Where does one seek the truth?

Where do we seek the truth?

In recent times media publications and the federal government of Australia have portrayed those who identify as Muslim in an increasingly negative light.  Hopkins states that, "a recent survey of Islam in the media has shown that, when it appears in  mainstream media representations, Islam is usually treated negatively (Dunn, 2004) and is often associated with terrorism, war, fundamentalism, and the repression of women", (Hopkins, 1998, pp.43). In teaching a Modern History curriculum unit, based on asylum seekers and immigration, at a Brisbane based high school; media bias has never been more prevalent. When asked the question: where does your information on refugee's come from, is it the media? 100% of the senior Modern History class raised their hand. Their beliefs conformed with the stereotypical statements Hopkins address above, that Islam is associated with terror, war, fundamentalism and the repression of women.

Throughout the course of the unit it was the teachers aim to transform student understanding of asylum seekers and the negative connotations delivered to them by the government and media publications; through correct information and  the systematic deconstruction of media bias; an objective and balanced viewpoint was reached. When the idea of religion was touched on in one particular class,  the Westbro Baptist Church, in relationship to Islamic fundamentalists was compared. It was then found that each religious community has their own extreme group and that media publications will only ever focus on what they believe will get the most ratings or sell the most newspaper, even if its not an entirely truthful representation.

Reference list:

Hopkins. L 2008. Muslim Turks and Anti- Muslim discourse. Australian Journal of Communication. vol. 35. no. 1. pp. 42-55.