The attacks organized by ISIS and other Islam extremist groups have led to the relocation of some of the locals in various regions where these groups operated. The local residents wanted to flee in search of a better and safer region. Many of the immigrants have settled either in Europe or in North America, but even in these regions, they still face rejection and oppression from the locals. Evaluating the extent of the issue, the media play a major role in fueling the fear that people in Europe and North America have created towards the Islam immigrants. This paper, therefore, discusses the impact of the media on the spread of negativity towards the Islam immigrants in Europe and North America.
Muslim immigrants and refugees seeking a safer environment to escape from their war-torn countries are portrayed by the western media as supporters of terrorism and the Islamic terrorist groups you can watch movie critique example on this topic. The settlement of the Muslim immigrants in Europe and North America has been considered as an approach that the ISIS has used to enter the West and plan the attacks. To support their claim and to create tension and fear among the citizens in these two regions, the media has used edited images that have been spread via the social media and print magazine. A militant against the ISIS was once labeled as a supporter of ISIS living in Europe as a refugee, which was regarded as a method for supporting the theory that the group used the vulnerable refugees to get access to the West. Some of the images used as the evidence collected by the reporters and the media sources show that the number of Muslims in Western Europe and America is continually growing. In social terms this creates tension in the society as many theories regarding their influence on the community begin to emerge. In Western Europe, the Muslim immigrant communities have started a competition for the available resources. Eventually, their presence can lead to the reduction of job opportunities for the locals. From a religious standpoint, the increase in the number of Muslims means that they will dominate these regions overpowering the people’s religious beliefs.
The media has portrayed the Muslim refugees and immigrants as a community with an evil intention in their regions and not as immigrants seeking a safe place to shelter themselves from the war back in their homes. As a result, the public both in Europe and in America have disassociated themselves from the immigrants. Many of the images released to the press have shown barbaric actions caused by the terrorist movements in their native countries, such as, for example, Syria. Other images of past actions or protests have been posted especially on social media, particularly the ones portraying the Islamic communities disagreeing with the police or the public. When such news reaches the media houses, the information on the similar illegal activities or the people involved is insufficient. Therefore, theories or speculations on the movement of the terrorists, the position of the society, and the government’s attitude are formulated. Among the general public, the continuous images and information passed in the media have created a sense of negativity towards the Islam and the immigrants coming into the country. Non-Muslim Europeans started to feel that the Muslim population in the country is harboring fugitives and sympathizing with them. This results in the community’s negative perception that all the Muslims support terrorism irrespective of their race or origin. The indifference towards the Muslim community has led to their inability to associate themselves with the non-Muslim communities due to the fear of radicalization or alienation. As a result, the theory of possible domestic attacks by terrorists continues to grow among its sympathizers.
When such information is revealed, the reaction depends on the news and information the society is presented with, which frequently leads to negative outrage on the immigrants. In Europe and North America these theories are popular with many people considering the fact that the immigrants are on the terrorist fighters’ side. This creates a perverted view on the innocence of some of the immigrants seeking refuge. The generalization of the whole race and the community presents Islamic people as fighters and not the victims.
Women and children immigrants are the most affected, as some of them are racially or verbally abused. The media has prompted the development of various theories that racially segregate the women from the children immigrants who are considered to have different objectives in the European countries. The indifference has spread even to some of the Muslim and Islam-born citizens in Europe. Shazia Awan, one British-born Muslim, was told to return to her hometown. This was a message that was mentioned to her via the social media and was aimed at intimidating her. The alienation of the communities increases fears among the communities and even the nationalities of Europe and North America that are of Islam origin.
The unfavorable image presented towards the Muslim immigrants by the media has entered Europe and North America due to xenophobia. The media has portrayed the Muslim immigrants as a community with a negative intention that is searching for a safe place to hide while there is a war in their country. For instance, the Mail Online mentioned in a post that Europe has to stay alert when accepting the immigrants, since these numbers draw close attention. The overwhelming majority of the immigrants are young male who can disturb the European balance. Additionally, it stated that with the massive influx of young men in the region, there is a high probability of the aggression, which could affect various systems in the region. Such statistics and arguments pose a serious concern for the public and encourage them to take some measures if the government does not act accordingly. It is a manifestation of the society’s fear that the Muslim immigrants pose a threat to the community.
Despite the positive images in some of the media presentations, the negative sides still tend to prevail due to the information that continually emphasizes on the immigrant-hostile actions while ignoring the non-Muslim hostile actions. Many attacks led by the Muslim community have been communicated and repeated through many media sources with the intention of spreading the information, while those of the non-Muslim communities were not aired but ignored. For instance, the right-wing resistance groups have been responsible for various attacks in Europe with public knowledge and the government trying to address the issue. Some of the cruel attacks included public racist abuse, the butchering of nearly 77 people in a killing rampage in Norway, and crimes against the Muslims. One of these groups is the EDL (English Defense League), which has the UK origin and was formed to help fight for the issue of the elimination of the extremist group al-Muhajiroun. The group has subsequently changed its objectives and launched a campaign against Muslim immigrants while protesting to voice their cause.
The violence of these groups has intensified, but the authority and the media have paid more attention to the Muslim community with the immigrants that became the focal center of interest. The ignorance of the media towards the right-wing terrorist groups in the country resulted in increase in their numbers and influence. However, these groups bring less damage to the community as compared to the Islamic terrorist groups. Similarly, the concept that the Islamic terrorist groups have established a ‘clash of civilizations’ continues to threaten the West with the media ignoring the issues at home to focus on the larger risk that in their view affects a greater number of people.
In conclusion, the public continues to see the Islam immigrants as terrorist supporters with most of the images and the news documented showing the negative images only. The media constantly faces a challenge in collecting information that relates to the immigrants, but even without proper of reportage, the media houses are in a competition to be the first to present the information about the immigrants. Some of the images are edited to exaggerate the facts without considering that to the audience, these images express the negative pictures and acts and lack of support. The women and children who suffer when trying to run from their war-torn countries are also included in the pictures. Negativity and hostility continue to grow in the eyes of the public, with the media in the center of the changes in these perceptions. Despite the threat that the West awaits from the Muslim community, not all the immigrants are dangerous to the country as claimed in different allegations. Rather than focusing on the creating a division as the Islamic extremist organizations have sought to achieve, there is a need to shift the focus to the national security now to ensure that there is a need to increase vigilance in determining the immigrants entering the country. It is also important to adopt a positive approach towards presenting the right information to the public without distorting the exact information.