World Cup reactions exposes prevailing anti-Muslim sentiments in Western media
Between the 20th of November to the 18th of December, all eyes were on Qatar as the first Middle Eastern country to host a FIFA World Cup. While the event brought together 32 nations in the world’s biggest football tournament, it also attracted an unacceptable level of racism. The level of racism, prejudice and anti-religious sentiments which emerged primarily in Western media only served to remind us of the prevailing level of discrimination in the West.
Over the past two months, the Get the Trolls Out! monitoring team noticed a growing level of anti-Muslim sentiments amongst the reporting and narratives surrounding primarily the North African team of Morocco, which won a place in the semi-finals.
Following Morocco’s matches against a vast number of European countries including France, Croatia, Spain, Portugal and Belgium, a number of online portals and far-right movements spread their anti-Muslim sentiments and conspiratorial narratives. One of the most significant moments included the Belgium-Morocco match in which Morocco’s win resulted in riots across the Brussels with direct confrontation between the supporters and police. A blog run by the extreme-right party Nation used the incident as a backdrop for the spread of hateful, anti-migrant rhetoric. Nation pushed its anti-migration agenda, saying ‘multiculturalism doesn’t work’. This incident provided a scapegoat to further their political agenda and narratives of the ‘dangers’ of multiculturalism even though hooliganism is a worldwide phenomenon which is not tied to ethnicity or religion.
Moreover, Flemish news and opinion website Doorbraak.be also seized the opportunity of the clash between Moroccan supporters and the police as a means to overgeneralise and blow out of proportion the supposed criminal behaviour of Muslims. The manifestations which ran across the city were described and reported on as a means of proof that the Muslim subculture as one which is violent, resentful towards Western society, polarising and inclined to criminality. The article titled “Yes, there is a ‘Moroccan’ problem” spread hateful and problematic anti-Muslim sentiments regarding the position, behaviours and attitudes of Moroccans in Western Europe. The author made efforts to stress the culture of Moroccans as a determining factor and the Islamic foundation of that culture as the casual factor. The framing and positioning of the article itself, perpetuated extremely hateful and harmful tropes upholding the anti-Muslim rhetoric of perceived danger and criminality.
Similarly, the news made it to Germany where the author of news portal PI-news reported on the riots in Belgium to further the prejudice that Moroccans hold a ‘deep hatred against the European majority society, its state institutions’ – implying that all Moroccans are violent and reject the state. Furthermore, following the Moroccan win over Portugal, the German TV channel Welt spread anti-Muslim rhetoric regarding the celebration of victory by three members of the team. A photograph showing the three players pointing their index fingers, was described by the TV presenter as a gesture used by the IS. However, this statement was both false and discriminatory as the symbol itself is one of religious significance; a gesture of faith used by many Muslims worldwide. This statement caused a large backlash both nationally and internationally resulting in TV channel Welt responding by changing its statement.
The presence of anti-Muslim rhetoric and Islamophobia within Western European media is not a new occurrence. As pointed out by the Open Society Foundations, Islamophobia itself is a symptom of the collapse of universal, human values including that of ‘non-discrimination, tolerance, freedom of thought, justice, solidarity and equality’. All of these values which are frequently cast aside by Western media when reporting on religious communities where prejudice surpasses equality and adherence to good journalistic practices.
In many multicultural European cities such as Brussels, the coverage of events involving individuals from a Muslim background is often tied up in prejudice and anti-Muslim rhetoric and narratives. In September 2020, a motion was passed in Molenbeek, Brussels, which allowed public administration employees to wear religious symbols. During a segment on radio BX1+ where an interview was conducted with a member of the Muslim community, the presenter Fabrice Grosfilley asked a series of bigoted questions, primarily surrounding the topic of the headscarf. The line of questioning was very much tied with discrimination and prejudice based on false arguments. This was the first of two occasions in the same month that journalist Fabrice Grosfilley from BX1+ reinforced anti-Muslim stereotypes during the programme which he was hosting. In another episode, he failed to challenge a highly racist and discriminatory comment made by a guest on air who suggested that Muslim and Black people have a higher criminal record compared to white people, thereby preventing them from joining the police force. Rather than counteracting the false statement, Grosfilley merely reinforced such harmful stereotypes and narratives.
The representation of Muslim individuals as ‘dangerous’, as a ‘threat’ and ‘violent’ in the media only works in favour of upholding and perpetuating these stereotypes. This rhetoric and narratives are picked up, absorbed, and diffused amongst society, creating divides, and spreading anti-Muslim sentiments in society.
How can we prevent the perpetuation of anti-Muslim sentiments through reporting?
As noted in the Get the Trolls Out! Linguistic Guide Against Islamophobia, the ‘language that politicians and the media use in relation to a group of people, fundamentally shapes how the public sees that particular community.’ Therefore, we must actively choose to educate ourselves and raise awareness as to how our language impacts these communities.
One of the main factors contributing to the use of negative terminology applied to Muslim communities and neighbourhoods, the guide says, is the use of language which shapes how the public sees and views a particular subject. The ways in which we shape ideas and use language create certain frames amongst readers, listeners, and viewers. In the case of Islam, the West often uses ‘hostile frames, colouring the perception and shaping the treatment of Muslim communities by societies and states.’ The use of the rhetoric of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ is indeed a mechanism of divide whose only purpose is to place a wedge between two communities built on fear, hate and difference.
The media has a large role and influence to play in the spread of information, ideas, and thoughts. Rather than playing into the right-wing conspiratorial narratives and biased views on migration, the media should actively counteract such sentiments and prejudice. Instead of providing a platform for the dissemination of hatred and discrimination, the media should hold an active role and moral responsibility to create the space for diversity and equality.
