Sociology

Following the September 11 attacks, the world suddenly became aware of radical extremists in the Muslim religion and suddenly every media channel and newspaper lunged at an opportunity to get insight into these extremists and terrorist groups. During the immediate time following the attacks, Muslims in the West began being persecuted and numerous instances of organized attacks against Muslim institutions across the West (United States Department of Justice, 2010). Even though the sentiment was negatively held, over time the intensity has declined and numerous reasons can be attributed to it.

One major reason for the changing perceptions and attitudes is due to the influence of the media, most popularly the Television. It has been effective in creating perceptions and has been used extensively by all the players in recent years in collectively gathering people who hold similar opinions regarding certain ideologies.

This paper will attempt to answer the effect that the role of television has had in creating perceptions between the Muslim world and the West. Rather than taking a slanted view, this paper will discuss the perspectives and perception formulation of both the Muslims and the West (the United States majorly).

The Muslim Perspective
Following the September 11 attacks, the West realized that the Muslim regions which include the Middle East and Asian continent countries, have had a deep seated contempt for the Western countries. This contempt could be said to have been made possible by the narcissistic and hedonistic image that the United States portrays via its television (Graber, 2009).

Since most Middle Eastern people have had little to no exposure with any Americans and few have visited the country, their only link to the American lifestyle is through their television. Therefore the content that they are exposed to becomes their guide to understanding the Western lifestyle and ideologies. Even though in the recent past the United States has sent plenty of aid to these Muslim countries and has invested heavily in their economies, as an aim to re-build its image and to cease the dissent amongst the two people, the overall opinion of the people is still inclined negatively towards the Western state.

Keeping this in mind, the United States has even acknowledged the important role that the media, primarily television, plays in forming perceptions and attitudes. Holtzman suggests therefore that to actually decrease the anti-American views, the U.S. Government should take the support of local television channels and use them to air positive actions and elements of the United States government and its people (Holtzman, 2007). The television broadcasts should try to clear the air of misconceptions and try to bridge the gap between the cultural groups in his opinion.

Taking account of the extent of effect which the television has on the minds of the people, British studies have indicated that the mosques and other assumed terrorist training camps have a lesser influence for making teens join the jihad rather they are motivated to take up arms due to viewing footage from Palestine and Iraq, were the Muslims are being persecuted by the Israelites and the United States respectively (Haddad  Golson, 2007).

Muslims as a culture are people who are collectivists and are strong in their religious standing. However, the liberal Western views act as an agent to increase the intensity of dislike of the Muslims with the Western culture. Due to the portrayance of the Western culture in the media and the gradual inflow of the cultural aspects into the Muslim culture, the television has led to a change in the opinions and has led to the creation of a progressive Muslim. These are people who steadfastly hold their own opinions but are tolerant towards others as well. The creation of these Muslims acts as a positive as well as a negative, as it gives the fanatics an excuse for hatred against the West.

The Western Perspective
As is the case with the Muslim population living in the Middle East and abroad, so is the case with the Western countries. Most of the populace has had little exposure to the Middle Eastern culture and their knowledge about the people comes from studying the immigrants from the Muslim nations. However, these immigrants practice their religion and other cultural traits in private and cannot be a true reflector of the Muslim culture in general. So the other source which is left for the West to formulate their opinions on is the television and movies.

However the portrayal of the Middle East and Muslim countries is depicted as a backwards and uncivilized. Every aspect of the Muslim culture appears alien to the liberal and independent nations who fail to realize that the Muslim culture is rich in its own sense and has its own beliefs and opinions. Therefore the portrayals in the popular media usually do injustice to the Muslim culture and people (Aguayo, 2009). 

Even before the September 11 attacks the increase in Muslim related content increased in all the media sources and in a content review from article publications, it was observed that the negative comments regarding Muslims was much higher as compared to any positive comments being expressed (Ali  Khalid, 2008). This can also help understand the negative sentiments of the Muslims towards the West similar to the Golem effect, where a negative opinion leads to a negative performance further consolidating the negative view held by the authoritative figure. The downward fall of the Muslims in media can be said to be attributed to this phenomenon.

The West has however tried to overcome this problem by highlighting Muslims in a more positive light and allowing greater opportunities for them to voice their opinions. Muslim channels are being licensed and similarly Western shows dealing around various topics are adding Muslims in episodes to provide some knowledge to viewers regarding the Muslim culture. Efforts are being done to differentiate terrorists from Muslims in news and television broadcasts.

The Success factors for television influence
Before the advent of television and cable satellite, the isolation led to both the cultures being unaware of each other and a state of obliviousness. However, due to improved communication networks and more flow of information, the Muslim culture became more and more exposed to the Western ideologies and opinions. Similarly the West became aware of this wide region with limitless potential yet with a lack of infrastructure and facilities.

The influence of other mediums such as newspapers and the internet have been influential in formulating opinions as well, yet the television is a means of gathering news and information in a specific package with limited cognitive efforts. Therefore news or figures heard on the television are hardly questioned.

Also, thanks to the inflow of hundreds of channels, people have gotten the option of finding a source of information which aligns to their specific needs. This refers to the concept that people would rather listen to opinions similar or shared to their own rather than listen to diverging opinions. Channels have now developed their own fan following with people watching television shows which display their shared opinions which in turn leads to a radicalized view of their opinion.

The American nation has numerous outlets and relies heavily on its pop culture mediums for all its sources of knowledge, virtues and truth. These mediums include the television, internet, music, movies and songs (Johnstone, 2006). Through television shows and other sources, the people wish to find rationality and studies indicate that most theological and spiritual needs are being met indirectly through these mediums. People yearning for understanding rely on the content expressed in these mediums and thus the television can be said to influence heavily how the people react with each other and the biases or perceptions that they hold towards each other.

The Resulting Effect
Keeping in mind that both the cultures have diverging lifestyles and opinions and that neither has the complete understanding of the other, the result is that there is conflict between the two. The West fails to acknowledge the cultural richness of the Muslims and treat them as a backward civilization which needs saving. While the Muslims take this unwarranted domestication as an assault and resist the notion of changing into the Western mold.

The use of television as a means of creating political outlets has also increased in recent years as there are now numerous television shows specifically addressed to the Middle East and the war on terror. The concept of suicide bombers and terrorist attacks have become more mainstream in television action adventure shows yet a subtle change can now be noted in the manner of their depiction. In recent years the television has tried to build a more lenient approach towards the opposing culture and even in the portrayal of a terrorist attack, television shows try to exhibit the duality of the cultural elements. Aside from simply showing extremists, shows try to show progressive muslims as well (such as the character of Waziri in the popular forensic investigation show Bones). Muslims are being shown at better living standards and the notion that all bearded people were terrorists has gradually declined. 

Similarly, there has been an increase in progressive muslim activities and through the promotion of these said individuals who use their Muslim culture and the reach of the television as the medium, they have been able to allow better understanding of their culture to the Western world. Muslim musicians, comedians and actors are entering the mainstream channels and they have been very successful in conveying the Muslim culture and affiliating the Western world with the Muslim beliefs and opinions.
There has been an increase in the television viewership as new shows and channels are drawing more and more people and these shows are ranging from detailed content such as forensics and murder investigations to comedy and animation. This has allowed newer platforms for expressing opinions and the Muslim element is more frequently shown than before.

Conclusion
The misuse of the television at such a critical stage in the political arena led to the persecution of an entire culture rather than rightfully targeting certain elements. The persecution of the entire culture via a global campaign held through internet, movies and the television resulted in a biased opinion of authorities towards the Muslim followers. Given the damage that the Muslims have received through negative portrayals in the media and television and news in general, it would take a lot of time and effort to resolve the negativity which exists. However, using the same mediums which caused the damage in the perceptions in the first place, the television can be used to highlight progressive Muslims and could be used to encourage greater support from the Muslim community to support the war on terror and to clear the air of suspicion which is predominant between the two cultures. Similarly the Muslim television networks can work on helping their people realize the benefit that the U.S. Government has done for them and not to attack the U.S. nation on an institutional and personal level. Only through positive dialogue and use of proper media can the perception be improved and peace and stability be achieved. Consistent news from both sides holding neutral views rather than side-taking angles would help the reinforcement of the perception that it is meant to be created. If there is inconsistency then the damage would come in a shaky perception of the cultures and no strengthened bonds.