Playing Muslims in the Media Pitch, Penalties and Sport Champions S
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Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies The Muslim News: Playing Muslims in the Media Pitch, Penalties and Sport Champions Samar Samir Mezghanni Girton College University of Cambridge This Dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy April 2018 Abstract The Muslim News: Playing Muslims in the Media Pitch, Penalties and Sport Champions Samar Samir Mezghanni The portrayal of Muslims in British mainstream media, particularly newspapers, is a subject of significant academic interest. Previous studies find that British newspapers frequently represent Muslims as a distinct and homogenous group, associating them with terrorist groups and framing them as a cultural threat. Orientalist representations have been observed, depicting Muslims as inherently problematic. Nevertheless, Muslims’ own self-representation remains understudied and underexamined. This research analyses the discourse of the Muslim News, the oldest, most enduring English- language newspaper catering to Muslims in the United Kingdom. Using Corpus Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis, this thesis explores the similarities and differences in the discourses of the Muslim News and British mainstream newspapers from 1998 to 2009. The findings reveal that, while reproducing some narratives observed in mainstream press, the Muslim News (the MN) is introducing new representations that ‘pitch’ alternative stories about Muslims in the media. While sustaining certain representations, such as the collectivisation of Muslims, the MN challenges mainstream discourse. It highlights Islamophobic attacks that Muslims are subject to, including their negative portrayal in mainstream press, and suggests that these hegemonic representations are part of a ‘Muslim penalty’. Furthermore, the MN counters mainstream news by taking Muslims outside the frames of representation that associate them with terrorism, conflict and violence. Sports coverage consistently emerges in the MN as an important space to re-negotiate and reframe mainstream media discourses on Muslims. Sports stories maintain newsworthiness while enabling the MN to diverge from the negative coverage of Muslims in mainstream press and celebrate Muslim champions. Comparing such representations in a newspaper by and for Muslims to those produced by mainstream press further exposes contemporary Orientalist discourses and should be a subject of further study. i To my mother, For that old dream of seeing her loved one obtain a PhD. ii Acknowledgments I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Prof. Yasir Suleiman, for the invaluable advice and guidance he provided throughout my research. His feedback and comments have been crucial for the progress of my research and the development of my skills and knowledge. I feel privileged for being one of his PhD students and mentees, and I am grateful to him for his generous advice, meticulous corrections and pertinent commentaries. Most of all, I am thankful to him for being an inspiring role model to me academically and personally. I would also like to show my gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Paul Anderson, for guiding me with challenging questions and reassuring me at times of doubt. His comments and supportive attitude had a great impact on me throughout my studies. I am also thankful to Prof. Tony McEnery and Dr. Costas Gabrielatos for the time and attention they dedicated to answer my numerous questions about their study of British press representations of Muslims, a study that is a central reference in this thesis. At times of uncertainty, solitude and agony, a few people, memories and art masterpieces have helped me channel my stubbornness towards remaining positive, determined and excited about my research project. It is therefore important to me to thank my family, especially my mother, Sahar Abdelatif, for her patience and generosity throughout my educational and academic journey. The memory of my father, Samir Mezghanni, and his immense support and belief in me, allowed me to persevere at critical times of doubt and hesitation. I am also thankful to my life partner and my siblings for their encouragement. In the loneliest days of my PhD journey, stories, novels and songs like McFerrin’s Don’t Worry Be Happy provided a haven away from worries and fear. To all writers, artists and storytellers who accompanied my journey through their inspiring and uplifting work, I express my gratitude. Finally, I would like to thank the Centre of Islamic Studies for the financial support, which was essential to the completion of this thesis. iii Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... i Dedication ................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... vii List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................ viii Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter One - Context of the Study ......................................................................................... 8 1. Muslims in the UK: Past and present ................................................................................ 8 2. Muslims and Islamophobia in the media ......................................................................... 10 2.1. Orientalism ............................................................................................................ 12 2.2. Critical media studies ............................................................................................. 15 2.3. Alternative discourses ............................................................................................ 18 3. Muslims’ media in the UK .............................................................................................. 20 3.1. Overview of the landscape ..................................................................................... 20 3.2. The Muslim News ................................................................................................... 22 4. Methodology ................................................................................................................... 24 4.1. Cognitive and methodological biases .................................................................... 24 4.2. Analytical methods ................................................................................................ 25 4.2.1. The reference corpora ................................................................................ 26 a. Islam-UK Corpus ....................................................................................... 26 b. The British National Corpus ...................................................................... 26 c. The New Model Corpus ............................................................................. 27 d. ukWaC ....................................................................................................... 27 e. The SiBol/Port (Siena-Bologna, Portsmouth) corpus ............................... 27 4.2.2. Corpus Analysis ......................................................................................... 28 a. Collecting the data and building the corpus .............................................. 28 b. Annotating the corpus ................................................................................ 30 iv c. Analysing the corpus ................................................................................. 32 4.2.3. Critical Discourse Analysis ....................................................................... 34 a. From Corpus Linguistics to Critical Discourse Analysis .......................... 34 b. Critical Discourse Analysis approach ........................................................ 35 4.3. Methodological limitations .................................................................................... 37 4.3.1. Copyright issues ......................................................................................... 37 4.3.2. Balance and comparability ......................................................................... 38 4.3.3. Other methodological limitations .............................................................. 38 Chapter Two - The Big Picture: Playing Muslims in the Media Pitch .................................. 40 1. What is the corpus about? ............................................................................................... 40 1.1. Word list ................................................................................................................ 40 1.2. Keyness .................................................................................................................. 47 1.2.1. The British National Corpus ...................................................................... 47 1.2.2. The New Model Corpus ............................................................................. 47 1.2.3. ukWaC ....................................................................................................... 48 1.2.4.