Biased Media Reports Trigger Anti-Islamic Attacks in Europe

 

 

30 July 2012 / EMRE OĞUZ , STOCKHOLM

A study conducted by Mid Sweden University has revealed that negative media coverage and reporting have been triggering attacks targeting Muslim communities in Europe.

The study found that negative and biased media coverage against the Muslim community has led to an increase in hate crimes against Muslims in Europe. Stating that there is a positive correlation between negative media reports and attacks on Islamic organizations in European countries, the study also suggests that four out of every 10 Islamic organizations in Europe have been subjected to anti-Islamic attacks.

Representatives from a total of 100 Islamic organizations in Sweden participated in the study. The study was conducted under the supervision of Professor Klas Borell. Borell, who spoke to Today’s Zaman, said the negative media reports about Muslims are a direct contributing factor to the attacks against Muslims. “When anti-Muslim news reports in the media are on the rise, an increase in the number of attacks against Islamic institutions and organizations is observed. Therefore, we can say there is a direct connection between those media reports and the increased number of anti-Islamic attacks. Negative media coverage have notably triggered attacks by anti-Islamic extreme right-wing organizations,” Borell noted.

Borell, a sociologist who has been conducting studies on the Muslim community in Sweden for many years, further stated that anti-Islamic attacks targeting Islamic institutions or organizations could just be limited to threats or they can sometimes reach the point of physical violence. Borell also put forward that terrorist attacks conducted in different parts of Europe have led to an increase in the number of attacks targeting Muslim communities and Islamic organizations across Europe. “As we can recall, terrorist attacks were conducted [by the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda] in Madrid [in 2004] and London [in 2005]. Our research revealed that these terrorist attacks led to an increase in attacks against Islamic organizations in Sweden during that period,” the professor added.

The study also suggests that there is also a positive correlation between the visibility of Muslims in public and the number of attacks against the Muslim community in Europe. Highlighting that the integration of Islamic institutions and organizations into public life is strong in Sweden, unlike other European countries, Borell said: “Swedish Muslims are well integrated with society; they have very good relations with government agencies and politicians. However, when Muslims start to direct the agenda in the country or when some issues, such as establishing a mosque, prayer room or religious-based education centers which attract public attention, come on to the agenda and are reflected in the media, the incidence of anti-Islamic attacks increases.”

(The report taken from the Turkish English Daily Today's Zaman)