Most Muslims have a gripe about the negative media narrative that surrounds Islam and the Muslim community. Others do something about it.
Last weekend I attended a UN-funded media course called the ‘Alliance of Civilisations’ which is about building bridges across communities. Some active Muslims took the initiative to bring together a diverse and accomplished group of ‘opinion leaders’. The aim – to train, empower and develop the group to individually and collectively step up to the challenges of an increasingly negative media narrative. I will touch on a few aspects of the course:
We explored the potentially positive stories that are there for the taking. For example, the media pounced on the fact that a handful of Muslims in Luton protested when the ‘troops came home’. But did the media report the overwhelming majority of Muslims who were invited to the protest but who refused to come? In other words, the stories already exist – it’s about us getting them out.
What emerged from the group was a rough consensus that campaigns such ‘Islam is peace’ are far too cliched, and that we need to think more creatively and dynamically. My personal suggestion was to have a feature film or drama series that centred around a British-Muslim family. Yes, Muslim families argue too. Yes, Muslims eat cornflakes for breakfast. And yes, Muslims watch the X-Factor too (I’m a Strictly Come Dancing gal myself).
The weekend was finished off by a small reception in the company of the Daily Mirror’s Political editor. He encouraged the Muslim community to get involved in the media, and duly noted there was not one Muslim personality that could be identified in the industry. On the other hand, he noted the successes of Sadiq Khan as the first Muslim cabinet minister. I welcomed his comment that perhaps a person with a beard would not have achieved a similar success.
There are some amongst us who think big and simply do not rest. Muddassar Ahmed, the Chief Executive of Unitas Communications hosted the reception, and was one of the key people behind the initiative. I met him three years ago at a leadership course, and I stood there marveling at what he had achieved within that time. He co-founded Unitas Communications and is clearly thinking strategically on how to develop the Muslim community. I congratulated him on initiating the media network. ‘This is just the start’ he said.
