CIW-Academic Skills-Writing 2021-2022
FINAL ESSAY
Brigit van der Vegte
2736524
Tutor: Bertie Kaal
1.004 words
Framing an entire religion? A review of the impact the media had on the Islam after 9/11
"Knowledge is power" has been a life-changing quote for many, but for the Islam, this might
contribute to the origin of their rather 'bad' public image, especially in the Western World. The
unlimited access to knowledge stored online and the broad reach the media outlets have are the main
reasons the world has become decentralized, and communication barriers have been lifted (Sultan,
2016; p1). This progress seems beneficial as it makes the world accessible to all. However, the
constant flow of new information available to the public also brings a pitfall along. Since its dawn, the
dominant role that the media has played has left a significant mark. Beliefs and ideologies that people
originally had have been notably influenced and sometimes even altered through the constant media
output (Amedie, 2015). This essay will discuss if this is what happened to the Islam as well. The
central question is whether the media coverage of the September 11 attacks has framed the Islam into
being the new definition of terrorism.
To address the question stated above, a better understanding of the definition of terrorism is
crucial. Even though there has never been just one singular definition, there are many similarities from
various commonly used interpretations, which U.N. member Alex P. Schmid composed into one
general definition (Powell, 2011). Briefly summarising, Schmid (2011; p40) states that terrorism is a
repeated act of violence using fear to achieve specific goals, used by individuals, groups, or state
actors, where indirect targets are used to strike attention from the main targets. This occurrence
happened at the tragic 9/11 events. The 'darkest day in American history' is characterised by the
collapsing World Trade Center, where two hijacked planes flew straight into the towers, killing nearly
3,000 innocent people (Kellner, 2006). On that same day, three other coordinated attacks took place on
U.S. soil. The Muslim fundamentalistic extremist organisation named Al Qaeda claimed responsibility
for all the attacks, which led to excessive media coverage, steering the U.S. government towards a
'War on Terror' (Reese & Lewis, 2009; p778). Furthermore, this power that Reese and Lewis (2009)
point out becomes even more evident when taking a look at the interviews they conducted with U.S.
journalists. Their paper demonstrates that journalists found it hard to find neutral words in the 9/11
matter and consequently created an 'us' vs 'them' feeling. This indirectly created a gap between the two
worlds. In addition to this, Anderson (1988) states that the media is the leading portal for the elite to
spread their ideologies and pass them on to subordinate groups. Likewise, when putting this into
FINAL ESSAY
Brigit van der Vegte
2736524
Tutor: Bertie Kaal
1.004 words
Framing an entire religion? A review of the impact the media had on the Islam after 9/11
"Knowledge is power" has been a life-changing quote for many, but for the Islam, this might
contribute to the origin of their rather 'bad' public image, especially in the Western World. The
unlimited access to knowledge stored online and the broad reach the media outlets have are the main
reasons the world has become decentralized, and communication barriers have been lifted (Sultan,
2016; p1). This progress seems beneficial as it makes the world accessible to all. However, the
constant flow of new information available to the public also brings a pitfall along. Since its dawn, the
dominant role that the media has played has left a significant mark. Beliefs and ideologies that people
originally had have been notably influenced and sometimes even altered through the constant media
output (Amedie, 2015). This essay will discuss if this is what happened to the Islam as well. The
central question is whether the media coverage of the September 11 attacks has framed the Islam into
being the new definition of terrorism.
To address the question stated above, a better understanding of the definition of terrorism is
crucial. Even though there has never been just one singular definition, there are many similarities from
various commonly used interpretations, which U.N. member Alex P. Schmid composed into one
general definition (Powell, 2011). Briefly summarising, Schmid (2011; p40) states that terrorism is a
repeated act of violence using fear to achieve specific goals, used by individuals, groups, or state
actors, where indirect targets are used to strike attention from the main targets. This occurrence
happened at the tragic 9/11 events. The 'darkest day in American history' is characterised by the
collapsing World Trade Center, where two hijacked planes flew straight into the towers, killing nearly
3,000 innocent people (Kellner, 2006). On that same day, three other coordinated attacks took place on
U.S. soil. The Muslim fundamentalistic extremist organisation named Al Qaeda claimed responsibility
for all the attacks, which led to excessive media coverage, steering the U.S. government towards a
'War on Terror' (Reese & Lewis, 2009; p778). Furthermore, this power that Reese and Lewis (2009)
point out becomes even more evident when taking a look at the interviews they conducted with U.S.
journalists. Their paper demonstrates that journalists found it hard to find neutral words in the 9/11
matter and consequently created an 'us' vs 'them' feeling. This indirectly created a gap between the two
worlds. In addition to this, Anderson (1988) states that the media is the leading portal for the elite to
spread their ideologies and pass them on to subordinate groups. Likewise, when putting this into
