Why city muslims feel stereotyped as terrorists by Kenyan media
Muslim leaders in Nairobi have faulted Kenyan television stations for continously perpetrating hate against muslims by depicting them sympathetic to terrorism.
In a protest letter to the Media Council of Kenya, the Jamia Mosque Committee accused Kenyan media houses of propagating negative stereotypes and fueling animosity towards Muslims
“The continuous depiction of mosques, “terrorists” dressed as Muslims and usage of Islamic terms which in most instances are wrongly expressed by the members of the cast -majority of whom are non-Muslims- is a further testimony of the deliberate strategy to portray Muslims as the perpetrators of terrorism,” said secretary general Abdul Bary Hamid.
The leaders particularly took issue with K24‘s anti-terrorism drama series Kenya Elite Response Unit (KERU).
‘MUSLIM ARE TERRORISTS’
They said the programme “drives a narrative that Muslims are terrorists and Islam is a religion which promotes violence against innocent people.”
“Singling out Muslims as the terrorists – as it is clear from the KERU production- is an attempt to drive home the narrative that Muslims are the terrorists and the public should be wary of them lest there are harmed,” stated Mr Hamid.
The committee has also written to Standard Media Group regarding a news feature titled “The Anti-Jihad boxer” which aired on November 15 on KTN News.
In its protest letter, the committee accused the production of the news feature as misrepresenting the concept of Jihad.
IGNORANCE OF ISLAM
“The concept of Jihad is comprehensive and nowhere is it synonymous with violence or terrorism. Even though some Muslims, out of their ignorance of Islam, are perpetuating acts of violence in the name of Jihad for their self-centered motives, still this does not justify misrepresenting this principle,” stated Mr Hamid.
The protest letter was published in the Friday edition of the weekly Jamia Mosque Newsletter.
