By Bernama, "Call to teach journalism students proper reporting of Islam " - New Straits Times - Persekutuan, Malaysia
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Reporting on Islam or religion should be developed as a compulsory subject by institutions of higher learning in light of Western media’s misrepresentation of Islam
University Technology Petronas lecturer Prof Dr Ahmad Murad Merican who proposed this idea, also suggested the setting up of a centre to look into news reports on Islam and other religions, and rectify misconceptions.
He said currently the method of reporting news on Islam and other religions, was too westernised in nature because contemporary media had its roots in the Industrial Revolution.“News reports and media began during the Industrial Revolution. The revolution emphasised materialistic concerns.
The values journalists hold in their profession today reflect on timeliness, the now, to sell news, and news must have conflict to make it interesting. “These are very capitalistic values. Religion, on the other hand, have opposite values, which are timelessness, transcendence, and peace as opposed to conflict.
“We need to learn how to report Islamic news or religious issues from an Islamic or religious point of view,” he said when presenting his paper titled“Orientalism, the Reportage of Religion and Journalism Education: Expanding the Space in the Dialogue of Civilisations”.
Ahmad Murad, who spoke on the second and final day of the International Conference on the Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Media (ICORM08) today, said no university had offered this much-needed subject.
“For so many years not one university in the world has a course called ’Reportage of Islam or Religion’. Yet this (misrepresentation of Islam or religion) is the problem we face today, everyday. I know a university in India had it in the 1950’s but I don’t know what has happened to it,” he continued.
He then asserted that the misrepresentation of Islam could not be accorded solely to the Western media since Muslims too had damaged their own image.
“Jalaluddin Al-Rumi is seen in very positive light by the West. He was one of the world’s foremost philosophers and Islamic scholars. Yet here in Malaysia, there are Malays who believe he was a heretic. When I named my son Rumi, some thought I was a heretic,” the professor lamented.
[To visit the Conference's website, click on this link http://www.icorm08.com.my/contact.html].
Monday, August 04, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Monday, August 04, 2008
Timelessness, Transcendence, and Peace
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Reporting on Islam or religion should be developed as a compulsory subject by institutions of higher learning in light of Western media’s misrepresentation of Islam
University Technology Petronas lecturer Prof Dr Ahmad Murad Merican who proposed this idea, also suggested the setting up of a centre to look into news reports on Islam and other religions, and rectify misconceptions.
He said currently the method of reporting news on Islam and other religions, was too westernised in nature because contemporary media had its roots in the Industrial Revolution.“News reports and media began during the Industrial Revolution. The revolution emphasised materialistic concerns.
The values journalists hold in their profession today reflect on timeliness, the now, to sell news, and news must have conflict to make it interesting. “These are very capitalistic values. Religion, on the other hand, have opposite values, which are timelessness, transcendence, and peace as opposed to conflict.
“We need to learn how to report Islamic news or religious issues from an Islamic or religious point of view,” he said when presenting his paper titled“Orientalism, the Reportage of Religion and Journalism Education: Expanding the Space in the Dialogue of Civilisations”.
Ahmad Murad, who spoke on the second and final day of the International Conference on the Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Media (ICORM08) today, said no university had offered this much-needed subject.
“For so many years not one university in the world has a course called ’Reportage of Islam or Religion’. Yet this (misrepresentation of Islam or religion) is the problem we face today, everyday. I know a university in India had it in the 1950’s but I don’t know what has happened to it,” he continued.
He then asserted that the misrepresentation of Islam could not be accorded solely to the Western media since Muslims too had damaged their own image.
“Jalaluddin Al-Rumi is seen in very positive light by the West. He was one of the world’s foremost philosophers and Islamic scholars. Yet here in Malaysia, there are Malays who believe he was a heretic. When I named my son Rumi, some thought I was a heretic,” the professor lamented.
[To visit the Conference's website, click on this link http://www.icorm08.com.my/contact.html].
Labels:
society
By Bernama, "Call to teach journalism students proper reporting of Islam " - New Straits Times - Persekutuan, MalaysiaWednesday, July 30, 2008
Reporting on Islam or religion should be developed as a compulsory subject by institutions of higher learning in light of Western media’s misrepresentation of Islam
University Technology Petronas lecturer Prof Dr Ahmad Murad Merican who proposed this idea, also suggested the setting up of a centre to look into news reports on Islam and other religions, and rectify misconceptions.
He said currently the method of reporting news on Islam and other religions, was too westernised in nature because contemporary media had its roots in the Industrial Revolution.“News reports and media began during the Industrial Revolution. The revolution emphasised materialistic concerns.
The values journalists hold in their profession today reflect on timeliness, the now, to sell news, and news must have conflict to make it interesting. “These are very capitalistic values. Religion, on the other hand, have opposite values, which are timelessness, transcendence, and peace as opposed to conflict.
“We need to learn how to report Islamic news or religious issues from an Islamic or religious point of view,” he said when presenting his paper titled“Orientalism, the Reportage of Religion and Journalism Education: Expanding the Space in the Dialogue of Civilisations”.
Ahmad Murad, who spoke on the second and final day of the International Conference on the Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Media (ICORM08) today, said no university had offered this much-needed subject.
“For so many years not one university in the world has a course called ’Reportage of Islam or Religion’. Yet this (misrepresentation of Islam or religion) is the problem we face today, everyday. I know a university in India had it in the 1950’s but I don’t know what has happened to it,” he continued.
He then asserted that the misrepresentation of Islam could not be accorded solely to the Western media since Muslims too had damaged their own image.
“Jalaluddin Al-Rumi is seen in very positive light by the West. He was one of the world’s foremost philosophers and Islamic scholars. Yet here in Malaysia, there are Malays who believe he was a heretic. When I named my son Rumi, some thought I was a heretic,” the professor lamented.
[To visit the Conference's website, click on this link http://www.icorm08.com.my/contact.html].
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment