Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World
- ISBN13: 9780679758907
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
From the Iranian hostage crisis through the Gulf War and the bombing of the World Trade Center, the American news media have portrayed “Islam” as a monolithic entity, synonymous with terrorism and religious hysteria. In this classic work, now updated, the author of Culture and Imperialism reveals the hidden agendas and distortions of fact that underlie even the most “objective” coverage of the Islamic world.Amazon.com Review
While the 16 years that have passed since the first edition of this book hit the stands have been marked by an increase in sensitivity toward many ethnic, racial, and sexual minorities, the easy acceptance of stereotypes and prejudices in the portrayal, depiction of, and reporting about Islamic peoples has remained largely constant. In this updated version of this rigorous but engaging volume Edward Said looks at how American popular media has used and perpetuated a narrow and unfavorable image of Islamic peoples, and how this has prevented understanding while providing a fictitious common enemy for the diverse American populace.
Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World
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Ed Said is dead but his silly writings still continue to be published.
Don’t waste your time or money, forget this book.
Rating: 1 / 5
For those of you not familiar with Edwards Said’s unabashed support of terror groups AND getting caught in complete lies about his own privileged nonPalestinian background, do some research. This guy is not an authoritative source on anything. Sorry to have been force fed this book in class.Hes a charlatan only concerned about his own prestige.
Rating: 1 / 5
Here, as elsewhere in his writings, Edward Said has confused language with action. By that reasoning, if I were to say that there is peace on earth it would be the case. Or as Said puts it (p. 144) because certain socio-political-economic powers in the West have a vested interest in a certain image of Islam, “those sectors have the power to propagate THAT image of Islam”. Thought thus becomes action. If I think it; it is so.
Furthermore, by equating speech and action he has, in fact, denigrated both. I, personally, find many things Edward Said says about Jews in general and Israelis in particular offensive. I feel that by saying these ugly things he is drawing a false and mendacious picture of both. However, I do not feel that because he portrays Jews and Israelis as greedy, profiteering, colonizers, and in general very bad people, he is intent on the “conquest” (p. 172) of the Jewish people. Nor do I feel that I can equate terrorist acts with words as Said does in his Introduction when he states “Of course there have been suicide bombings and outrageous acts of terrorism, but have these accomplished anything except strengthen the hand of Israel and the United States?… [T]hey furnish an additional weapon in the contest to beat down, compel and defeat Arab or Muslim resistance…” (p. xxxv)
In other words, on the one hand terrorist attacks are really just words by other means and on the other hand they are, in fact, agents of the Israelis, the Americans and the imperialist Westerners. Said contradicts himself but does not notice it-or perhaps cannot afford to notice it because any contradiction would bring his totalizing theory crashing down about his ears.
For to Said, words are deeds and deeds are words. There is no difference between the two. But he does not ask if this logic means that all of us, including Edward Said, must immediately cease and desist from portraying a group-such as Jews, Arabs, Indians or Europeans-in an unfavorable light because there is no difference between speech and action. If we say or think or imagine a negative thing about any group we, by Said’s definition “do violence” to that group.
We are therefore (Said included) precluded from saying-anything at all.
Rating: 1 / 5
As propaganda, this is a brilliant work, evidence being the number of adherents that buy its thesis. Said neglects to mention the ongoing conflicts in Sudan, Nigeria and Indonesia where Christians are politically, physically and criminally assaulted do solely to their faith by Muslims. He fails to mention that Jordan has considered and rejected a ban on “honor killings” of women. Said’s entire career is intended to shield Islamic “culture” from the acknowledgment of its abject failure. Twenty per cent of the world’s population and 50% of the world’s illiterates. Islamic countries suffer terrible brain drain for a reason. Said lived in the United States didn’t he didn’t choose to live in any Islamic country, did he?
Rating: 1 / 5
To see why the author is dishonest, read the work of Irshad Manji, THe Trouble with Islam. Manji is honest about her faith, and she offers honest criticism of authors like Edward Said.
Rating: 1 / 5