Muslim identity

7/29/2019 Muslim identity

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Freedom.rhght

Ban Muslim Head Scarves

On another controversial issue, the prohibition on wearing head scarves by Muslim

women in public places including schools, attitudes are uniformly negative in the Muslim world

but differ sharply among non-Muslim countries.

Majorities in the U.S., Canada and Great Britain, as well as pluralities in Spain, Russia and

Poland, view such prohibitions as a bad idea. However, in France, where a ban on wearing head

scarves and other conspicuous religious symbols in secular schools went into effect last year, a

large majority (78%) favors such prohibitions. They are joined in this view by smaller majorities

in Germany (54%), the Netherlands (51%) and by nearly two-thirds of the Indian public (66%).

Cold War (PRE 9/11) and Western Mass Media:

At the beginning of the cold war, the unprecedented involvement of United States in

international politics, the United States mass media fully supported the foreign policies. It was

dangerous for print and electronic media practitioner to defy or challenge administration policy

after 1947 because the media men might be labelled as the communist or agents of former

USSR. The establishment media, including such newspapers as the Times and the Herald

Tribune and such news magazines as Time and News Week, these magazines rarely criticized

the foreign policies of Harry S. Truman during Cold war.

The radio and emerging TV networks followed the footmarks, of print media in

supporting United States foreign policy. Moreover, prominent opinion builders, and states

department officials enjoyed a symbiotic relationship. For example renowned columnist Walter

Lipmann and James Reston rendered their expertise in promotion of United States policies.

Nevertheless, during the Korean War, United States mass media carried out the line of

direction of United States govt. in December 1950, after complaints from Seoul , full censorship


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imposed by White House was accepted by the United States mass media in the name of greater

national interest.

Literally speaking, the public in United States had accepted such popular instruments of

containment as the Truman Doctrine; the Marshall plan and the North Atlantic Treaty

organization (NATO) because United States mass media supported policies and rarely criticized

these policies in their publications.

Even the media had not published any material against CIA's covert activities (CIA

orchestrated civil war in Guatemala to empower pro western regime).In spite of exclusive stories

dug out by New York Times and the Times, the publisher compliance with Washington request

and had not published anything about it may be called nefarious, subversive activities of CIA.

According to one classified report, CIA also recruited journalists, on the pay role and these

worked for promotion of United States foreign policy. Moreover, it often planted false stories in

press to fulfil certain foreign policy goals. For instance, several media men backup by CIA,

initiated a disinformation campaign in the media against Libyan President Moammar-al-Qadaffi

in order to lay the ground work for military attacks against Libya.


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Muslim work

schleifer, prof. dr suleiman abdallahAbdallah Schleifer is a Middle East expert who has covered the region for over 30 years. He hasworked for NBC and many other international media outlets. A professor emeritus at the AmericanUniversity in Cairo, Schleifer is considered a bridge-builder between cultures.KUWAIT

al mutawa, jassemJassem al Mutawa is the president of Iqra satellite channel, an Islamic TV channel presentingprograms on everyday life problems concerning spiritual, cultural, social and economic issuesfrom a modern Islamic perspective.

baksh, nazimBaksh is a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television and radio producer specializing in rootcauses of terrorism. He also covers issues relating to traditionalist Islam. He is a former MasseyFellow and has produced the international affairs radio program Dispatches since 2000.

amanullah, shahedShahed Amanullah is the editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com, a website dedicated to opinionsand social analyses from the Muslim world. An award-winning journalist, Amanuallah is alsothe creator of a number of websites that serve as resources for Muslim products and mosques.

In uk wolfe, michaelMichael Wolfe is the president and executive producer of Unity Productions Foundation, whichpromotes peace through media. He has written a number of works on Islam and also hosted atelevised account of the Hajj for 'Nightline' in 1997 that was nominated for several awards.

Khaled Hosseini, an Afghani writer based in America has establishedhimself internationally because of his criticism of the Islamic World. He is an

Americanized Muslim because he has little knowledge of his religion. In hisnovels, A Thousand Splendid Sunsand A Kite Runner, he has portrayed theatrocities of the Taliban in Afghanistan. We, Muslim all over the world condemnPakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan StudiesVol. 3, No. 3 (2011)Taliban but what about the destruction done by the American forces on

Afghanistan, why is he not able to depict that? If he is unbiased then why he is notable to portray the impact and effect of United States on Afghani people and theircountry?Though Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1965 but hecompleted his schooling and other education in United States and he still livesthere. In 2003, he released his debut novel, The Kite Runner, which became abestseller, selling in more than almost 48 countries. In 2006, he was named asgoodwill envoy to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugees Agency. It is so becauseof the popularity of his novel. His second novel, A Thousand Splendid Sunswas


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released in May of 2007. In 2008, the book was the best novel in the UK (as ofApril 11, 2008), with more than 700,000 copies sold. Currently it is published in40 countries. The books written by Hosseini are so popular in the West because ofhis criticism of Islam.

Ayaan Hisri Ali is a Somalian born African Muslim, who lives in

Netherlands. She is a Dutch writer, activist and a politician. She is theinternationally renowned author of her memoirs, The Caged Virginsand Infidel.Ali published Infidelin 2007, her autobiography that details Ayaans life fromchildhood to her current years in America. She is living under the shadow of afatwa issued by Islamic fundamentalists for her anti__Islamic views. She is a criticof Islam and she has reflected this in most of her writings. She has received deaththreats for her controversial writings and views on Islam. Ali is a controversialpolitical figure and very much admired in the West. Being an African still she hasa successful career in the politics of Netherlands because of her anti__Islamicviews and ideas. In the West she is considered champion of free speech and apolitical superstar. But she is disowned by her own father and expelled from her

family which considers her a traitor.Among all these writers, the one common thing is that, they are living inWest and they have patronized by the Western Countries because they arecriticizing Islam. They are often getting Awards, Prizes and Honours. Though,being exiled from their own countries they have been patronized by the Westernworld, which is providing them a permanent refuge. All these writers want toreform Islam but with the negative approach. They should see the examples ofRaja Ram Mohan Roy, Mahatma and many other social reformers who havereformed the Hindu society by abolishing many unjust age-old customs andtraditions without criticizing the Hindu religion.

Salman Rushdie can be termed as pioneer in term of criticizing Islam throughwriting. He has started a trend which has been followed by many others. Born inBombay (now Mumbai), he went to a school there but later completed his2 In the Sacred Text of the Muslims.

Shamenaz Banoschooling and other education in England. After graduation he went to Pakistan in1964, where he worked in a television as a copywriter for an advertising agency.

After that he returned to England and started writing. He published his first novel,Grimusin 1975. His second novel and the most prestigious, Midnights Childrenwas published in 1981. It won many awards and prizes including thedistinguished Booker Prize for fiction. In 1993 it was even judged fit for Bookersof Bookers, the best novel to have won the Booker Prize for fiction in the awards

25-year history. Though he wrote many novels and a childrens book, his fourth novel, Satanic Verses, led to accusations of blasphemy against Islam anddemonstrations by Islamists groups in India, Pakistan and the world over. He wasbanned by the Islamic World and a fatwawas issued on him by the orthodoxIranian leadership on 14th Feb 1984. As far as he is concerned, he is more Britishthan Muslim? How can he write about Islam when he does not know anythingabout it? Or he can even be called as Anglicized Muslim.


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