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Tuesday 18 December 2007
SCRIPT “OBROLAN PAK JAYUS”
ON AIR di RRI
INTRO MUSIK PEMBUKA / JINGLE.
OBROLAN PAK JAYUS
“AKHIR TAHUN”
SUASANA SANTAI
BACK SOUND : MUSIK.
(TEMPO NARASI BISA LEBIH LAMBAT)
PERGANTIAN TAHUN MASIH BEBERAPA HARI LAGI/ NAMUN SEMARAK UNTUK MENYONGSONG TAHUN BARU TERSEBUT SEPERTINYA TELAH MENGGEMA HAMPIR DI SEGALA PENJURU DUNIA/ TERMASUK JUGA DI INDONESIA// SEBUAH PERAYAAN DALAM MENYAMBUT TAHUN BARU/ BOLEH JADI MERUPAKAN SUATU UNGKAPAN KEGEMBIRAAN DEMI MELEPAS LELAH DAN MERAIH SEMANGAT CITA-CITA YANG LEBIH BAIK LAGI DI TAHUN MENDATANG// NAMUN BERSAMAAN DENGAN HAL TERSEBUT/ SEMESTINYA PERGANTIAN TAHUN DISERTAI DENGAN PERENUNGAN ATAS PERJALANAN YANG TELAH DILALUI SELAMA SETAHUN/ SEHINGGA MENJADI DORONGAN YANG KUAT UNTUK BERBENAH DIRI DEMI MENCAPAI TUJUAN DAN HASIL YANG LEBIH BAIK LAGI//
BILA KITA MEREFLEKSI KEMBALI TERHADAP CATATAN PERISTIWA SELAMA SETAHUN/ MAKA BANYAK HAL YANG TELAH DILALUI DAN DIALAMI BANGSA INI// ENTAH ITU SESUATU YANG BAIK DAN MENJADI PRESTASI/ ATAU JUGA SESUATU YANG BURUK UNTUK MENJADI SEBUAH EVALUASI// MASIH TERBAYANG JELAS BAHWA DI AWAL TAHUN 2007/ BANGSA INI TELAH DISAMBUT OLEH PERISTIWA KECELAKAAN PESAWAT YANG MENELAN BANYAK KORBAN// BEGITU JUGA DENGAN BERBAGAI RANGKAIAN PERISTIWA KECELAKAAN LAINNYA/ BAIK DI BIDANG TRANSPROTASI DARAT ATAUPUN LAUT//
TENTU HAL INI SUDAH SEHARUSNYA MENDAPAT PERHATIAN KITA SEMUA/ KHUSUSNYA PEMERINTAH/ DALAM MELAKUKAN UPAYA PEMBENAHAN AGAR PERISTIWA SERUPA TIDAK TERJADI LAGI/ DAN KESALAHAN-KESALAHAN BARU LAINNYA DAPAT DIHINDARI SEMAKSIMAL MUNGKIN// SEMENTARA ITU MASALAH BBM/ SUPREMASI HUKUM/ ILLEGALLOGING/ NARKOBA DAN PERSOALAN-PERSOALAN LAINNYA/ JUGA TETAP HARUS MENJADI SESUATU YANG PERLU MENDAPAT PENANGAN SERIUS// SEMUA ITU HARUS BERORIENTASI PADA KESEJAHTERAAN PENDUDUK DAN KEMAKMURAN BANGSA//
INTRO
PERBINCANGAN TENTANG PERGANTIAN TAHUN/ JUGA TIDAK LUPUT DARI PEMBICARAAN PAK JAYUS// BAGI PAK JAYUS/ MOMEN PERGANTIAN TAHUN LEBIH TERTUJU KEPADA ADANYA INSTROPEKSI ATAS PERJALANAN HIDUPNYA// BARANGKALI PAK JAYUS ADALAH TERMASUK SALAH SEORANG DARI SEKIAN BANYAK RAKYAT KECIL/ YANG MELEWATI PERGANTIAN TAHUN DENGAN MERENUNGI NASIBNYA/ DAN BERHARAP AGAR MENCAPAI TARAF HIDUP YANG LEBIH BAIK LAGI// KARENA ITULAH TAK ADA KEGIATAN MERIAH YANG DILAKUKAN OLEH PAK JAYUS DALAM MENYONGSONG PERGANTIAN TAHUN//
LAIN PAK JAYUS/ LAIN PULA BU JAYUS// DALAM PERAYAAN PERGANTIAN TAHUN TERSEBUT/ BU JAYUS SANGAT INGIN MELAKUKAN KEGIATAN YANG BISA MENGHIBUR DIRI// IA BERNIAT UNTUK MENGAJAK PAK JAYUS JALAN-JALAN KE KOTA/ AGAR BISA MERASAKAN KEMERIAHAN DI MALAM TAHUN BARU// PERNAH SUATU WAKTU/ BU JAYUS BERKATA PADA SUAMINYA
“PAK, AYO KITA REKREASI KE KOTA BIAR BISA IKUT MERASAKAN JUGA KEMERIAHAN DIMALAM TAHUN BARU..” PAK JAYUS TAMPAK TERDIAM SEJENAK//
“BU/ BAPAK PIKIR SEPERTINYA ITU TIDAK PERLU…// DI DESA KITA JUGA
“MERIAH APANYA PAK..? BUKTINYA TAHUN-TAHUN KEMARIN SAJA SELALU SEPI… TIDAK SERAMAI DI
MELIHAT SIKAP ISTERINYA/ PAK JAYUS HANYA TERSENYUM// LALU IA DEKATI BU JAYUS DAN MERANGKULNYA//
“IYA, MUNGKIN ITU JUGA BENAR…// BU, IKUT BERGEMBIRA BERSAMA YANG LAIN ITU TIDAK MASALAH// TETAPI TIDAK MESTI JUGA
“BERGEMBIRA DISINI…?”TANYA BU JAYUS PENASARAN
“MAKSUD BAPAK BAHWA MESKIPUN KITA TIDAK PERGI KE KOTA/ ATAU MELAKUKAN SEPERTI YANG ORANG KAYA LALUKAN/ YAITU MELANCONG KE LUAR NEGERI/ KITA MASIH BISA KOK BERSUKA RIA DI RUMAH INI..// IBU INGAT TIDAK KALAU DULU BAPAK PERTAMA KALI NAKSIR IBU/ PERSIS DI MALAM PERGANTIAN TAHUN..? DAN JUGA MALAM PERNIKAHAN KITA/
SETELAH MENDENGAR PENJELASAN SUAMINYA/ BU JAYUS JADI TERSENYUM//
“OH IYA, IBU INGAT…// DULU
“YA MALU SEDIKIT TIDAK MASALAH BU.., ASAL JANGAN TIDAK TAHU MALU…/ IYA
“BAPAK BISA AJA…”LANJUT BU JAYUS MANJA// AKHIRNYA MEREKA BERDUA SAMA-SAMA TERSIPU MALU//
INTRO
SEPANJANG TAHUN 2007/ MEMANG HARUS DIAKUI BAHWA MASIH BANYAK HAL YANG HARUS MENDAPAT PERHATIAN DAN PENANGANAN SERIUS DARI PEMERINTAH// PEMBENAHAN MASALAH TRANSPORTASI DARAT/ LAUT DAN UDARA// PERSOALAN ILLEGALLOGING/ BBM/ PEMBERANTASAN KKN DAN SUPREMASI HUKUM// TERMASUK JUGA PEMBERANTASAN PEREDARAN NARKOBA/ SERTA MASALAH-MASALAH PENTING LAINNYA//
SEMENTARA ITU PERSOALAN-PERSOALAN YANG TELAH MENDAPAT PENANGANAN YANG CUKUP BAIK/ JUGA HARUS SEMAKIN DITINGKATKAN// MISALNYA/ KEMAJUAN BNN DALAM MEMBERANTAS PEREDARAN DAN PENGGUNAAN NARKOBA// ATAU JUGA ADANYA PENINGKATAN PENGANGAN MASALAH KORUPSI// MAKA DARI ITU PERAN SERTA DARI SEMUA KOMPONEN BANGSA/ SANGAT DIPERLUKAN// DENGAN BEGITU SEGALA TUJUAN YANG DIRENCANAKAN BISA TERLAKSANA DENGAN BAIK//
DIPENGHUJUNG AKHIR TAHUN INI/ SUDAH SEHARUSNYA PEMERINTAH MEMANG MELAKUKAN EVALUASI MENYELURUH ATAS KINERJA YANG TELAH DILAKUKAN SELAMA SETAHUN BELAKANGAN// DAN SANGAT DIHARAPKAN PULA BAHWA PEMBENAHAN ITU TENTU BUKANLAH SEBAGAI SUATU RUTINITAS SEMATA/ MELAINKAN SEBAGAI UPAYA SERIUS YANG HASILNYA DAPAT DIRASAKAN SECARA NYATA OLEH SELURUH ELEMEN BANGSA// BEGITU JUGA ELEMEN MASYARAKAT TIDAK HANYA SEKEDAR MENGKRITISI/ TETAPI JUGA MEMBERIKAN SOLUSI TERBAIK// SEHINGGA HARAPAN AKAN TERCIPTANYA BANGSA YANG MASYARAKATNYA MAKMUR DAN SEJAHTERA/ DAPAT TERWUJUD/ DIBAWAH RODA PEMERINTAHAN YANG BAIK DAN KOKOH//
SELESAI
Friday 14 December 2007
The Role of Mass Media in Shaping Identity Construction
Sekedar dokumentasi aja supaya bisa diakses dibeberapa tempat tanpa repot bawa2 flash disk. Siapa tahu bermanfaat bagi yang lain juga
The University of Leeds
Institute of Communication Studies
"The Role of Mass Media in Shaping Identity Construction Among British Muslim Diasporas after 9/11"
By
Mohamed Ben Moussa
Supervisor
Dr. Myria Georgiou
MA Dissertation
Submitted in Accordance with the Requirements for the degree of MA in Communication Studies
September 2004
A number of people contributed to the completion of this work. I would like to thank above all Dr. Myria Georgiou who supervised this research and patiently followed it up from conception to the final draft. I would like to thank also my wife who provided me with invaluable remarks and proofread this research with her habitual care and patience. I also owe acknowledgement to all those who were kind enough to sacrifice part of their time to sit to long interviews and share with me some of their most intimate experiences and memories.
Table of Content
2.1 Muslim identity: a background
2.2 Muslim identity and mass media
2.4 Mass media and identity construction
3.1 Muslim Diasporas and media consumption
3.2 Mass media consumption and identity construction
3.4 The representation of Muslims and its impact on diasporic Muslim’s identity construction
Introduction
The 9/11 terrorist attacks were undoubtedly one of the most mediated events in history. They targeted the heart of a major western megalopolis that is a global economic, cultural and media centre. Images of destruction, shock and suffering were displayed on TV screens and newspapers’ front pages for a very long time. One of the major consequences of this media coverage is that it brought Muslims and Islam to the fore in western societies. Akbar (2001) aptly maintains that ‘the terrible and tragic events of September 11 have opened a Pandora’s box of questions about Islam’. In
Mercer (cited in Hall, 1992: 275) argues that ‘identity only becomes an issue when it is in crisis’. Indeed, as the media and popular attention to Muslims and Islam- related issues raised dramatically in western countries, in general, diasporic Muslims have started to feel increasingly caught between their allegiance to their cultural and ethnic background and origins, on the one hand, and the need to dissociate themselves from fundamentalist groups that invoke a radical religious discourse to justify terrorist acts, on the other. Paradoxically, this situation has also pushed many members of the Muslim diasporas in the West to react defensively as well as defiantly by proclaiming in various forms their adherence to their religious background. This situation begs a couple of questions mainly with regard to the way British Muslims regard themselves as a minority and perceive their identity in the light of the media coverage after 9/11.
This dissertation will attempt to investigate the following question: what role do mass media play in shaping identity construction among British Muslims after 9/11? For the purpose of this research work, two hypotheses are put forward. Firstly, mass media, both local and transnational, play a prominent part in diasporic Muslims’ daily life and, thus, affect somehow the way the latter construct their identity. Secondly, despite their importance, mass media do not determine the way diasporic Muslims perceive their identity since the relationship between the media and audiences/readers is dynamic and interactive rather than one of cause and effect.
The paper is divided into three main parts, namely literature review, methodology and discussion and analysis. The literature review part will try to explore key issues underpinning the question of identity construction among British Muslims, mainly by reviewing and discussing some of the main writings on the subject. In addition, it will try to shed light on the primary communication forms that shape diasporic Muslim’s experience and the best way to approach the interaction between audiences and the media. The methodology part will present the method adopted to generate data for the research, namely in–depth interviewing, and the rationale behind the choice of the method and the category of informants. As to the third part, it will attempt to present and discuss the main findings generated by the research data. It will analyse them in the light of the main concepts and theories discussed in the literature review part in order to answer the research question.
The Role of Mass Media in Shaping Identity Construction 2
Literature Review
2.1 Muslim identity: a background
2.1.1. The emergence of the concept of the ‘Muslim identity’ in
The notion of a ‘Muslim identity’ is relatively recent as its emergence dates back only to the late 80s and early 90’s of the last century. Before that, Muslims were usually perceived within ethnic categories inasmuch as ‘ethnic identifications […] rather than religion were recognised in society as the key signifiers of individual and collective difference’ (Ansari, 2003: 9). The rise of populist English nationalism and the New Right movement with its ‘exclusionary and cultural essentialist agenda’ (ibid: 9) led more diasporic Muslims to invoke religion as a basis of identification, and to use a religious discourse to address social problems (ibid: 9). It was the Rushdie affair, however, that witnessed the real emergence of the notions of Muslim ‘identity’ and ‘community’. Modood (2000:48) argues that ‘within a very short period, the label ‘Muslim’ became a principal element of identification on the political scene, and was adopted […] by the media and by the government’ (my translation). In fact, the feeling of being attacked and beleaguered by a ‘hostile’ majority led a great number of diasporic Muslims, ‘even those not practicing for whom their Muslim origins was not very important, to rediscover a new solidarity with their community’ (ibid: 48) (my translation). Accordingly, the notion of ‘Muslim identity’ in
2.1.2 - Muslim communities: diversity and multiple identities
Despite its widespread use, the notion of ‘Muslim identity’, however, remains problematic since it obscures the cultural and ethnic diversity that divides British Muslim diasporas. Indeed, Muslim diasporas in Western countries come from diverse ethnic origins, cultural backgrounds and have had different historical experiences that shape their existence as minority groups. Consequently, ‘values, symbols and aspirations, approaches to issues of identity, strength of adherence to ritual and loyalty to kin networks […] are likely to be extremely varied, making Muslims in Britain a very heterogeneous population’ (Ansari, 2003: 3). This diversity is bound to affect the way different Muslim groups interpret, practice and link religion to their daily life. Mandeville (2003: 135) maintains that ‘different understandings and interpretations of the religion map onto particular ethnic and communal affiliations’. Moreover, heterogeneity characterizes single diasporic groups, as well. Although they share many aspects, Arab Muslims, for instance, come from diverse backgrounds that run across regional, social and ideological differences. The label ‘Arab’ is also problematic since it may engulf ethnic and linguistic diversity, as is the case in North African countries where a considerable part of populations is from Berber origins.
Indeed, in most cases, ethnic, national, regional and class variables may strongly compete with religious identity and sometimes eclipse it among British Muslims. Halliday (cited in Ansari, 2003: 12) points out that ‘Islam may, in some contexts, be the prime form of political and social identity, but it is never the sole form and is often not the primary one within Muslim societies and “communities”’. Lending credence to Halliday, Dassetto (cited in Mandeville, 2001: 111) argues that the majority of people designated as ‘Muslims’ and who live in Western countries do not practice regularly their religion. These arguments provide an insight into the ‘Muslim’ identity and bring out its heterogeneous nature. However, they seem to ignore the influence of religion itself on the other variables of identity. Actually, because Muslims around the world try to adapt Islam to their own social and cultural experience, religion has become tightly interwoven into social traditions. It is not always possible, then, to disassociate the religious from the non-religious aspects of culture. This may explain why some non-practicing Muslims still invoke religion as an important factor underpinning their choices or perception of the worldas the research data reveal.
2.2 Muslim identity and mass media
2.2.1. Representation of Muslim before and after 9/11
The emergence of a ‘Muslim’ community proclaiming a shared identity has been generally opposed from the start by both the liberal and conservative media in
Actually, a research study that surveyed the British newspapers between 1993 and 1997, found that these newspapers predominantly ignored covering British Muslims’ life and culture, and that when they did, the coverage was predominantly negative (
It may be argued that
In fact, as was the case during the Rushdie affair and the second Gulf war, British Muslims found themselves once again under heavy media spotlights after the events of 9/11. A research study spanning a period of one year from 9/11 found that references to Muslims by British broadsheet newspapers increased by 250 to 280 %, and, in some papers like the Sun, by 658% (Whitaker, 2002). Moreover, recurrent stereotypes, mainly negative ones, inform Muslims’ representation in the media (ibid). Though reference to British Muslims was kept low as most coverage concerned Muslims outside Britain, (see Whitaker, 2002 & Werbner, 2002), research studies conducted among British Muslims have revealed that the majority regard news media with great mistrust and suspicion (www.AfterSptember11-TV). Those findings testify to the fact that minorities, in general, and diasporic Muslims, in particular, are sensitive to the way mainstream media portray them. They seem also to confirm that identity construction is contingent as much upon the way people represent themselves as on how they perceive the ‘Other’ portray them (Hall, 1996: 8).
2.3. Understanding identity
2.3.1. Identity as a discourse
Before investigating further identity construction among diasporic Muslims, it is primordial to explore the concept of identity itself. It is commonly assumed that identity is a unified essence made of a set of clear and stable characteristics that give a human being his/her uniqueness. Yet, as Gidens (1991: 53) asserts, ‘self-identity is not a distinctive trait or even a collection of traits, possessed by the individual. It is the self as reflexively understood by the person in terms of her or his biography’. In this sense, identity can be understood as discursive constructions made by individuals about themselves since ‘there can be no identity experience or social practice which is not discursively constructed’ (Barker, 1999: 23). It is via various forms of expressions, either linguistic, visual or others, that meaning can be produced and identities can be constructed (Hall, 1997:3). It is noteworthy that considering identity to be discursively produced can be very productive for the purpose of this research, as it allows for investigating identity construction empirically through the study of the discourse diasporic Muslims produce.
Furthermore, while viewing identity as constantly changing is important, this definition does not account, however, for how people can still identify with particular forms of individual and collective identities. This fact can be more relevant to certain communities where identification with traditional forms of affiliations run across tribal, sectarian and regional divisions, as is the case with many Muslim diasporas. Accordingly, it is possible to argue that identity is neither wholly fluid nor open to endless reconstructions, for ‘we can alter it, but only within the constraints imposed by our inherited constitution’ (Parekh, 2000b: 5). The latter view of identity can be more appropriate to investigate the way many first generation British Muslims hold to traditional forms of affiliations, such as tribalism, while at the same time engage actively in modernistic forms of allegiance, such as citizenship in the British society.
Furthermore, since identity is discursively constructed, it is built around and within the notion of difference inherent in all forms of expressions and languages. It is therefore ‘continually being produced within the vectors of a similarity and difference’ (Barker, 1999: 28). Because of that, identities can incorporate discourses of inclusion as well as exclusion. In fact, if the notion of difference has a positive function that allows the production of culture and identity, it can also be ‘a site of danger, of negative feelings, of splitting, hostility and aggression towards the ‘Other’ (Hall, 1997: 238). This sheds light on the way diasporic Muslims construct their identity within a context in which they feel beleaguered and rejected by the dominant ‘Other’. It can also highlight the way the ‘other’ is constructed within diasporic Muslims’ discourse about identity.
2.3.2. Diasporic experience and identity
Terms and concepts such as ‘minority’, ‘ethnicity’ and ‘diaspora’ are often used interchangeably to refer to immigrants who have settled down in a second country. Sreberny (2000: 182) maintains that the term diaspora is more appropriate to study migrants’ communities. Unlike the term ‘ethnicity’, which implies ‘a group looking inward to its new national host context’, the concept of diaspora offers more than the others ‘a critique of discourses of fixed origins, while taking account of a homing desire which is not the same thing as desires for ‘homeland’’ (Brah, 1996: 182). Because this research concentrates on the first generations of British Muslims, the term ‘diaspora’ offers an adequate conceptual framework from which to investigate people who are still closely attached to the cultures of their countries of origin while at the same time trying to adapt to that of their host society. It equally provides a framework within which it is possible to investigate identity construction within power relations between different ethnic groups. Thus, studying identity construction among diasporic Muslims can reveal how diasporic experience is tightly interwoven into discursive patterns that represent the self, the other and power relations between the two.
2.4 Mass media and identity construction
Mass media play a central role in the formation of communities by creating an imagined unity among people and a sense of belonging to a community among them (
2.4.1. The role of transnational media
While many types of media have developed in recent years, transnational television channels remain the most important ones that play a prominent part in the life of diasporic communities. Diasporic people living in western countries were generally ‘among the earliest adopters of DBS for cross-border transmissions - with its pizza-sized receiving dish installed on homes becoming the symbol of community self-assertion’ (Karim, 1998: 1). As far as Arab Muslims are concerned, transnational news channels like Al-Jazeera have become the main source of news for many Arabs living in many western countries (El-Nawawy and Iskandar 2002: 65-6). By allowing them to view events and issues through similar perspectives as do people in their countries of origin, transnational media reinforce among diasporic people the sense of belonging to these communities. Besides, because diasporic people are able to follow news on both transnational and local media, they are in a better position to compare and contrast the way both types of media cover various issues and events. Indeed, transnational television news channels offer diasporic Muslims different perspectives on events that meet their own concerns and expectations. Consequently, most diasporic Muslims in
2.4.2. Mass media and alternative forms of communication
Despite their pervasive presence, mass media ‘do not monopolize the flow of information we receive, nor do they intervene in all our wider social relations’ (McQuail, 2002:65). Other forms of communicative systems are also very influential in channelling people’s experiences and bringing them together. Various commentators have, thus, tried to define different media forms that compete with mass media, such as ‘small media’, ‘community media’ and ‘radical media’ (Sreberny & Mohammadi, 1994: 20). Concerning diasporas, Dayan (1998:181) proposes a more inclusive definition of the communication networks that play an important part in the experience of diasporic people. He maintains that it might be unproductive to limit the concept of diasporic media to conventional media such as the radio, television and journalism. According to him, it is more useful to include the ‘“smaller” media and to focus on the various practices, institutions and organizations […] that link the different segments of diasporic ensembles each other’ (ibid).
As far as diasporic Muslims are concerned, various communication systems shape their life apart from the mass media, such as community societies and religious institutions. Rawan (2001: 179) advances that the Mosque, for instance, is among ‘the most important pillars of traditional and interpersonal communication throughout traditional Islamic society’. Diasporic Muslims bring with them these traditional communication systems and try to adapt them to their experiences in various social and cultural contexts. It can, thus, be argued that mass media and ‘small’ media as systems of communication, though operating at different levels, interact dynamically with the daily experience of diasporic Muslims, and contribute to shaping the way latter perceive themselves. This begs the question as to how the interaction between audiences and various communication systems can be best investigated.
2.5 Investigating Audiences
2.5.1. The notion of the active reader
Recent media studies have deeply challenged the linear model of media effect as a process involving sender/message/receiver. Among the most influential of these are the ones that draw on Hall’s encoding/decoding model. Hall advances three decoding positions, namely those of a dominant hegemonic, a negotiated, and an oppositional decoding ‘in which people may understand the preferred encoding but reject it and decode in contrary ways’ (cited in Barker, 1997: 117). Though this model restores the balance between text and audience, the role of the latter remains restricted by the boundaries set by the text. Ang (1996: 20) contends that the notion of the active audience in this context is ‘limited to negotiations open to viewers within the given range of significations made possible by a text or genre texts’.
2.5.2. Audience and daily life experience
Actually, the concept of the active reader should not be limited to a relation between reader and text but should also include ‘the relationship between the textual and extra-textual resources drawn upon during making sense of television’ (Livingston, 1998: 189). Indeed, the act of decoding cannot be separated from the wider social and cultural context within which it takes place, neither from other activities accompanying the act of viewing television. Besides being part of a wider context, audiences are not fixed entities inasmuch as they are unstable and rather fluid. Ang (cited in Morley, 1992: 195) suggests that ‘people constantly move in and out of “the TV audience” as they integrate viewing behaviour with a multitude of other concerns and activities in radically contingent ways’.
In this light, investigating the way audiences bring their daily life experiences to bear on the acts of consuming various media texts can provide a valuable insight into the way diasporic Muslims draw upon media texts to reinvent their identities. It can also reveal how the consumption of media texts is far from being an interaction between readers and isolated media texts. As audiences, diasporic Muslims consume various and related texts that are constantly cross-referring to, enhancing or negating one another. It can also reveal how the act of consuming media texts is more a collective than an individual act in which interpersonal communication between the members of the family or community strongly influence how British Muslims make sense of media texts and their daily life experiences. In order to explore this category of audiences, i.e. diasporic Muslims, within their contexts, an ethnographic method, namely in-depth interviewing, is applied to generate the appropriate data for this research.
The Role of Mass Media in Shaping Identity Construction 3
Methodology
Since the question put forward in this research paper, i.e. the role mass media play in shaping identity among British Muslim diasporas, attempts to uncover the way diasporic Muslims understand their experiences as community members and audiences, an ethnographic method is more suitable for the research. Morley (1992: 183) asserts that the ‘ethnographic approach for studying communication rests on an ability to understand how social actors themselves define and understand their own communication practices’. As for in-depth interviewing, it is appropriate for the type of issues in which the research has to dig under the surface of social and cultural manifestations to discover ‘what is usually hidden from ordinary view or reflection or to penetrate to more reflective understandings about the nature of that experience’ (Johnson, 2002: 107).
Accordingly, I conducted interviews with eight Arab Muslims, seven males and one female, who have all been living in
A number of reasons informed the choice of this particular category of British Muslims. Firstly, I concentrated on the members of the first generation of diasporic Muslims in order to narrow down the number of variables for which the research has to account, such as the age category, level of exposure to the local culture and command of English as a first or second language. The choice of Arab diasporic Muslims equally limited the number of variables the research has to deal with, such as the type of transnational media that the informants consume.
In addition, while these people belong to the first generation of immigrants whose culture and identity are deeply rooted in their countries of origin, they stayed in Britain long enough to become familiar with the host country’s social and cultural norms and traditions. Indeed, though their experience may not be informed by intense forms of hybrid identities, as would be the case of the members of the second generation, they are more representative of diasporic experience characterised by living a continuing journey while paradoxically trying to settle down somewhere away from ‘home’.
What’s more, since effective in-depth interviewing seeks to build intimacy between the interviewer and informants (Johnson, 2002: 104), concentrating on Arab Muslims was very helpful. The fact that I share with informants the same cultural and linguistic background encouraged the informants to share with me their deep feelings and opinions about their experiences. It also enabled the informants to use both Arabic and English interchangeably to express their feelings, and to make diverse cultural references to illustrate their viewpoints.
It is noteworthy that one of the biggest obstacles I encountered in conducting the interviews was to find suitable informants who were ready to participate in such forms of research. A large number of the people I contacted were very reluctant to sit for an interview, and I was able to convince some of them only through community leaders. Two reasons account for their fear of and scepticism about all forms of field research. Many people among diasporic Arabs came to Britain
The Role of Mass Media in Shaping Identity Construction 4
3. Discussion And Analysis
3.1 Muslim Diasporas and media consumption
Like it is the case with most of the British people who ‘spend, on average, 25 hours per week watching television’ (Livingstone, 1996: 305), mass media, and particularly television, play an important role in the life of diasporic Muslims, in terms of both the time spent watching television and the centrality of the latter in their activities at home. Indeed, all informants confirmed that television holds a central position at home since watching it is the main activity they perform with their families when they gather in evenings or at weekends. They all indicated that the coming of transnational channels transformed their viewing habits and the way they interact with media in general.
Actually, before the advent of transnational channels, diasporic Arab Muslims could only watch local channels, relying on the radio to get news about their countries of origin. Raed, a British Iraqi, says about his experience at that time:
We used to watch only BBC TV channels. There was a scarcity in news. We got news about the Arab World by listening to Arab radio stations on short waves, [which] did not have a good reputation, except the Arabic service in the BBC World service. We used to stay late in the night to listen to this channel.
Thanks to the revolution in communications technologies, Arab satellite channels using DBS and, later on, digital technologies mushroomed after the second Gulf war in 1991 (see Ayish, 2001). This provided a wide range of choices to Arab Muslims living in
I follow the news at every hour. [we watch] mainly Arab channels. I don’t mind watching English ones, but they cover events like [those of]
Television news programs provide diasporic people with more than information. For them, ‘news viewing is ritualistic, symbolic and a matter of feeling as much as information’ (Barker, 1997: 131). Watching news, mainly on Arab transnational Arab channels, helps diasporic Muslims to feel connected to their native countries and communities. It helps them also to feel they belong to a local community with whom they share common preferences and point of view on issues that interest them most. Georgiou (2004: 54) rightly notes that, ‘media reinforce a sense of belonging in a community that can exist even if its members are dispersed across different countries, even if they are otherwise very different in terms of generation, age, class, gender and sexuality’. For Muslim Arab audiences, news about the Islamic World, in general, and the Arab World, in particular hold priority over other types of news. Since most of the times local channels allocate a short time for news about the Arab world, they do not attract the attention of Arab audiences. .
However, despite the fact they share many common traits, diasporic Arab Muslims do not constitute a homogeneous audience or media consumers, in general. In fact, a wide range of factors that run across diverse modalities of gender, class, generations and education underpin their experience as consumers of media texts. The data generated by the informants’ testimonies showed that there is a wide spectrum of diversity at the level of media choices and television consumption habits. At the far end of the spectrum, some respondents indicated that they hardly watched local channels due to moral reasons. Speaking about his preferences, Hisham points out:
At home we watch only Arab channels. … We watch mainly news programs on Al-Jazeera, and religious programs on Al-Manar and Eqra’a channels[1]. We don’t watch English channels. Their channels are immoral. They show immoral things even in ads to promote goods. It is acceptable for them, but not for us. I fear about our children, and so we don’t switch to [these channels].
It is evident, then, that mass media, mainly local television channels, are considered by some diasporic Muslims as a threat to their identity and that of their children’s. It is also clear that religion is an important factor both behind the choice of programs to watch or those to avoid. While at the other end of the spectrum, another informant declared that he watched Arab channels only for a very short time each day. Because he is married to a British woman of Pakistani origin, and his children have grown up in
I am the only person at home who knows Arabic very well, and I don’t want to impose my choices on the other members of the family…so normally I contend by watching only one news hour on Al-Jazeera. The remaining time we watch English channels…I like to watch comedies, because when you start to understand the culture you enjoy them more.
The last two examples demonstrate clearly that watching television is an act that is tightly interwoven in the fabric of everyday life at home and the particularity of that experience. They also show that the act of watching television is more a collective activity than individual one, which reflects power relations between the members of the family as well as the cultural norms that govern their life (see Morley, 1986). In the former example, on the one hand, the act of watching television is strictly monitored by the head of the family and subjected to guidelines governing the home, where many diasporic Muslims try to live in accordance to the cultural norms of their native countries. Zokaie and Philips (2000: 49) note that the ‘interaction between western values and Islamic values is often seen [by British Muslims] as potentially disruptive and as something which requires constant vigilance by the parents to keep their children in control’.
In the latter example, on the other hand, the act of watching television is governed more by the experience of members of the family in the local society where they live. In fact, Raed’s case is a an illustration of diasporic experience where members of a diaspora have to find a compromise between choosing to live according to the cultural norms of their native countries and adapting to those of the dominant culture in their host society.
Furthermore, some informants declared that, though they prefer to watch Arab channels, they like also to watch local ones because the latter provide them with programs that most benefit them in their daily life. Thus, Anas, a Moroccan restaurant-owner, indicated that he followed regularly ‘Ramsey’ Kitchen nightmares’ program on channel 4 because he learns from it how to enhance the profile of his restaurant. Accordingly, though they are widely watched and in most cases preferred over other media outlets, transnational channels do not negate the importance of local media in the daily life of diasporic Muslims, as the latter help them to get integrated into the society where they live.
Besides, while they differ in terms of the type of the channels they watch, diasporic Muslims differ also in how they consume media messages. Some of the respondents showed they were active readers who process media messages critically and sceptically. Hisham, for instance, stated that he did not trust all that Arab channels said about
practice propaganda and look for sensationalism when they report news about bombings in
As Hisham discovered, transnational channels, like all media, do not reflect reality but construct it according to a particular discursive structure and ideological point of view. More importantly, he uses one medium, namely the telephone, to check the validity of messages he receives via a different medium, namely television. This shows that media do not function in isolation, but can negate, refer to or complement one another. The ability of respondents to deal critically with the media differs widely according to their level of education and social status. The notion of the active audience, however, should not be understood only in the sense of resistant readers who are able to counter-interpret media messages. As Livingston (1998: 189) notes, ‘the question of resistance […] hangs not so much on the interpretative process but on the relation between the textual and extra-textual resources drawn upon during making sense of television’ or any other mass medium. Commenting on the way she interprets both local and transnational media, Rajaa, an Egyptian and medical consultant, says:
When I want to know about something, I check the Guardian, the BBC and of course Al-Jazeera. But I trust more Al-Jazeera. I think they give complementary view… but when I read in the Guardian about
The latter example demonstrates clearly that reading a text critically does not involve only the reader and media texts. As a Muslim woman living in
3.2 Mass media consumption and identity construction
While the samples used to generate the data for the current research cannot be claimed to be representative of the Arab Muslim diaspora in
I’m a Muslim, I’m an Iraqi, too…
Other informants affirmed they viewed the Muslim identity as categorically opposed to the ‘British’ one, on moral grounds. Arguing about the dangers of living within a different cultural and social context compared to the one of his native country, Saeed points out:
It’d better if you want to keep your identity and origins not to integrate too much with [the English], because you will lose then your religion […] They believe in individual freedom. A man from us cannot do whatever he likes except according to the precepts of God. You should not have sex with a girl without marriage. They consider it as a normal thing […] you see how they became so immoral.
Saeed’s last statement reflects a clear essentialist view of religion, identity and the other. It reduces the ‘Muslim identity’ to purely moral guidelines, while it views the ‘English’ identity as diametrically opposed to and uncompromisingly different from the ‘Muslim’ one. Ansari (2003:8) rightly argues that interpretations of Islam that portray it as ‘immune to processes of economic, social, ideological and political change, have long obscured the complexities of the historical experience of Muslims in different societies’.
In contrast to the previous stance, other respondents, mainly those who stated that they preferred to watch both transnational and local television channels, and are open to Western media, in general, revealed a less essentialist view of how they regard their identity. Anas, for instance, says that although he is a Muslim, he feels his Moroccan identity takes precedence over any other form of identity:
I’m Moroccan first. Moroccan culture is deeply rooted in me. When I meet other Muslims I feel they look at me first as a Moroccan. It’s in their subconscious, and mine. My first adherence is to
Indeed, despite the importance of religion, it is far from being the sole variable shaping British Muslims identity. Though they may identify with Asian Muslims on religious grounds, Arab Muslims, for instance, may view them to be different culturally. Describing how she perceives non-Arab Muslims, mainly Asian Muslims, Rajaa points out:
When I see a Pakistani woman, I think this is a Muslim woman. I don’t think I share with her many cultural aspects, though I share with her religion. There is something that unites us, but it’s different when I think of somebody of
Indeed, the boundaries of an ethnic community are neither clearly marked nor complete, since they are constantly changing and reconstructed within the diasporic experience. Commenting on how he rediscovered his affiliation to a Pan-Arab cultural background, Anas says:
When I came to
Ana’s identity as a Moroccan is a complex articulations of Arab, Islamic, African and Berber origins, on the one hand, and Mediterranean one, on the other. His journey away from his country set him off on another journey in which he rediscovered the complexity of his cultural roots and identity affiliations. His experience reveals clearly how an ethnic group is never a closed community since it is a circle endlessly crossed by other circles that defy any attempt at imposing clear boundaries on it. His experience also indicates how diasporic experience is a constant search for stability both in the real sense and in terms of cultural affiliations. As Hall (1993:402) states, ‘diaspora identities are those which are constantly producing themselves anew, through transformation and difference’.
While the above findings may suggest the existence of dynamic relation between the way people consume and interact with mass media and how they construct their own identity, this does not mean that mass media determine how people perceive identity. What the findings may confirm is that there is a sort of an active interaction between the media and the way diasporic Muslims try to cope with their life as members of a minority estranged from their native homes and cultures. Indeed, because members of any ethnic group bring their experiences to the act of consuming media, ‘the functions and values of media and identities meet dynamically in everyday life, and although (or perhaps because) conflicts and inconsistencies exist, they achieve their compatibility’ (Georgiou, 2004: 59).
3.3 The role of religious and community institutions in identity construction: the mosque as an example
While the mass media, both the local and transnational ones, play an important role in the way British Muslims construct their identity, they are not the only institutions or systems that have that role. In this sense, there are a number of institutions that contribute enormously to the way many British Muslims construct their identity, such as Islamic societies, community groups and associations. A number of respondents declared they were members of such institutions where they share with other Muslims their experiences, organize common activities, or perform religious and cultural ceremonies. As Ansari (2003: 11-12) notes, in the experience of Muslim diasporas in
The mosque remains the most important among all these forms of organized communal life. Unlike in Islamic countries where the majority of mosques are used mainly for prayer, in Britain, mosques act as cultural and social centres that provide many services such as language teaching, social help and moral guidance for local communities, among others. Commenting on the role of the Mosque for him as a Muslim, Raed notes:
For me, [the mosque] was the place that helped me to bear the feeling of estrangement, and where to meet other [Muslim] people. The mosque organizes activities during religious feasts and vacations. In addition, it is where we pray daily and can meet each other. When I came here, I did not know many things, and I met people [in the mosque] who guided me.
Most respondents also noted that the role of the mosque has been enhanced by the religious freedom enjoyed by Muslims in
In the Mosque here, you have on Monday a religious sermon by Sheikh Judea. Tuesday, you can have a lecture, the next day another activity… you see… you sit with an Imam […] who allows you to ask any question in your mind and he encourages you to think and gives you freedom… this doesn’t existent at home. They used to teach us only ablutions and inheritance.
Indeed, religious identity for diasporic Muslim is not something they bring with them from their home countries and live by rigidly. As they discover new ways to define religion itself, they start to contest ‘what it means to be a Muslim, what Islam means and how it should be constructed and reproduced both in the West and in the rest of the world’ (Werbner, 2000: 315). In this light, it is possible to argue that mass media and ‘small’ media as systems of communication, though operating at different levels, interact dynamically with the daily experience of Muslim diasporas, and contribute to shape the latter’s way of viewing themselves as an ethnic minority.
3.4 The Representation of Muslims and its impact on diasporic Muslim’s identity construction
The data yielded rich and diverse information on how different respondents interact with various media, and the manner in which they perceive their identity. Paradoxically though, it revealed that, however problematic it is, the notion of the existence of a unified Muslim identity is shared by most respondents. In other words, if identity is discursively constructed, it is composed of complex and sometimes opposed discourses about the self, the other and the community. The data equally revealed the complexity and, perhaps, particularity of the experience of diasporic Muslims in
Indeed, while some respondents did not consider their religious background as the prime constituent of their identity, they indicated that the ‘Other’, namely the white British people regard them mainly as Muslims. Moreover, most respondents claimed that they have become more aware of the importance of their Islamic affiliations because of what they regard as a hostile attitude towards Muslim minority, either in the way the local media represent them or within society at large. Thus, Raed thinks that though Muslim Arabs differ from Asian Muslims at many levels,
It doesn’t matter for [for the British] really if you were an Arab, a Hindu, or an African. It is enough that you are different and that you are in an inferior position, and that’s the end of it. The relationship that binds you is that between an aboriginal citizen and an alien.
Despite the cultural, ethnic and even sectarian differences that divide them, many diasporic Muslims members see that what unifies them all really is the feeling of being beleaguered not only within
[1] The two channels broadcast mainly religious programs.
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