Muslims slam their portrayal in the media

The image of Muslims promoted by national and local media in Britain
needs to be more positive, according to a new survey carried out by the
Federation of Student Islamic Societies.

It has revealed that 90
per cent of 400 Muslim students questioned thought the overall image of
Muslims in the media needed to be changed.

The survey also
revealed that 50 per cent of Muslim students have had personal
experience of Islamophobia and believed negative reporting would
further polarise the debate and increase levels of suspicion and
discrimination.

Sohaib Saeed, a student at Edinburgh University
speaking on Wednesday’s BBC Radio 4’s Today programme said: “Some
sections of the media are intent on portraying things negatively. Some
very strange things are put together – images of a Muslim woman wearing
a hijab or face veil are exploited, or a picture of some people praying
is put with the headline ‘Extremism hits our town’.

These things
create a negative image in people’s minds. There are people in the
media who can definitely make a start to change this.”

FOSIS
president Wakkas Khan said: “Following the attacks in London we have
seen Muslim youth thrust into the spotlight. With the survey we are
asking them directly about their concerns.”