God save us from the Islam clichés

Abstract

Journalism professor Christensen accuses parts of the British media of attitudes and phraseology when reporting on Muslims and Muslim nations, especially Turkey, that they do not employ elsewhere. He writes: "...reports from Muslim nations continue to use religious imagery - the mosque, the praying men, the veiled woman - and unexplained terminology ('Islamist', 'fundamentalist'). Unless they are related directly to the story, I suggest that we drop the mosque, the veiled women, the Turkish delight and the cryptic religious terminology. Editors who won't show pictures of Catholic churches when covering the German elections, or use the word 'sauerkraut' for stories on the German military, should consider why they won't - and apply those standards equally."