KARACHI:
The bias and prejudice against Muslims intensified since the 9/11 attacks and has continued to persist since then. The Western media regularly portrays Muslims as terrorists in television shows and films. Attacks carried out by Muslims are immediately categorised as terrorism by Western news outlets. However, this is not the case for terrorist attacks carried out by other religious groups. The acts of a minority group of Muslims have been used to demonise and isolate the entire Muslim community.
On the contrary, the genocidal attacks against Muslims are ignored by the Western media. The biggest example is the atrocities committed by the Myanmar military against the Muslim minority of Rohingya. Isolated and large-scale attacks against the Muslim diaspora in the West are also commonplace.
If the Western media continues to promote a biased view of the Muslim community, mutual peace and harmony are impossible. Leaders from Muslim countries must come together to alleviate their negative image. Instead of pursuing anti-Muslim rhetoric, leaders from non-Muslim countries should pursue anti-terrorism rhetoric because terrorism is a global threat. Global discourse on peace should be free of all differences.
Raja Yousaf
Attock
Published in The Express Tribune, October 12th, 2021.
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