(ENG102) Islam

7/21/2019 (ENG102) Islam

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Heston Allred

Eng 102

Section 76151, Online

Islam Is a Religion, Not a Terror Idealogy

Jocelyne Cesari

CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/08/24/cesari.islam.is.a.religion/index.html

On Ground Zero Mosque New Yorks Bloomberg STILL Doesnt It

Michael Goodwin

Fox News

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/08/25/michael-goodwin-ground-zero-

mosque-bloomberg-ramadan-dinner-paterson-dolan/ews

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The articles, "On Ground Zero Mosque New York's B loomberg STILL

Doesn't Get It" and, "Islam Is a Religion, Not a Terror Ideology," each support

opposite positions i n reference to a proposed Islamic m osque being built in New

York City near ground zero. The rst opposes t he building of the mosque. The

second supports i t. Their positions a re based on different rhetorical strategies

some of which are used only in one of the articles as well as some which can be

found in both.

Both articles' headlines a lone communicate through implication the

attitudes o f each towards t he proposed mosque. Jocelyne Cesari's h eadline

contrasts t wo different attitudes o r ideas a bout the manner in which the title or

term "Islam" is vi ewed and categorized. It can be assumed she is r eferring

specically to the way t he general American populace views o r uses t he t erm and

more generally towards t he w ay "W esterners" do b ecause the a rticle is p ublished

on a fairly well known U.S. National news corporation's w ebsite. In addition to

that the article later more explicitly d enes t he audience by s tating, "American

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Heston Allred

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and European debate o n Islam often revolvesBut because many Westerners

associate Islam" Thus, by c ontrasting that Islam is a religion but is n ot a terror

ideology i t is e vident that the article is i n support of the building of the mosque

and that any o pposition to it would be because of the terrorist nature of Islam.

The other article by Michael Goodwin also uses i mplication within the headline,

which communicates t he antagonistic a ttitude of the article towards t he mosque.

New York C ity's m ayor is cr iticized in the headline, "New York's B loomberg STILL

Doesn't Get It". The mayor is i n support of the mosque therefore we can surmise

the author and article are not.

Another rhetorical strategy used is language choice. The article against

the building o f the m osque is r eplete w ith n umerous exa mples o f words a nd

phrases, which often seemed to be aimed at criticizing and in some instances

belittling. Through name-calling and sarcasm politicians, businessmen, one of

the developers o f the mosque and h is w ife, (all of whom are openly for the

mosque) are criticized. For example the article states, "The movement would b e

complete if only Mayor Bloomberg came to his se nses." It then s tates, "The

project's co -founder, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf went so far as t o say, "the fact we

are getting this kind of attention is a sign of success." that's either dopey or

7/21/2019 (ENG102) Islam

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Heston Allred

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dangerous, especially for someone supposedly trying to promote U.S.- Muslim

relations." The w ords dopey and dangerous are u sed to criticize a specic c o-

founder of the m osque and the phrase "came to his se nses" is u sed negatively in

reference to the c ity's m ayor. P hrases su ch as "cold insistence," "darkest

concerns," and "He h as i t perfectly backwards," are a lso used when talking a bout

supporters or advocates of the mosque. The other article is a lso critical, however

the critiques a re directed towards a n idea or viewpoint rather than towards

specic p eople. Words su ch as " disturbingly" are used to communicate that

certain attitudes o ught to alarm the general public, although in very few

instances. Furthermore the words " collusion" and "unease" along with the phrase

"extreme right-wing parliamentarian" nd reference to what the author considers

the political attitude and bias o f national governments i n the west. These words

and phrases c onnote that the political stance of the west is m orally s uspect

without further examination.

In conclusion the articles have conicting attitudes t oward the same issue.

However, they both use similar rhetorical strategies. Both imply certain attitudes

through their headlines a s w ell as u se a certain set of vocabulary a nd language

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choice to demonstrate the worth or worthlessness of a particular position.

Although they differ in regards t o the exact manner in which they do so.

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(ENG102) Islam