THERE IS A NEWLY RELEASED REPORT BY THE INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL
POLICY AND UNDERSTANDING THIS IS A MUSLIMS ARE
INTERNALIZING ISLAMOPHOBIA AND THE MEDIA IS TO BLAME.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT ONE OF THESE GRAPHICS.
THERE YOU CAN SEE THE RESULTS.
WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT NOW IS IN RESPONSE TO I BELIEVE MY
FAVORITE COMMUNITY IS MORE PRONE SAID NEGATIVE BEHAVIOR THAN
OTHER FAITH COMMUNITIES.
YOU CAN SEE AN OVERWHELMING 30%
COMING FROM THE MUSLIM RESPONDENTS TO THE SURVEY.
IF YOU NEED A LITTLE BIT OF A BRUSH UP ON WHAT IS
INTERNALIZED RACISM, HERE YOU GO.
WHAT IS THE TAKE AWAY FROM THIS STUDY?
A
PRETTY STARTLING RESEARCH.
WERE EITHER OF YOU SURPRISE THAT THIS IS COMING OUT?
I ACTUALLY HAVE A REPORT ON THIS THAT I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF
WRITING FOR POP-CULTURE COLLABORATIVE DIALOGUES IN OVER
100 YEARS OF REPRESENTATION OF MUSLIMS ON TV AND FILM AND IT
LINES UP EXACTLY WITH THE FINDINGS OF THE STUDY, WHICH IS
THAT THERE AREN'T AVAILABLE POSITIVE IMAGES AVAILABLE
ON MUSLIMS.
THINGS ARE SHIFTING NOW, BUT WE HAVE HAD TO INGEST THEIR
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN ADS, PRIME TIME NEWS, THE MOVIES LIKE
AMERICAN SNIPER OR ARGO WAS THE DEGRADATION OF OUR FAITH AND OUR
COMMUNITIES, SO IT IS HARD NOT TO AND I WILL GIVE YOU AN
ANECDOTE, OR I HAVE MANY, BUT I RUN A LOT OF WORKSHOPS
NATIONALLY AROUND REPRESENTATION OF ARABS AND MUSLIMS ON
TELEVISION AND FILM AND I DO A QUICK LITTLE ACTIVITY IN THE
BEGINNING WHERE I ASKED PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT THE IMAGES THAT
THEY SEE OR THE THINGS THAT COME TO MIND WHEN THEY HEAR THE WORD
TERRORIST IN THE THINGS THAT COME TO MIND WHEN THEY HEAR THE
WORDS MUSLIM AND ARAB AND USUALLY WHAT IS CONSISTENT IS
THAT ALL THE SAME ADJECTIVES ARE USED FOR ALL THREE
CATEGORIES AND SO I HAVE HAD MUSLIMS TELL ME AFTERWARD,
IS IT WEIRD THAT I COULDN'T THINK OF ANYTHING THAT
WASN'T TERRORIST LIKE FOR MUSLIM?
AND I WAS LIKE, IT IS NOT BECAUSE THINK ABOUT THE IMAGES
THAT YOU ARE CONSTANTLY BEING EXPOSED TO AND YES, YOU MIGHT
HAVE FAMILY STRUCTURES AND COMMUNITIES THAT ARE COUNTER TO
WHAT YOU ARE SEEING BUT IT IS SO HARD TO DISPLACE THE IMAGERY
AROUND YOU AND THE THING THAT ALSO WAS REALLY STRIKING IS THE
INTERCEPTED THIS STORY AND THEY FOUND THAT THERE WAS
DISPROPORTIONATE COVERAGE OF VIOLENCE PERPETRATED BY MUSLIMS
SEVEN TIMES MORE ON TELEVISION AND THAT MUSLIMS RECEIVED FOUR
TIMES LONGER SENTENCING FOR THE SAME CRIMES AS NON-MUSLIMS
SO IT IS NOT, SADLY IT IS NOT SURPRISING THAT THEY WOULD
VIEW THEMSELVES IN THIS WAY AND UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS DOUBLE
THE AMOUNT OF EVERY OTHER RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY'S
UNDERSTANDING OF THEMSELVES IN A NEGATIVE LIGHT.
IT IS ISLAM'S TURN AS IT HAPPENS WITH RELIGION WITH REGARD
TO HISTORY IN THIS COUNTRY AND WORLD.
I WENT TO ISRAEL TWO YEARS AGO AND I REMEMBER HAVING
DINNER AND ONE OF MY FRIENDS WHO IS A WRITER WAS SITTING
NEXT TO ME AND SHE LAUGHED AT ME BECAUSE I WAS LIKE, I AM
GETTING UP AND LEAVING.
THIS PALESTINIAN MAN WAS SITTING NEXT TO ME TELLING ME HOW
BAD PALESTINIANS HAVE BEEN TO ISRAEL WHO HAS
BEEN SO GOOD TO THEM AND THEY NEED TO LEARN AND I WAS
JUST WATCHING THIS PERSONIFICATION OF SELF-HATE
TO A DEGREE THAT I COULDN'T EVEN EAT MY FOOD AND SHE IS
COLOMBIAN AND SHE WAS LIKE WHY DOES THIS UPSET YOU SO MUCH?
AND I WAS LIKE MY EX-HUSBAND IS MUSLIM AND MY CHILDREN
WERE RAISED IN A MUSLIM FRIENDLY HOME.
NOT JUST THAT, AS A PERSON OF COLOR, SELF-HATE IS SOMETHING
THAT RESONATES WITH ME BECAUSE IT IS SO PREVALENT AND ALL
PEOPLE OF COLOR, BECAUSE THE PICTURES OF US ARE SO BAD
THAT ARE CONSTANTLY BEING DEPICTED THAT WE ARE ALL
WALKING AROUND TRYING TO DISPEL THE MYTHS OF OUR OWN PEOPLE
BECAUSE WE FEEL A RESPONSIBILITY TO THAT WHILE WHITE PEOPLE
GETS A GLIDE AROUND THE PLANET JUST BEING WHITE BECAUSE
THEY DO NOT HAVE TO CARRY THE WEIGHT OF ALL WHITE PEOPLE.
THEY DON'T HAVE TO CARRY THE BURDEN OF REPRESENTATION AND TO
SEE WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE FOR THAT AS WELL SO I WOULD JUST
QUICKLY ADD THERE WAS THIS INTERESTING ROUNDTABLE
CONVERSATION WITH WRITERS AT THE NEW YORK TIMES AFTER TRUMP'S
ELECTION
AND THE SHOW RUNNER FOR QUANTICO SAID HE WANTED TO STOP DOING
TERRORISM PLOTS AFTER THE ELECTION AND THE NEW YORK TIMES
REPORTER POINTEDLY ASKED HOWARD GORDON FROM 24
AND HOMELAND IF HE FELT LIKE HIS SHOWS CONTRIBUTED TO THE
NEGATIVE SENTIMENTS ABOUT MUSLIMS AND HE SAID YES.
HE ALSO HAD KIND OF A COMING TO JESUS MOMENT AS WELL BUT THOSE
FOLKS ARE NOT JUST DOING THAT FOR TRUMPS BASE, AS WE WERE
SAYING, PEOPLE IN MY COMMUNITY ARE ALSO FEELING THAT WAY AND I
WILL JUST LASTLY ADD THAT IT IS HARD BECAUSE WE CARRY THAT
BURDEN AND AT THE SAME TIME, WE ARE HORRIFIED BY THE VIOLENCE
PERPETRATED TO MOSTLY OUR COMMUNITY BY GROUPS LIKE ISIL OR
ANY GROUP REPORTING TO LEAD A MUSLIM CALIPHATE BUT THEN WE'RE
ALSO MADE TO SPEAK TO IT AND THEY ARE KILLING US AND SYRIA
AND IRAQ AND YEMEN AND PARTS OF WEST AFRICA AND SO WE'RE
JUST IN SUCH A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE.
IT IS HARD TO EVEN THINK STRAIGHT.