Problem of a single story

Four people were killed in a terrorist attack in Vienna on Nov 2. The attacker, identified as Kutjima Fetzulai and later shot dead by the police, is believed to be associated with Islamic State group. His association with IS obviously makes him a Muslim giving a fresh impetus to the rising fear of terrorism associated with a particular faith and the resultant upsurge in Islamophobia. Such incidents of terrorism have brought a bad name to Muslims, leading to the creation of a stereotype. However, during the Vienna attack and other such earlier incidents, Muslims have helped save lives. In Vienna, three Muslim Austrian nationals – two men of Turkish origin and one with roots in Palestine – helped those wounded in the attack. The Vienna mayor and other administration officials have lauded these men for their humanitarian efforts. One of the men has been given a police patch. Stories of Muslim men and women providing help and relief to victims of terror attacks, dubbed incidents of Islamic terrorism, abound. Remember the young Pakistani-American Salman Hamdani, who died while providing relief to victims of 9/11.

Here the problem of a single story comes up. Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie has explained this problem in light of her own experience and also with reference to stereotypes about Africa. She says she was educated in English medium in Nigeria where English is the official language and she was familiar with modern living, but when she arrived in the US to study at a university her roommate thought that she did not know how to light a stove. In Nigeria, she and her family considered their domestic help and his family very poor and hence incapable of producing anything beautiful. She was proved wrong when she visited the servant’s home and saw the family making attractive baskets. Often non-Africans mention Africa as a country. This is because of the over-generalised belief about the continent. This applies to communities in other parts of the world too. Sometimes the victims themselves unwittingly help create such negatives.