Social Media About Muslims

JASHIM RASWI Ref.No: H00144879 Short Essay Tutorial: Online Learning Teacher: Kristina Rajic Critical Writing & Analysis (C07CW)

Impact of Social Media on Islam and Muslims

Susan Ward defines Social media as a type of online media that expedites conversation as opposed to traditional media, which delivers content but doesn 't allow readers/viewers/listeners to participate in the creation or development of the content. Some of the common examples of social media are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. There is a wide variety of social medias’ in the Internet. People get more attention to the things that are being shared from YouTube and Flickr and posting them through Facebook or LinkedIn or MySpace. Social Networking sites spread news all over the globe very quickly and swiftly. According to Suzy Ismail “Social Media and networking sites must have and has definitely changed the spread of Islam and the perception of Muslims in the minds of many people around the world”, especially and mostly in the US and India.

After the 9/11 bombings and destruction of the Twin Towers by Bin Laden, the growth of electronic and, in particular, social media has had an impact on the lives of Muslims around the world. According to Khurram T. Dara (2011) “every scandal, controversy, or violent terrorist attack perpetrated by Muslims is put under the microscope.” He does not mean that the media has been trying to willingly to spread stories one way or another about Muslims in US and the world. “Of course, you have commentators and networks out there with agendas they want to push, but for the most part the impact the media has had comes in its evolution into a 24/7 industry. Everything is covered, regardless of whether it is quality journalism from reliable sources.” (Dara, 2011) Social Media played a crucial role in the way Muslims and Islam have been perceived over the years. Suzy Ismail continues, “It would be tough for anyone to say that they have not ‘heard’ of Islam with the amount of coverage that our deen has received in the recent years through so many different media outlets”. Further on she adds that Muslims have been vilified and simultaneously victimized especially after 9/11 in America. “There seems to be two extreme reactions to the deen itself. One is which is sincere curiosity and interest that motivates education and the other is blind hatred and misunderstanding that leads to scapegoating and stereotyping.” (Suzy Ismail) Social media presents a big opportunity to reach out to people who may not even know about Islam or Muslims. Thousands of Americans have never met a Muslim but they have access through social media. In Texas, an event was set up where a Muslim woman is refused service in a bakery just because she has worn a headscarf. ABC News Hidden camera experiments THIS and the purpose is to see what people’s reaction would be, which was quite surprising.

Recently in the last few weeks, a controversial American-­‐made trailer of an Anti-­‐Islam video called Innocence Of Muslims has ignited protests across the Muslim world and continues to grow. It is just a trailer for a supposed future-­‐length film that was uploaded in YouTube a few weeks back in America by a man named Nakula Basseley Nakoula a.k.a Sam Bacile who is thought to be the writer, producer and promoter of the video. The Social Media raises complex questions about the freedom of speech in America (Ruth Startman, 2012). Social Media has played a vital role in the rapid spread of this video around the world by sharing it through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Many Muslim countries removed this video from their network, however the video still remains undeleted in America and other Non-­‐Muslim regions of the world.

Twitter and Facebook have been undoubtedly the two networking sites with the most active Muslim users. These sites have allowed us to connect with many important persons such as Imams and Sheiks, Political Leaders and so on…. Some people are also there to cast a negative vote on Islam and are online just to do so. It can be overwhelming to not care about it, but we need to remember that social media has also given us the strength and the platform to express ourselves. In other ways, we can increase the positive impact of Social Media on the portrayal of Islam and Muslims by being more active online and by having lot of faith on Islam. (Dara, 2011) Social media is a great tool, which can be well used to spread “Love”, or abused to spread "hatred". Let us choose "love" as every religion of the world is themed to promote "love" among mankind. No matter what, "love" will always prevail as it is upon which everything in life is centered and without which there is no meaning in life.

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Ward, Susan; Social Media Definition [online]. Available from: http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/socialmedia/g/soci almedia.htm (Accessed 28 Sept 2012) Salman, Javeria; Impact of Media and Social Media on Islam and Muslims [online]. Available at: http://islamicstudies.islammessage.com/Article.aspx? aid=678 (Accessed 28 Sept 2012) Dara, T. Khurram (2011) The Crescent Drive: AN ESSAY ON IMPROVING THE IMAGE OF ISLAM IN AMERICA, Tensile. (Accessed 28 Sept 2012) ABC News hidden camera experiments – Racism in America “What would you do?” (Online video) Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtWuOvdLRX4 (Accessed 28 Sept 2012) Innocence of Muslims, 2012 (online video) Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gORgR7UiXgY (Accessed 28 Sept 2012) Starkman, Ruth (2012); It’s All the Rage: ‘The Innocence of Muslims,’ Social Media, and Free Speech” (online) Available At: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ruth-­‐ starkman/its-­‐all-­‐the-­‐rage-­‐the-­‐inno_b_1906050.html (Accessed 28 Sept 2012)

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References:  Sept  2012)  2012)    Khurram  (2011)  Sept  2012)  Sept  2012)