Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World
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From the Iranian hostage crisis through the Gulf War and the World Trade Centre bombing, the West has been haunted by a spectre called ‘Islam’. As portrayed by the news media – and by a chorus of government, academic and corporate experts – ‘Islam’ is synonymous with terrorism and religious hysteria. At the same time, Islamic countries use Islam to justify unrepresentative and often oppressive regimes.
In this landmark work, for which he has written a new introduction, one of our foremost public thinkers examines the origins and repercussions of the media’s monolithic images of Islam. Combining political commentary with literary criticism, Edward Said reveals the hidden assumptions and distortions of fact that underlie even the most ‘objective’ coverage of the Islamic world.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Revised edition (7 Aug. 1997), Vintage |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 204 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 009959501X |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0099595014 |
| Dimensions | 12.9 x 1.7 x 19.8 cm |
by Germinal
I think the review posted by A Customer on 24 Feb 2006 covers a lot of what I would have wanted to say about this excellent book.
We live in a period where there has grown up a new racism which is directed at Muslims. Whether we call this Islamophobia or Anti-Muslim racism is besides the point. What is important to understand where this racism comes from, what are it’s causes and origins.
Those who seek to justify this racism will do so by blaming the actions of Muslims and will refer to 7/7, 9/11 and the Rushdie Affair. No-one doubts the importance of these events as milestones along the way to where we are today, but they are not the starting point. If they were the starting point, then it would not have been possible for Said to write this book in 1981.
For what Said does in ‘Covering Islam’ is point out and document the long history of how ‘The West’ sees ‘Islam’ and how this has largely been negative and driven, in modern times, by the needs of imperialism.
Thus it is with the modern rise in hostility to Islam. Said documents change occuring in the 1970’s as the oil crisis, Israel-Palestine, Pakistan-Bangladesh, ‘Death of a Princess’ and Afghanistan grabbed the headlines and some commentators looked for commonality between these disputes and hit upon there being ‘somehting wrong with’ Islam as an explanation.
Then in 1979, came the Iranian Revolution in which the ally of The West, the Shah, was overthrown and an Islamic Republic founded in it’s place. There was also the US embassy hostage crisis. The ideological response to this in the West, especially the US, was to explain the revolution in terms of the backwardness and barbarity of Islam. In other words, again, hostility to Islam and Muslims was serving the need of imperial power.
That this hostility borrowed directly from the tradition of orientalism that Said documented in his work of the same name just the year previously, demonstrates great foresight on Said’s part.
I have to say that, much as I admire Said, I find reading him can be a little on the tough side and felt that ‘Orientalism’ had large parts which were a drag to read – even though the book was tremendously informative. That is not the case with ‘Covering Islam’ which is written in a much snappier, almost journalistic style and covers the bases covered in ‘Orientalism’. It’s an easy read and thoroughly recommended.
by Amazon Customer
A must read!
by M. J. Burns
Really interesting book. I haven’t yet read Orientalism, Said’s seminal book, but this is incredibly thought provoking in the way the media treat Islam. It has made me reconsider the sources of my information and remember that the media is of course geared toward national interest and that there is therefore an inherent bias against ‘threats’ to our societies, when the reality is often less distinct and more fluid. Such a description was seen in a recent discussion with my family where there was a link drawn between Anjem Choudry and the Rotherham grooming gangs as some attempt to attack us and undermine our democratic institutions. Which was twofold in drawing the link between their race as the decisive factor and guiding force for their actions, while also seeing islam as inherently violent or dangerous and incompatible
The impact goes further in that it has made me fundamentally reassess my career goals, as I was deeply interested in working in the MENA region as an analyst or as a diplomat after I graduate. I am going to work hard to learn arabic, as, like Said says, it’s hard to be an expert in a culture and region if you cannot even read their language or have an understanding of their literature or poetry or religion that played such a formative experience in the current reality. Said presents a great discussion of the media’s role, of course. Yet it has made me want to read Chomsky’s manufacturing consent. As a history student it equally raises important questions about how debate is framed, having expert who formulate national policy and how our culture and existing prejudices influence media concentration in our society can have superbly awful consequences. History as a discipline too has a lot of schisms within it regarding the role historians should play in affecting public opinion whilst also maintaining ‘impariality’ within academia. It has made me much more wary of expert opinion, which is something I grappled with during university when I first started, as even experts are not omnipotent in their areas, so there arguments should be rigorously interrogated, especially by the public.
Regardless it was a lovely book, which addresses bigger issues than simply Islam and I look forward to reading Said’s Orientalism.
by Pharaoh
Amazing book. Many thanks mentioned therein are still relevant to this very day.
by Chloe Pratt
I have chosen this rating as ‘Covering Islam’ is probably the best book that I have bought! Edward Said has definitely helped educate me within the understanding of how ‘Islam’ is viewed by the ‘other’. There is no doubt that this novel has broaden my perspectives on the various influences within society. I would recommend this book to anyone.
by LD
Bought this as a gift, I managed to read the kindle sample and it has a balanced view on this current issue.
by JOHN FAIRCLOUGH
Pro-Islam but balanced and informative. Good!
by Ummul-Banin
This book illustrated the role of the media in twisting the public opinion. A brilliant piece of work and a joy to read. At times it is hilarious in the way it exposes the ignorance of the Western governments and their sense of superiority. You simply must read it!