Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research - Volume 8, Issue 2, 2015

Most Muslims lay the blame for the perpetuation of societal prejudice against Islam and Muslims at the feet of the media. Media scholars regularly confirm that negative stereotypes prevail in contemporary western media. Yet there are differences between media representation and the effects on actual people’s attitudes. Empirical research is needed to find out if negative media stereotypes of Muslims, Arabs and Islam are actually linked to widespread societal Islamophobia. This article traces audience reactions to a 1960s U.S. sitcom, I Dream of Jeannie, a show replete with ‘orientalist’ representations of Arabs and genies linked to the collection of traditional stories called The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights. The main research finding is that while a variety of responses were uncovered, a consistent difference between non-Muslim and Muslim reactions became apparent: only Muslims noticed orientalist stereotyping the show. I conclude that if North American society is to move beyond Islamophobia and forward to building bridges and integrating Muslims without discrimination into wider society, this cannot be done where non-Muslims do not see negative media stereotypes about Muslims.

This article analyses season two of the Arab reality TV programme titled Arab Idol, a TV series broadcast on the Saudi satellite channel MBC between 8 March and 22 June 2013. Through analysing this case study of Arab Idol, this article explores the rapid success of this genre on pan-Arab TV and attempts to decipher its audience’s interaction both online and on TV. It also seeks to unpack issues relating to the way identity, culture and nationalism are represented and debated. These programmes have been critically analysed following Fowler’s (1991) and Fairclough’s (2003) seminal texts. Results of this study reveal that the development of such a genre of TV programming in the region has opened up a new era not only for unusual entertainment but also for audience participation and engagement. As much as it can be perceived as a space for virtual democratic practice and free debates on nationalism and identity, this programme can also be considered as a unifying sphere that consolidates not only the feeling of national belonging but also the pan-Arab collective sense of the Ummah (global community).

Good communication skills are vital for success in life. In any conversation, involved parties may feel their personality is vulnerable and under attack. Likewise, we may quite often initiate a discussion with others about anything and unexpectedly find ourselves under attack by someone. The main reason is that someone began to feel insecure. Any time we feel insecure in a discussion we use one of the following strategies: fighting through bullying, labelling, name-calling, cynicism, antagonism; or dodging via the use of silence, avoiding others, or hiding our feelings. Consequently, effective communication retreats and the dialogue moves away from the subject matter towards protecting the self by resorting to defensive communication. Interacting defensively might look like we are still conversing over the subject matter; however, in reality, we are fighting about each other’s worries; yet we conceivably do not even comprehend ourselves or others in the process. In addition, we may not grasp what one says that triggered the other person’s vulnerability. This article looks at the extent to which Middle Eastern people use labelling and bullying as communication tools of control and domination along with the effects of using these tools on themselves, their parents and the wider societies. An exploratory survey was conducted to collect data. Key findings reveal that males and females using labelling and bullying derive satisfaction of that use. About 21.4 per cent of males and 11.1 per cent of females revealed that they were never taught or trained on ethical behaviours or about avoiding labelling and bullying others in their lives at home and/or in school. Moreover, the study shows that a great majority of bullied and labelled subjects reported to have refrained from informing their school administrators, teachers and parents that they were bullied and labelled by other classmates or peers. Due to the significance of these results, this study recommends that parents and educators should take urgent measures in order to prevent the negative effects of these communication tools on vulnerable individuals in society.

The aim of this empirical study is to measure the impact of applying instructional design principles on students’ attitudes towards learning content. A course entitled ‘Print Quality Control’ offered in the study plan of the Department of Printing, Publishing and Packaging at the Faculty of Applied Arts, Helwan University in Egypt, was selected for the conduct of this experimental work. The course was taught to Group (A) in spring 2008 academic semester. Students’ attitudes towards the following four variables were measured: ‘clarity of course objectives’, ‘appropriateness of the content to the objectives’, ‘information presentation’ and ’ease of understanding the content’. The results of the study in this phase revealed shortcomings in the four variables, as 68 per cent of the students appreciated the clarity of course objectives, 73.5 per cent the appropriateness of the content to the objectives, 70.5 per cent the information presentation and finally 61.5 per cent the ease of understanding the content. Based on the earlier findings, the course was then updated and two importantn analyses were conducted: the first was analysis of the course learning outcomes, and the second was analysis of the updated content. Thereafter and to fill in the gaps found in the original course, a new course design was developed using media and e-learning development tools, including Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Director, Adobe Flash and Course Genie. This course design was achieved through the application of instructional design principles within a frame of learning theories and the systematic development of the learning materials. The new course design was then validated by ten experts using the BACMAN model and got an average of 4.1 out of 5; it was subsequently published through the Blackboard Learning Management System and taught to Group (B) in spring 2009 academic semester. An analysis of students’ attitudes in Group (B) revealed noticeable improvements in relation to the same variables; 100 per cent of the students appreciated the clarity of course objectives, 100 per cent the appropriateness of the content to the objectives, 83.3 per cent the information presentation and finally 100 per cent the ease of understanding the content.

This article studies the social media reporting of the Norwegian attacks by Anders Breivik with specific focus on the user commentary of YouTube versions of the breaking story in four media organizations, namely CNN, BBC, NBC and PJTV. Within the context of Islamophobia, the article uses critical discourse analysis (CDA) to understand the thread of the reporting and user comments on the Norwegian attacks. It is important to combine the two theoretical approaches because Islamophobia, as discussed by Allen (2010), is rising in Europe, and the swift reaction of the media in attributing terror attacks to Muslims without scrutiny shows how crucial it is to situate the study within the Islamophobia paradigm, while CDA will help us to understand the Islamophobic themes that emerged in the reporting of the story, and how the user-generated comments can contribute to our understanding of the rise of Islamophobia in the West. The study found three key themes that dominated discussions among the users on YouTube: intolerance/violence/immigration associated with Muslims in Europe, conspiracy theories and counter or alternative views from the opinions expressed by some users. This article concludes by agreeing with the position of Freedman and Thussu (2012) that there is a need to address the way stories about Muslims are reported in the West, otherwise there could be serious consequences for society, including foreign policy mistakes that can be avoided.