The Stereotyping of Muslims: An Analysis of The New York Times’ and The Washington Times’ Coverage of Veiling and the Muhammad Cartoon Controversy By: Julie Schønemann A thesis presented to: The Department of Literature, Area Studies, and European Languages -North American Area Studies- -Faculty of Humanities- Supervisor: Deborah Lynn Kitchen-Døderlein In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MA degree University of Oslo Spring 2013 © Julie Schønemann 2013 Title: The Stereotyping of Muslims: An Analysis of The New York Times’ and The Washington Times’ Coverage of Veiling and the Muhammad Cartoon Controversy Author: Julie Schønemann http://www.duo.uio.no/ Print: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo II Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank everyone who made it possible for me to complete this new, daunting and important task of writing a thesis. It is with immense gratitude that I acknowledge the support and help of my supervisor, Deborah Kitchen-Døderlein, for supervising this research project. Her comments, feedback, encouraging words and thesis lunches have been very helpful. I would like to thank my family, for their unconditional support and for always believing in me during my many years at the University of Oslo. This thesis would not have been possible without my loving and supporting family. Finally, I wish to thank my friends and class mates. I am grateful to all my study friends, whom I have shared thoughts and concerns with, as well as coffee breaks, lunches and good conversations over the last years. III IV Summary: This thesis investigates the stereotypical portrayal of Muslims in the American media. More specifically, it explores the relative importance of stereotype theory, prejudice theory and the stereotype content model in the media’s remaking and reinforcing of common stereotypes of Muslims. This study argues that that Muslims were stereotypically portrayed in The New York Times’ and The Washington Times’ coverage of the Muhammad cartoons controversy and the tradition of veiling among Muslim women. The thesis looks into the common themes and stereotypes found in the coverage of these two topics. Furthermore, the thesis argues the stereotype content model can explain how prejudice towards Muslims as an out-group varies depending on the portrayed media case and stereotype. In this sense, the variety of stereotypes found about Muslims confirms Fiske and colleague’s stereotype content model, where stereotypes are mixed and vary along the dimensions of warmth and competence. Finally, the thesis shows how a variety of media tools (i.e. framing, priming, agenda setting etc.) influence the American media audience’s perceptions of Muslims as an out-group. V VI Table of Contents 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 The Structure of the Thesis .......................................................................................... 3 1.2 Methodology ................................................................................................................ 5 1.3 Methodological Challenges ......................................................................................... 7 1.4 The Significance of the Research ................................................................................ 8 1.5 Historiographical Debate ............................................................................................. 9 1.5.1 The Stereotyping of Muslims is not New, but the Context is .............................. 9 1.5.2 Muslims are Just like any Other Minority Group .............................................. 11 1.5.3 The Fear of Islam has Replaced the Earlier “Red Scare” .................................. 13 1.5.4 Muslims are Different and Part of a “Band of Others” ...................................... 14 1.5.5 The Stereotyping of Muslims has Changed after 9/11 ....................................... 15 1.5.6 Islam, Terrorism, and Fundamentalism are Falsely Linked ............................... 17 1.5.7 Muslims are Visible and Invisible at the Same Time ......................................... 18 2 Theoretical framework and the Media ............................................................................. 21 2.1 Gordon Allport’s Prejudice Theory ........................................................................... 21 2.2 Stereotype Theory ...................................................................................................... 22 2.3 The Stereotype Content Model .................................................................................. 25 2.4 The Media’s Influence on the Stereotyping Process ................................................. 29 2.5 Media Tools and the Media’s Subtle Influence on Us .............................................. 31 2.6 Minority Coverage in the Media ............................................................................... 35 2.7 The Stereotyping of Muslims in the Media ............................................................... 36 3 Stereotyping in the Coverage of “Veiling” ...................................................................... 41 3.1 The Historical Context of the Veil ............................................................................ 42 3.2 The Journalistic Angle on Islam and Voices ............................................................. 44 3.3 Media Tools: Language, Words and Headings ......................................................... 46 3.4 Themes....................................................................................................................... 48 3.4.1 The Lack of Everyday Stories and how Muslim Women Must Choose ............ 48 3.4.2 Security, Terrorism, and Fundamentalism ......................................................... 50 3.4.3 The Veil Ban and Religious Freedom and Rights .............................................. 51 VII 3.5 Stereotyping in the Media’s Portrayal of Veiling ...................................................... 53 3.5.1 The Submissive Victim ...................................................................................... 54 3.5.2 The Veiled Terrorist ........................................................................................... 56 3.5.3 The Backwards Muslim Woman ........................................................................ 58 3.5.4 The Fundamental Veiled Muslim Woman ......................................................... 59 3.6 The Media Fails to Explain why Women Choose to Veil ......................................... 61 3.7 Conclusion on the Coverage of Veiling .................................................................... 63 4 Stereotyping in the Coverage of the Muhammad Cartoon Controversy .......................... 65 4.1 The Cartoons’ Intentions and Responses................................................................... 66 4.2 The Journalistic Angle on Islam and Voices ............................................................. 68 4.3 Media Tools: Language, Words and Headings ......................................................... 70 4.4 Themes....................................................................................................................... 72 4.4.1 The Sanctity of Freedom of Speech ................................................................... 72 4.4.2 Self-censorship ................................................................................................... 74 4.4.3 The Clash of Civilizations .................................................................................. 76 4.4.4 Immigration and Integration ............................................................................... 77 4.4.5 The Media’s Double Standard ............................................................................ 79 4.4.6 Terrorism ............................................................................................................ 80 4.5 Stereotyping in the Muhammad Cartoon Controversy .............................................. 83 4.5.1 The Violent Muslim and the Terrorist ................................................................ 83 4.5.2 The Religious Fundamentalist ............................................................................ 86 4.5.3 The Victim of Islamophobia in Europe .............................................................. 88 4.6 Chapter Conclusion and the Stereotype Content Model ........................................... 89 5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 91 5.1 Conclusions in Light of the Stereotype Content Model ............................................ 93 5.2 Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................. 95 5.3 Recommendation for Future Research ...................................................................... 96 5.4 Limitation of the Study .............................................................................................. 97 BIBIOLGRAPHY .................................................................................................................... 99 VIII IX X 1 Introduction Over the past two decades, the American media has produced a significant amount of news coverage on Islam, the Middle East and Muslim related cases. Events such as the Rushdie Affair, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the