Utah Muslims decry unbalanced media coverage

In a time when violence in the Middle East rules the television screen and the front page, Utah's Muslim community asked local media for help in spreading a little understanding about who they are.

Utah Muslims gave some thoughts, as well as a dose of healthy criticism to representatives of the Deseret Morning News, Salt Lake Tribune and City Weekly during a roundtable discussion at the University of Utah Saturday.

Members of the Muslim Forum of Utah sent an open invitation to Utah's media to have a heart-to-heart discussion about reporting on Muslims, as well as Islam itself. Many organizers were disappointed that none of the television stations showed up.

Asha Patel, a U.S.-born citizen who converted to Islam, said it has been a struggle since 9/11 to fight the misconception that Islam is a religion of violence. It also doesn't help, she said, when media outlets attribute bombings to "Islamic terrorists."

"We don't refer to the IRA as Catholic terrorists," Patel said. "There are Muslims who kill people, but there are others who kill people as well."

Many in the U.S. media assume all Muslims are Arab and vice versa, speakers noted, but statistics show that less than 20 percent of all Muslims worldwide come from an Arabic heritage.

"The media hasn't really done a great job, especially the national media, in portraying Islam," said guest speaker Maha ElGenaidi of the Islamic Networks Group, based in California's bay area. She said the way Islam is portrayed in the media has an impact on tens of thousands of Muslims living and working in the U.S.

ElGenaidi said a recent survey of U.S. Muslims indicated that 77 percent of them have encountered bias in their workplace. Of those, 45 percent considered quitting their jobs, and 55 percent said the bias affected their productivity. Yet only 23 percent reported their concerns to management.

In schools, Muslim children, particularly girls, are being harassed because they wear a hijab to school, ElGenaidi said. Most of that stems from a lack of understanding and what other children learn about Islam in the media, ElGenaidi said.

Many attending Saturday's meeting said the local media tends to stereotype when covering Islamic events. Cameras are usually trained on those who dress differently, and the blonde Muslim dressed in ordinary clothes is ignored, Patel said. "I really believe that the media has good intentions," she added.