMuslims have attacked them (Western targets). This is what I call
\nan uninformed generalization as their judgment is based on
\nincomplete information,\" Nurcholish said on the second day of the
\nInternational Conference of Muslim Scholars in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Gregory Fealy from the Australian National University,
\nmeanwhile, said that the media played an important role in
\nconstructing fault lines across communities.<\/p>\n
\"For example, the Western media write about the dichotomy of
\nIndonesian Muslims with the moderates represented by Nadhatul
\nUlama and Muhammadiyah and the radicals represented by Jamaah
\nIslamiyah as clear cut and that there is an on-going war between
\nthe two,\" said Fealy.<\/p>\n
He said the categorization led to the notion that the
\nmoderates should win the battle against the radicals, thus
\nencouraging tension between religious groups in the country.<\/p>\n
Fealy said that the clear cut dichotomy was in fact misleading
\nas many Muslim groups encompass both elements.<\/p>\n
\"The Justice and Prosperous Party is a good example. It is
\nheavily influenced by Muslim Brotherhood (an Egypt-based radical
\nmovement that aims to form a pan Islamic state) but ... they
\nappear as an example of democrats, pluralist in forming
\ncoalitions and upholders of high ethical standards in their
\npublic life,\" Fealy said.<\/p>\n
He said that the influence of the United States in encouraging
\nthe dichotomy was evident as the U.S. was interested in seeing
\nthe moderates rule the Islamic world of Islam rather than the
\nradicals, who they claim were behind the Sept. 11 attacks.<\/p>\n
After the devastating attacks and ensuing acts of terror
\nacross the world attributed to hard-line Muslims, Islam has been
\nstigmatized. Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world,
\nfell victim to terror attacks at the hands of homegrown zealots.<\/p>\n
Nurcholish concurred and urged the Indonesian media not to
\nfollow the Western media in associating Islam with violence.<\/p>\n
\"The most important thing is to stay independent. However,
\nfree press doesn't mean unlimited freedom as the media must not
\ninterfere with others' rights and national security, and also
\nmust not publish excessive obscenity,\" said Nurcholish.<\/p>\n
As an example of generalizations against Islam, the issue of
\nthe head scarf prohibition in French public schools emerged on
\nthe sidelines of the conference.<\/p>\n
Media reports said earlier that demonstrations were rife in
\nFrance in protest of the government's policy as if all Muslims in
\nthe country suffered as a result of the discriminatory policy.<\/p>\n
\"The fact is that 49 percent of Muslim women in France agree
\nwith the law and only 43 percent oppose it,\" said Andree Feillard
\nof the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme Orient.<\/p>\n
A representative from France Muslim Council, Aslam Timol, also
\nacknowledged that only around 10 percent of Muslim French women
\nwore the head scarf.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/western-press-creates-islams-stigma-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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