Utah Muslims decry unbalanced media coverage
Utah Muslims gave some thoughts, as well as a dose of healthy criticism to representatives of the Deseret Morning News, Salt Lake Tribune and City Weekly during a roundtable discussion at the University of Utah Saturday.
Members of the Muslim Forum of Utah sent an open invitation to Utah's media to have a heart-to-heart discussion about reporting on Muslims, as well as Islam itself. Many organizers were disappointed that none of the television stations showed up.
Asha Patel, a U.S.-born citizen who converted to Islam, said it has been a struggle since 9/11 to fight the misconception that Islam is a religion of violence. It also doesn't help, she said, when media outlets attribute bombings to "Islamic terrorists."
"We don't refer to the IRA as Catholic terrorists," Patel said. "There are Muslims who kill people, but there are others who kill people as well."
Many in the U.S. media assume all Muslims are Arab and vice versa, speakers noted, but statistics show that less than 20 percent of all Muslims worldwide come from an Arabic heritage.
ElGenaidi said a recent survey of U.S. Muslims indicated that 77 percent of them have encountered bias in their workplace. Of those, 45 percent considered quitting their jobs, and 55 percent said the bias affected their productivity. Yet only 23 percent reported their concerns to management.
In schools, Muslim children, particularly girls, are being harassed because they wear a hijab to school, ElGenaidi said. Most of that stems from a lack of understanding and what other children learn about Islam in the media, ElGenaidi said.
Many attending Saturday's meeting said the local media tends to stereotype when covering Islamic events. Cameras are usually trained on those who dress differently, and the blonde Muslim dressed in ordinary clothes is ignored, Patel said. "I really believe that the media has good intentions," she added.
Maysa Kergaye, a former principal of a local Islamic elementary school, said she recalls being irked when she invited local media to the school. With most posters in English on the walls, Kergaye said one photographer managed to get an angle with just arabic posters displayed. Although kids spend six hours learning in class, most media wanted to take pictures of the children doing their end-of-school prayer, she said.
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