Jihad, which has come to be perceived as ‘holy war’ in American media and by many Americans, is a hot topic of debate throughout the world but especially in the West.

Evidence

What Americans know—or think they know—about Islam is largely influenced by the media, especially for Americans who are not acquainted with a Muslim or who have little to no formal education about Islam. 66 This is because the media is right at our fingertips. However, when the media determines who is telling the story, what is included or excluded, and how the story is packaged and presented, there is an obvious bias in the information being presented. 67 Many Americans (politicians, Islamophobes, etc.) are afraid of the “Islamization of America,” in which shari’a would take precedence over the U.S. Constitution. They are afraid that armed jihad (violent extremism) is just one step of this elaborate plan to Islamize America, in which all Muslims will participate because that is what the Qur’an and Muhammad supposedly call for. For this reason, they oppose jihad, Islam, and Muslims as a whole. — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad, 75 (#expands, via linked claim)

Scholarly studies of the Western news media’s framing of Islam highlight two prevalent themes: terrorism and the oppression of women. Since 9/11, the media’s interest in these themes has increased significantly, and its reporting has fortified the widespread conviction that Islam is defined primarily in relation to violence and misogyny. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 499 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Jihad means struggle and carries a contested internal and external history — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 285; Representations of jihad in American film and television are also very relevant to how Americans view jihad and Islam.; There are also traces of terrorism in American film, going back as far as 1926 with Old Ironsides. Jack Shaheen, an expert on the portrayal of Muslims and Arabs in Hollywood films, claimed that American movies in recent decades ‘regularly link the Islamic faith with male supremacy, holy war, and acts of terror, depicting Arabs and Muslims as hostile alien intruders, and as lecherous, oily sheikhs intent on using nuclear weapons.’ He also estimated that, as of 2008, there were more than 1,150 films that defame Muslims and Arabs. A very clear example of the misrepresentation of jihad in American film is Rules of Engagement (2000)… The movie portrays all Muslims in the crowd, even children, as anti-American terrorists motivated by religious extremism. (+9 more)

Related

• Representations of jihad in American film and television are also very relevant to how Americans view jihad and Islam. (similarity 0.96)
• Among American Muslims who said it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the U.S. in recent years, the second most-answered reason for this was ‘negative media portrayals.’ In addition, 53%… (similarity 0.89)
• There are also traces of terrorism in American film, going back as far as 1926 with Old Ironsides. Jack Shaheen, an expert on the portrayal of Muslims and Arabs in Hollywood films, claimed that… (similarity 0.89)
• Among American Muslims who said it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the U.S. in recent years, the second most-answered reason for this was negative media portrayals. (similarity 0.88)
• Media framing shapes American attitudes toward Islam and jihad (similarity 0.87)
• 53% of Americans think that coverage of Islam and Muslims by American news organizations is generally unfair to Muslims and Islam. (similarity 0.85)
• Mainstream American television has a history of misrepresenting jihad (similarity 0.84)
• American media conflated Iranians, Arabs, Sunnis, and Shiites into one Muslim menace. (similarity 0.84)
• American commentators framed suicide bombing as repugnant and un-American (similarity 0.84)
• Post-war Middle East events made violence central to US Muslim depictions (similarity 0.83)
• More than 1,150 American films have defamed Muslims and Arabs. (similarity 0.83)
• Western media frames Islam chiefly through terrorism and women’s oppression. (similarity 0.83)
• Media coverage of Muslim violence superficially supports an Islam-violence link (similarity 0.82)
• Structural media economics favor religious explanations over complex political ones (similarity 0.82)
• Asena Karipek — Portrayals of Jihad A Cause of Islamophobia Author (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Media framing shapes American attitudes toward Islam and jihad #expands (0.70) — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad, 75
• Western media frames Islam chiefly through terrorism and women’s oppression. #expands (0.70) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 499
• Among American Muslims who said it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the U.S. in recent years, the second most-answered reason for this was ‘negative media portrayals.’ In addition, 53%… #expands (0.65)
• Mainstream American television has a history of misrepresenting jihad #expands (0.60) — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad, 47
• American media conflated Iranians, Arabs, Sunnis, and Shiites into one Muslim menace. #expands (0.55) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 254
• Post-war Middle East events made violence central to US Muslim depictions #expands (0.50) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 521