The Diagnosis of Stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims in Western Media رسالة ماجستير

Abstract

This study aims at mapping the stereotypical images of Arabs and Muslims in western media. Moreover, it sheds the light on the western media misrepresentation of Muslims and Arabs. The researcher also examines how language structure is used in media discourse to convey stereotypical images about Arabs and Muslims. The western media bias toward Arabs and Muslims is also investigated in this study. Quantitative and qualitative methods were combined in this study in order to answer the study’s questions and achieve its desired goals. A quantitative approach of statistical analysis was used to analyze the data of the study which was collected using a questionnaire. This study targeted the population of the Palestinian society. As it aimed to find the Palestinian students’ perception of serotypes of Arabs and Muslims in Western Media. The qualitative approach is used to fully understand how language is used to project writers’ ideology and bias, and to examine how language structure is used in media discourse to convey stereotypical images about Arabs and Muslims. This study is applied on 37 news articles of Western media that report eight (8) incidents that occurred in the last six years from November 11 2015 until November 7 June 2021. From the analysis performed, it was found that, the western media reinforce a stereotypical image of Arabs and Muslims. The results revealed numerous stereotypes and negative attitudes towards Islam and Muslims. Furthermore, Western media show bias against Arabs and Muslims which is revealed through pointing out the major differences between the presentation of the incidents in both sides