CSUN On Point

Islamophobia is a term meaning prejudice against, hatred towards, or fear of the religion of Islam and Muslims.  A Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted in 2010 found that 49 percent of Americans held an unfavorable view of Islam, a 39 percent increase from 2002.

Some experts believe that the prejudice against Islam since the September 11, 2001 attacks is partly the result of fear-mongering from politicians and competition for viewers among news media.

“Fear can be utilized to inspire, motivate and influence,” said CSUN Political Science Professor Boris Ricks. “It is certainly a tactic, used to achieve political ends or outcomes.”

“With respect to the media, we cannot demand how they operate,” said CSUN Political Science Professor Kassem Nabulsi. “This is a capitalist society. They are after ratings. They are not anti- Muslims themselves, although some talk shows are absolutely, but [not] the general media. Accusing the general media with a broad brush is the same way they are accusing us as Muslims, with a broad brush.”

But Islamophobia may have real consequences on the public dialogue and on American Muslims.

“If you don’t know any Muslims personally, it’s no wonder you fear them, because when you turn on the TV, it’s nothing but frightening images,” said Edina Lekovik, the Director of Programming and Policy for the Muslim Public Affairs Council. “But treating Muslims like an ‘other’, it’s unhealthy.”

Sixty percent of Muslim Americans say Americans show prejudice towards them, according to a recent Gallup report.

“Everybody accuses everybody,” Nabulsi said. “Terrorism for us, in America as Muslims, it’s our problem like every American…and we need to improve as much as possible our discourse, by first and foremost confronting this issue with our fear.”

The Gallup report also found Muslims are 48 percent more likely than Americans of other major religious groups to say they have experienced racial or religious discrimination in the past year.

“What we need to do,” Ricks said, “… is we need to be continually be vigilant, speak truth to power, to ensure stereotypes and phobias are rejected, and see them for what they are: social constructions… collaboration and participation can do that.”

The Center for American Progress published a report entitled “Fear, Inc” in 2011, suggesting that Islamophobia has its roots in a campaign of misinformation from a relatively small group of organizations with an interest in misrepresenting the realities of Islam. According to the report, the resulting fear has had a negative impact on the freedom of religion guaranteed in the Constitution, and it has fueled the belief that the West is at war with Islam and Muslims.

“Phobia – what I call the bogeyman thesis – is not going anywhere,” Ricks said. “It has been a tactic used by elements in society for various reasons and it is a form of behavior modification; if you want to move a country one way or another, you use the element of fear.”

“We can look back on whether this fear has been perpetuated by one group stereotyping another,” Nabulsi said, “but now we’re trying to reverse the trend by creating a different platform for our conversation.”

“I have to be hopeful,” Lekovic said. “I have to look at the future as a better place than today. We need to not move minds, we need to move hearts. Muslims are one of the most integrated communities in the country, and people just need to know us for who we are.”

Moderator: Ashley Goossen

Producer: Nancy Moreira

Anchor: Beau Akers

Reporters: Beau Akers, Samantha Benitz, Ken Harvey and Briseida Holguin

Social Media Editor: Cristal Canedo

Moderator: Sharon Shin

Producer: Rosanna Siracusa

Anchor: Rosanna Siracusa

Reporters: Precious Allen, Kelly Hernandez, Evan Mederos and AJ Romero

Social Media Editor: Cyndy Alvarado

Media bombard us with ideal images of muscular men and thin women on a daily basis.

In some cases, some women and men may develop anxiety about their ability to fit this ideal image, and some may develop eating disorders.

In a survey conducted by People Magazine, 80 percent of women said actresses in movies and television made them feel insecure about their body.

Anne Jensen Smith, president of Joint Advocates on Disordered Eating (JADE), a peer education program at CSUN dedicated to awareness and the prevention of eating disorders, said the media have a huge role in defining an ideal image to Americans.

“The media is hitting us at all angles,” Smith said. “It is outwardly saying, ‘here are all these bodies that we think Americans should be.’”

Vanessa Birdsong, program therapist at The Bella Vita, an eating disorder clinic in the San Fernando Valley, said that media are not the sole cause of eating disorders.

“The root of an eating disorder has nothing to with food and really nothing to do with body image,” Birdsong said. “It has everything to do with anxiety, low self esteem, which is connected to low self worth, and even traumas.”

Birdsong said anxiety can lead to eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, both of which involve severe restrictions of food, which can cause the brain to starve, making it hard to focus and function, sometimes leading to various heart problems, and even to death.

The National Eating Disorders Association reports that some half a million American teen-agers struggle with eatings disorders or disordered eating, and that between 3.9 and 5.2 percent of people with eating disorders will die from them.

It’s not just a problem for women.

A 12-year study conducted by Journal of American Medical Association – Pediatrics found that nearly 18 percent of adolescent boys said they worried about their weight and physiques.

Avery Rodriguez, a student involved in the Get Real! Project at CSUN, said the ideal image for a man is “[a] big chest, big shoulders and a toned body.”

Some studies show that social media sites can also have an effect on how people view their bodies.

A recent study by Florida State University found that women who spend more time on Facebook also have higher levels of eating disorders.

Birdsong said she had seen children as young as three years old in treatment for eating disorders.

“If mom or dad are pinching their own stomachs or talking about dieting all the time, kids are quick to pick up on everything,” Smith said, “and this is where they get their ideas.”

Education and awareness about body image and eating disorders are key.

“We try to alert students here at CSUN to media, and how it is effecting everybody,” Rodriguez said. “…Communication is key.”

“So often people don’t get heard,” Birdsong said, “because we have our defenses up and we’re not really listening to each other. If people stop and listen, and just are there with somebody, that can be so healing.”

“Educate yourself, ” Smith agreed, “so when you do talk to [people] openly, and you are listening to them, you know a little about it.”

Moderator: Katie Fauskee

Producer: Lauren Llanos

Anchor: Alex Vejar

Reporters: Zulay Saldana, Alex Vejar, Christopher Perez

Social Media Editor: Carly Bagingito

American media have changed in the last several decades because of the progression of technology, increasing competition and decreasing regulation.  American audiences have more choices as a result, and news outlets have had to react to these changes by creating new kinds of programming to attract an audience.

One way they’ve done this is through the talk show, where individuals express strong opinions in an effort to create controversy and attract an audience. These talk shows are taking the place of the 20^th century model of news outlets reporting news with objectivity and complexity.

Author Eric Deggans, journalist and media critic, has written a book called “Race-Baiter: How the Media Wield Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation”, decoding the way media outlets, particularly talk shows, portray race. In the book, Deggans argues that ‘hate sells’, and that these new news programs use fear and bigotry to attract their audiences.

“The news was defined as something that you reported on,” Deggans said. But now, Deggans said, news outlets like Fox News changed cable TV forever by substituting news reporting with talking about news.

“We have to understand media within the context of multi-national capitalism” said CSUN Professor Teresa Williams-Leon. She said American media don’t necessarily offer news and information anymore; it’s really about entertainment and selling products, led by talk show hosts who speak their personal views, and interview ‘experts’ from think tanks with political agendas.

But Community Advocates, Inc. V.P. Joe Hicks said audiences have more choices in today’s media world.

“Democracy has basically taken over now,” Hicks said. “I don’t need to just go to ABC or CNN to get my news. I can go on blogs, I can go on all kids of websites.”

Moderator and reporter: Tommy Fuller

Anchor: Natalie Gonzalez

Producer: Amber Canyon

Reporters: Emily Davies, Bijan Nasseripourtowsi and Ammons Smith