An analysis of media and the origin of Islamophobia in Western society.

1. 1
Media, communication technologies, perception and experience: Analysing the relationship
between linguistics and ‘Islamophobia’ in Western news media
Changez Khan “You picked a side after 9/11. I didn't have to. It was picked for me.”
(The Reluctant Fundamentalist 2012)
In contemporarywesternnewsmediathere iswidecoverage surroundingthe word‘terrorism’ and
itsassociationwiththe Islamicreligion.Concurrentwiththisisthe rise of ‘Islamophobia’, defined
throughstudyof the social context,as a social anxietytowardsIslamand Muslims, inWestern
societies(Bleich 2011, p.1581).
The heightened social anxiety towards Islam and its followers have not always existed in Western
societies,which raises the questions of what drives this fear? There is also a strong association with
the word ‘terrorism’ and Islam, which carry heavy negative connotations (Hjelm 2012, p.137).
The unification of the events of 11 September, 2001 and the “war on terror” signifiedheightened
negative publicdiscourse towardsIslamanditsfollowers(Hjelm2012, p.137), whichcoincidedwitha
discourse of representations nationalism and identity in Western news media.
Hjelm’s (2012, p.138) study into the relationship reveals a rise of “moral panic…about Islam and
Muslims in Europe” despite that fact that many Europeans holding thisperception have “never had
personal contactwithaMuslim”,whichare notedtohave occurredinconcurrencewiththe increased
reporting of alleged Islamic motivated “terrorist attacks” across major European cities, such as the
Moscow Train attacks, London Bombings, and Madrid attacks.
This studyaimsto explore andexplain the rhetoricandsocial discourse of ‘Islamophobia’ bytakinga
reductive position of analysis through an exploration of linguistics present in context of Islam,
Muslims, and the ‘War on Terror’ as reflected in the film ‘The Fundamentalist’ (2012).
The film challenges the Western ideologies and perceptions of Islam and Muslims embedded in
Western cultures through the themes social discourse that include identity and perceived reality,
which is a realistic reflection of contemporary rhetoric surrounding the issues.
The discourse isexplored inthe film‘The Fundamentalist’(2012) through the experiencesof the two
maincharacters,ChangezKhanandBobbyLincoln,who playasignificantrolesthat symbolisethe two
opposingsidesof identityconstructedby Westernmediaof ChristianAmericanand foreign Muslims.
Changezis a middle classPakistani Muslimwhomovestothe UnitedStates and pursuesa successful
career as a financial analyst. After the events of September 11, 2001 unfold Changez experiences
suspicion from colleagues and obvious discrimination and humiliation based on stereotypical
assumptions from heightened security as a result of his identity as an immigrant Muslim.
The film‘The Fundamentalist’canhelpcreate an understandingtothe foregroundof ‘Islamophobia’
coupledwithfurtherexplorationintotheWesternexperienceandidentificationof IslamandMuslims
throughthe analysisof the relationshipbetween communication,linguistics,andcognition inregards
to news reporting and the framing of the Muslim and Islamic identity to a Western audience.
Experience of Islam by America and Western countries has been largely through information and
portrayals disseminated via channels of news media, which has with strong evidence shown to
transcend ideologies throughout the mass population in Western countries.

2. 2
Psycholinguistics and Semiotics
Changez Khan “moving human beings in and out of binary columns: worker, liability, American,
Pakistani, martyr, infidel, alive, dead. I was tired of the reduction.
Yes, I'm a Pakistani. Yes, I'm a Muslim. Yes, I'm an opponent of your country's assault on mine. But
that's not all I am”
(The Reluctant Fundamentalist 2012)
Previousstudieshave highlightedthe psychological impactlanguagecanhave oninfluencing the
formationof perceptionandexperience thattheninturnaffectsreactive behaviour.
A reductive approachtoanalysisisprovidedbyFairclough’s(1998) frameworkof Critical Discourse
Analysis,whichshowshowexperience canbe influencedandunderstoodthroughthe studyof
psycholinguistics.
Fairclough (1998, p.361) statesthroughhisstudythat discursive practice, social discourse and
change “is shapedbysocial practicesof language,learningandliteracy”,whichsharesstrong
associatedwiththe “commodificationof language”toachieve social influence. Here Fairclough
(1998, p.361) showshowlanguage playsasignificantrole inUexkull’s(1992, p.319) theoryof
‘Umwelts’ orreality.
An example from the film‘The ReluctantFundamentalist’ alludestothe constantstrategicuse of
collocations(Fairclough1998, p.362) in Westernmediastereotypingof MuslimsandIslamas
Changezrecountsthe listof words “worker,liability,American,Pakistani,martyr,infidel,alive,
dead”,which holdnegative connotations tothe peopleof thiscommodifiedidentity. Here astrong
relationshipiscreatedwithavarietyof wordswithnegative connotationshavingthe abilitytoform
a negative perceptionof Muslimidentity. Rababah(2015, p.116) drawson herpreviousresearch
that highlights“the powerful roleof newspapersininfluencingpublicperceptionsmainlythrough
the use of semanticchange”by“activatingthe semanticshiftof the words‘terrorism’ and
‘fundamentalism’byrestrictingtheirmeaningtowardsArabsandMuslims”,whichprovides
evidence of Fairclough’s(1998) theoretical social influencefromcollocations.
Changezendswith“that’snotall that I am” (The ReluctantFundamentalist2012) insinuatesthe fact
that Westernmediauseslanguage suchascollocationstoforma generalisedandstereotypical
identityof Muslims,whichengenderfearintothe massaudience whomasnotedbefore have
nothingtochange theirperceptionof MuslimsandIslamastheironlyexperiencesare
technologicallymediated.
BuildingfromFairclough’stheoriesandframeworksof language discourse,andhow thisaffects
perceptionandchallengesideologiesof identityandreligion,isUexkull’s(1992) theoriesof realities
and howit isassociatedwithperceptionandexperience made possiblethroughcommunication
mechanisms.
Uexkull (1992, 319-320) coinsthe term‘Umwelts’toexplainthe perceivedrealityof anorganismas
a resultof its experience of the worldthroughthe complexcommunicativeinteractions.Uexkull
explainsthe significance of the body’s biological communicationmechanismsanditsinteractionwith
data receivedfromthe externalenvironmentthatinfluencesthe organisms‘Umwelt’.
Rababah’s(2015, p.113) linguisticanalysisof the connotative meaningsof termsusedinthe context
of ‘The War on Terror’ linksthe fictional representationof Islamophobiadiscourse fromThe

3. 3
Fundamentalist(2012) to the concurrent non-fictional issuessurroundingWesternperceptionsand
misunderstandingof IslamandMuslims.
The film’stitle,“The Fundamentalist”(2012), initself issymbolictothe social discourse involving
the strategicimplementationof linguisticsthathave engenderedagenericidentity of Islamand
Muslimsthatencouragesthe emotions of fearandanxiety.
Rababah(2015, p.123) notesthe historical usage of the word ‘fundamentalism’bymanynewspapers
inWesterncountries.Overthe past decade,duringthe raisedawarenessof IslaminWesternand
Europeancountries throughmassmediaespeciallyafterthe eventsof September11,2001, the
increase of anxietytowardsIslamandMuslims hasbeenstronglyassociatedwiththe increased
usage of the word‘Islamicfundamentalism’ “synonymouslywith‘extremism’and‘terrorism’”,and
“War onTerror” that carriedwithit “strongemotional overtonesorconnotationsthatevoke
stronglynegative reactionsbeyonditsliteral orconceptual meaning”(Rababah2015, p.123).
Rababah’s(2015) researchissupportedbySaleemandThomas(2011, p.15) whose researchshows
that “the post 9/11 antiterroristrhetoricseducesuswithitsdidacticframingof “good-versus-evil”
“simplifications”orstereotyping,whichcreatesanegative superficial understandingof Islamand
laysthe foundationsfor‘umwelts’(Uexkull 1992) of the Westernaudience.
Media and Communication Technologies
ChangezKhan “Your empathy is aroused because of this one man whose face you can see. But with
one line of your pen, thousands of people lose their livelihoods.”
(The Reluctant Fundamentalist 2012)
Technological advances incommunicationsandmedia,whichprovide amediumforlanguage tobe
decodedaddingfurtheraffectstointerpretation, provide furtherguidance tounderstanding the
nature of 21st
Century‘Islamophobia’.
The functionsandsignificance of psycholinguisticscanbe supportedbyfurtherinsightprovided
throughthe studyof the advancesof mediatechnologieswheredataconveyedthroughlanguageis
disseminated.Thishelpstofurtherexplainthe involvementof metacommunication (Bateson2000,
p.178) in the generalisedumweltof those consumingdatarelatingtoIslamandMuslimsinWestern
cultures.
As the filmprogressesChangezisinthe UnitedStates whenthe eventsof September11 unfold, in
whichafterhe is depictedexperiencingsuspicionandharassmentfromhisworkcolleaguesaswell
as beingsingledoutatan airportand subjectedtoa full bodystripsearch.
WhenChangezrelayshisexperience of xenophobiainthe UnitedStates he relaystoBobbyhow the
discriminationhe andotherMuslimsface isbecause of ideologiesthat have beendisseminated
throughthe powerof mediatechnologies.
An analysisof the currentmediaecology revealsthe powerof influence over how dataor
informationisexperience bythe audience throughthe nature of mediatechnologies.Inrelationto
the Western newscoverage of September11,new mediatechnologieshave engenderednew
processesof information/dataconsumptionimpactingthe experience of IslamandMuslims (Hannah
2006, p.623).
Withthe Internetandsocial mediaaddinganew layerof communicationandsocial andcultural
practices,where adeeperinteractionandengagementwithnewsmediaiscapable,the ideologiesof
imaginedidentityandnationalismare furtherembeddedshowing“how profoundanimpactthe new

4. 4
communicationstechnologywouldhave inshapinghow eventsare perceivedbythe worldasa
whole”(Kaplan2006, p.5).
The Internetmediatesexperiencesof IslamandMuslims (Ekman2015, p.2) where new media
technologiessuchthe Internetandsocial mediahave providedaplatformforWesternjournalistic
contentto be disseminatedtoamass audience withaglobal reach.
Language usedto frame narrativesthatinvolve MuslimsandIslam helpstocreate affectby
influencingexperience.Thishasthe effecttoinfluence the audience’sperceptionof reality
suggestedinUexkull’s(1992) conceptof ‘umwelts’.
The use of collocationshighlightedbyFairclough(1998,p.361) playsa importantrole inframingthe
identityof IslamandMuslimsbyusinglinguisticstoinfluencethe experience of Westerncountry
citizens,includingAustralia,UnitedStates,UnitedKingdomandgreaterEurope (Kaplan2006,p.5).
Cooper(1981, p.153) argues the importance Marshall McLuhan’sas it “gave us a greaterview of the
sensoryeffectsof media”with“the formulationorasemiologyof media”.Thiscanbe seeninthe
worksof Ekman(2015) and and Kaplan(2006) who highlightthe importantrole the Internetplayed
inthe discourse inframingthe identityof Islam, Muslims,‘WaronTerror’,and framingthe concept
and ideologyof nationalism. Forexample the film‘The Fundamentalist’(2012) highlightsthe affect
language andsense (Uexkull 1992) hason the perceived realityexperiencedbygeneral Americansof
Islamand Muslimsbyusing Juxtapositionof the characterof Changez,froma middle class
background,whoisnot radical but mistakenlyinthe filmperceivedasradicalisedbyBobbythe
American,ashe is seento reiterate innumerousdialogueshis“love of America”andseenaschasing
the same dreamsthat everyAmericanwantswithhisjob.
In a more physiologicalapproach the wordsthatare collocatedsuchas “fundamentalist”,‘Waron
Terror”, “IslamicMilitants”and“Terrorist” act as signalswhenthe earshearthese wordsbasedon
memoryassociatedwhichsendssignalstothe brainthatdecodesthisinformation andrecognized
throughmemorythe negative emotionsand perceptions surroundingthe narrativesassociatedwith
these words(Bateson2000, p.178).
Buildingfromthe use of linguisticstocreate affectandframe experience throughperception
researchconductedbyJackson(2010, p.4) showsthe educational impactsthe use of language in
mediahashad on the perceivedrealityof IslamandMuslimsbyinstillingsocial andcultural norms
(Hannah2006).
To understandthe impactof linguisticstowardsthe discourseof identitysurroundingMuslimsand
Islamand hownegative associationsandbehaviourtowardsthiscultural andreligiousgroup
originated,itisimportanttounderstandthe nature of humancognition.
It isunderstoodthroughthe researchof psychologyandneuroscience thatsocial cognitionof the
humanmind ishighlyinfluencedbyprocessinginformationthrough schemas (Landauetal 2010,
p.1046). Schema’sare “the basic buildingblocksof social thoughtandattitudes”(Landauetal 2010,
p.1047) where informationfromastimuli iscategorisedandstoredinthe brainsmemory and
triggeredbya relatedstimuli of communicationinordertoquicklyprocessinformation.Itcanbe
seennowhow‘Islamophobia’canbecome partof the social fabricfrom the contemporaryevidence
of the nature of linguisticsusedbynewsreportingof thisschemaof knowledge toimpact‘umwelts
(Uexkull 1992).

5. 5
The collocationsof words thatare usuallyassociatedwithIslamandMuslimsinrepresentationsby
newsreportssuchas ‘War on Terror’ and‘Terrorist’(Jackson2010, p.5) andits relationshiptothe
‘Islamophobia’inWesternculturesisanexample of schemas.
Schemasare exploitedthroughthe use of collocations(Fairclough1998) where the use of one word
such as ‘Terrorist’isinstantlyprocessedbyaudiencesexposedtothisconstructionof realitythrough
newsreportingtobe associatedwithMuslimsandvice versa.Thisthereforetranslatestocivic
culture (Uexkull 1992,p.361) that involvesinMuslimsbeing discriminated againstinthe greater
social contextof the Westernworld,asseenin‘The Fundamentalist’, because these word
associationare formedintoschemasthatthentranslate intothe perceptual narrative thatisheldby
those livinginWesternculturesthatare exposedtothis cultural framing.
Furthermore Landauetal.(2010, p.1048) highlightsthe powerof schemashaswithhow future
stimuli isinterpreted andthe powerthishaswithhow social environmentsare constructedthrough
the exploitationof Schemastoconstruct stereotypes. ForexampleChangezin‘The Fundamentalist’
issingledoutat an airportand stripsearchedbyan Americansecurityofficeronhiswayto a
businessmeetingalthoughhe hasnotdone anythingcriminal norgivenanyindicationof intent.This
isan example of feartowardspeople whoare fitthe Muslimidentityconstructedinthe media.
Conclusion: Affect and Perception
To conclude, itisevidentthatbyunderstandingthe role of language inthe framingof perceptions
fromits communicationfunctionsthroughcognition,we canunderstand the powerlanguagehasto
affectexperience of the external environmentandthence the phenomenonof behaviouroutcomes
that mark social andcultural change,such as inthiscase the ideologiesandactionsfroma
manufacturedfearof the religionorIslamandthose associatedwithit,knownasMuslims.
Furthermore the Landauetal. (2004, p.192) definesall these socialphenomenon’sinthisresearch
as a form of ‘Terror Management’thatisable to be constructedthroughnewsreportingbecause of
the nature of humanconsciousnessandconditionthatispredispositiontodefenditselfto
preconceivedthreatstotheirmortality,whichiswhatlinguisticsinnewsreporting’shasframed
Islamand Muslimstobe in the Westernworldview. Thereforethe ‘Islamophobia’isaresultof a
manufacturedreality,‘umwelts’,whichhasactivatedthe humanmindandbody’snatural defence
mechanismandhasseepeditswayintounconsciousnessaffectingbehaviour.
Thisresearchpaperfocussesonthe phenomenonof ‘Islamophobia’thathaspresenteditself intothe
Westernsocial andcultural discourse byanalysisof researchthatshowshow a sense of fearand
xenophobiabloomsintothe consciousnessinthe Westernwords.Howeverfurtherinsight intothis
phenomenonof social change canbe garneredbyexploringthe origins of ‘The Waron Terror’
throughthe questionsof whydoMuslim’sfeel asense of obligationtodefendandidentitytheir
beliefsandidentity?Whatrole doesmediaandcommunicationsinthe relationshipwithhow the
Islamicworld(IslamicandMiddle Easterncountries) experience andperceivesthe Westernwold?
An analysisof psycholinguistics,mediaandcommunicationtechnologies,and affectsshow that
these all invariouswaysgenerate the phenomenonof affect,whichultimatelyhasthe powerto
influenceperceptionandexperience (personal realities), andthence the behavioural outcomes
definedinthe Bleich’s(2011,p.1581) definitionof ‘Islamophobia’.
Thisbringsinto the discourse the ideologiesandconceptsof ‘terrorism’ constitutingforfurther
researchconcerningthe nature of whatwe understandtobe an act of ‘terrorism’ andwhothe
‘terrorists’are.

6. 6
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