Thursday 18th December

Metro

Article 1
Headline: 'Sacked' over sexy dress
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 9

Outline: This story is about Fata Lemes, a waitress who claims that she was sacked from her job because she refused to wear a revealing dress.

The article describes Ms Leme as "A Muslim cocktail waitress..." yet the article doesn't actually state that Ms Lemes' refusal was bacause of religious beliefs. This description of Ms Lemes are the actual opening words of the article.

Reading the story one realises that Ms Lemes thought that management at the bar "...allowed staff to be treated as prostitutes".

This shows that the main driver for Ms Lemes' refusal appears to have been on grounds of gender i.e. the desire not to be seen as a sex object by customers at the bar. With that in mind the mention of Ms Lemes' religious beliefs actually has nothing to do with the story and only seeks to create a connection in the readers minds. A connection which doesn't exist, even in the article itself.

For highlighting Ms Lemes' faith unnecessarilly this article is marked as negative.

Article Verdict: Negative

Article 2
Headline: Betting boss loses £200m over US ban
Section: News
Written by: Miles Erwin
Page: 22

Outline: This story isn't about Islam or Muslims but I have included it as it's written by Miles Erwin for the Metro.

The story is about the boss of a gambling company falling foul of US internet gambling rules. The man in question is Anurag Dikshit.

I have previously highlighted stories involving members of minority communities and commented that in most cases where Muslims aren't involved the ethnic background of the subjects is left out as is the case with this particular story. This is how it should be however some journalists do sometimes point out that a person in a story is a Muslim when there is usually no relevance to the article.

Miles Erwin previously wrote about 2 students who received racist jokes from 118 118. In that story he referred to "A Muslim student". In that particular story it would have been more appropriate to describe the man as an Asian student because the racist jokes were targeted at the Asian Community bur Erwin chose to use the term Muslim.

It's interesting to note that Erwin fails to mention anything about the ethnic background of Mr Anurag Dikshit, he doesn't use any words like "Hindu Businessman" or "Asian millionnaire" etc.

No rating will be given to this story however Erwin's future reporting involving ethnic minorities will be closely watched to see whether he only chooses to highlight Muslim individuals in his articles.

Article Verdict: N/A

Article 3
Headline: Blinded by their beliefs?
Section: Metro Mail
Written by: Reader letters
Page: 40

Outline: On Tuesday the Metro featured a story about a blind man who was refused entry into an Indian restaurant because the owners objected to his guide dog on religious grounds.

I gave the article a negative rating as it portrayed a negative view of Muslims and here's the evidence to support that.

Feedback from the 2 readers is presented and both are negative against Islam and mention that too much has been compromised to appease religious groups.

I will repeat once again that the owners of the Indian restaurant shouldn't have treated Mr Elder-Brown the way they did but the Metro's rather short article (less than 100 words) generalised the actions of the restaurant owners leaving people thinking that perhaps all Muslims would treat blind people and their guide dogs this way.

The very short Metro article was enough to provoke a negative response from at least 2 people, who know how many more complained.

Whilst this isn't an article I've brought this up because it shows the power of media and the way they report about Muslims.

Article Verdict: N/A

Tuesday 16th December

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Curry ban for guide dog man
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 11

Outline: This is a very short piece, under 100 words, and is a about a blind man, Mr Alun Elder-Brown, who was refused entry into a restaurant because of his guide dog. The article states that the owners refused entry to Mr Elder-Brown because dogs "offended Islamic beliefs".

Whilst the actions of the owners were undoubtedly wrong the article does help to create a negative view of Muslims. A better way to present the news would have been to say that the "owners believed that dogs offended their religious beliefs", this is because not all Muslims would have treated Mr Elder-Brown this way.

Article Verdict: Negative

Article 2
Headline: Iraqis back 'shoe bomber'
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 13

Outline: Whilst not mentioning Muslims or Islam specifically I felt it important to include this article in the round up because of the sensationalism used in the headline.

This story is referring to the now famous shoe throwing incident at George W Bush by Muntadhar Al-Zaidi in Baghdad.

The headline makes it seem as though Mr Al-Zaidi had explosives in his shoes when this is clearly false hence the headline represents a breach of the Press Complaint Commission 's Code of Practice, Clause 1 on Accuracy.

Article Verdict: Negative

Monday 15th December

Metro

Article 1
Headline: 'Forced marriage' bride freed from parents' jail
Section: News
Written by: Jo Steele
Page: 7

Outline: This story is about UK based Dr Humayra Amedin, who was held against her wishes by her parents in Bangladesh for 5 months whilst they planned her forced marriage. The article mentions that she's been given permission by a court to fly back to Britain.

Jo Steele writes that the reason for her imprisonment was because her parents "wanted her to marry a fellow Muslim". This is written on line 9 as the closing sentence on the 2nd paragraph of the article.

The article goes onto state that Dr Amedin's boyfriend is Hindu and that this "angered her family..."

Whilst this article explore a very important topic, that of forced marriages, after reading it one is left with the impression that this is somehow linked to Muslims. This is particularly true given the rationale presented for Dr Amedin's imprisonment by Steele in this article.

Unfortunately forced marriages are a curse that afflicts people belonging to the 3 major faith groups of the Subcontinent, i.e. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs. However no mention of this is made by Steele in the article and the word Muslim is specifically mentioned hence this is marked as a negative.

Article Verdict: Negative


Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Freed, NHS doc held by family for 'forced marriage'
Section: News
Written by: Maddison Jones
Page: 12

Outline: Like the Metro the MEN also carries this story although they refer to her as Dr Humayra Abedin rather than Amedin like the Metro.

The MEN also mentions that Dr Abedin had a Hindu boyfriend "which angered her Muslim family..." who wanted "...to force her to marry a Muslim Stranger."

Like the Metro Maddison Jones also makes reference to Muslims but does so twice in her article in the 7th paragraph.

Jones also fails to mention that forced marriages are, unfortunately, common aross various faith groups in the Subcontinent and thus creates an association of forced marriages with Muslims. For this reason the article is marked as negative

Article Verdict: Negative

Article 2
Headline: It truly is the season to goodwill - for all faiths
Section: News
Written by: Neal Keeling
Page: 18

Outline: This is an article which talks about the 1st multifaith gathering in Manchester to celebrate 3 religious festivals; Christmas, Eid-ul-Adha and Chanukah.

Chairman of the Muslim-Jewish forum Councillor Afzal Khan is mentioned as well as reference to his CBE for inter-faith work.

The article is a very positive piece which shows the co-operation and coming together of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities in celebration and is quite prominent. Photos of representatives of each of the 3 faiths are also featured.

The article also makes reference to a speech by Hazel Blears MP who talks about the richness of society because of faith.

Article Verdict: Positive

Friday 28th November

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Muslim and Hindu Unite
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 7

Outline: In light of the atrocities in Mumbai this news brief comments that British Hindu and Muslim groups united to condemn the attacks.

The news brief is presented in a small box at the top of the page which has a coloured background as opposed to white, which helps to give the article more prominence.

At a time when news reports often portray Islam and Muslim in a negative light this was a positive article to be featured in the Metro.

Article Verdict: Positive


Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Commandos kill Mumbai gunmen
Section: News
Written by: Jon Smith
Page: 5

Outline: This article is about the atrocities in Mumbai. The opening paragraph mentions that "suspected Muslim militants stormed ... across the city". This type of language is inflammatory as it implies guilt by association for anyone who happens to be Muslim. To the average reader this phrase will present a negative image of Islam and Muslims.

Article Verdict: Negative

Thursday 27th November

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Heard about the racist jokes sent by 118 188?
Section: News
Written by: Miles Erwin
Page: 11

Outline: This article is about 2 students, Kameron Abbas and Imran Shah, who used the directory service 118 188 to get jokes, only to be sent racist jokes by text.

The article starts off by saying "A Muslim student was stunned..."

Whilst there's nothing factually wrong with that statement there's absolutely no reason to mention his religious background. If anything he should have been described as an Asian student as the jokes in question were racist and derogatory towards Asian people hence a racial categorisation of Mr Abbas could have grounds for being more relevant to the article.

In summary the article will be marked as negative because there is no need to mention Mr Abbas' religious background in this article, if anything it ends up showing 'another Muslim person complaining'.

Article Verdict: Negative


Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: MEP takes shelter from bullets in basement
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 6

Outline: This story is an account of the unfolding Mumbai terrorist attacks by Sajjad Karim, MEP, who hid in the hotel basement.

The article goes onto give a description of the events as per Mr Karim's testimony. It finishes by saying "He was the first British Muslim elected to Parliament".

The article is a factual description of events and the mention of Mr Karim as the 1st Muslim MEP could be interepreted as a positive portrayal of him.

Article Verdict: Positive

Article 2
Headline: Father cut his sons' throats then tried to burn bodies
Section: News
Written by: Sam Reeves
Page: 18

Outline: This story does not concern Muslims but instead focuses on the tragic murder of 2 innocent young children at the hands of their Father, Ashok Kalyanjee.

The reason for including this is because the murderer is an Asian man yet there is no mention of his religious background anywhere in the article, despite taking up three quarters of page 18. This is how reporting should be done so that the people are presented with facts about the story not the religious background of the person, which may lead to prejudiced opinions amongst readers against a particular group.

Quite often we see Muslim people being identified on the basis of their religion, I have reported several articles in the past where people have been identified in the article in Muslims when there is no need to do so.

There is no ranking for this article as it's not applicable however it's listed here to give readers an example of how stories about Non-Muslim Asians are reported

Article Verdict: N/A

Wednesday 26th November

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Pioneers on Mission to Kuwait - Break free of kitchen sink, Muslim women told
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 20

Outline: This article is about the trip of Manchester Councillor Maryam Khan and Fatima Mahmoud of the British Muslim Heritage to Kuwait at the invitation of the Government there to talk about women's rights.

The actual event itself is positive but the way its been reported is negative as the caption above the photo accompanying the article makes reference to Muslim women in some way being tied to the kitchen sink. The opening line of the article states "Two pioneering women...." this is a missed opportunity to highlight the fact that the two pioneering women are in fact Muslim pioneering women.

Quite often we see Muslims identified in situations where a negative story needs to be told, why can't the same be true when there is a positive news to report?

Article Verdict: Negative

Tuesday 25th November

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Barclays funding gets the nod
Section: Metro Business
Written by: ?
Page: 48

Outline: This article is about the sale of a third of Barclays Bank to investors from the Middle East. The best caption to sum up this article is "making a mountain out of a mole hill". This is because of the writer's attempt to magnify the opposition by Barclays shareholders to the deal. The words used are "More than one in ten voters...opposed or abstained from plans" so in plain english this would be written as 'more than 10%. This doesn't represent significant opposition to the plan at all but rather the fact that just under 90% approved the deal. Why then is the writer trying to paint a different picture to the readers, does he or she have an objection to a third of Barclays in the hands of Arab investors, who knows?

In summary this is an article which attempts to portray a distorted view of how the shareholders actually voted hence it's been given a negative rating.

Article Verdict: Negative


Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Barclays shareholders back £7bn Middle East deal
Section: Business
Written by: ?
Page: 5

Outline: This reports on the same story as the Metro however is complete contrast as it acknowledges that the proposed deal was approved by shareholders. It refers to the investors as "Abu Dhabi royalty" and mentions the fact that one of the investors, Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is owner of Manchester City. This helps to paint the investors in a positive light as Manchester City is a popular football team with locals of Manchester.

The article also provides more detail on the percentage of shareholders in favour of the deal (80%) but also makes reference to those opposed to the deal.

Overall the article provides a balanced view of the details involved in the proposed deal and does not attempt to cast any personal opinions on the deal thus it's given a positive rating.

Article Verdict: Positive

Wednesday 12th November

Nil return from both newspapers today

Monday 10th November

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Fight the fatwas 'with free speech'
Section: News
Written by: Jo Steele
Page: 14

Outline: This article talks about a report issued by the Centre for Social Cohesion, an organisation that has a reputation for its Islamophobic rhetoric, and its Director Douglas Murraywho has in the past delivered a vile anti-Muslim speech.

It quotes Murray talking about allowing Muslims the freedom to express themselves free from fear of reprisals by fellow Muslims who Jo Steele describes as "Militants".

What's interesting is that the "Muslims" that Murray is seeking protection for are in fact considered by mainstream Muslima and in some cases by the individuals themselves to actually be outside of the fold of Islam e.g. Maryam Namazie (Head of Council of Ex-Muslims), Salman Rushdie and Ibn Warraq (author of "Why I am not a Muslim") to name a few of these so-called Muslims.

Whilst Murray can be excused as he clearly has an Islamophobic agenda, it's Jo Steele who should perhaps be provided adequate training so that a more balanced article can be presented to the readers where some of Murray's less cohesive views towards Muslims can be exposed.

I have provided a photo of the article as the online edition of Metro features a different story on page 14, in case you think that this is fabricated.

Without doubt this article is negative as it's one sided and does not highlight the repulsive views held by Murray which should invalidate any contributions made by him to the cause of social cohesion.

Steele should have made reference to another fatwa which would have had far more credibility, this example shows India's largest Muslim Seminary issuing a fatwa condemning terrorism.

Article Verdict: Negative

Article 2
Headline: Attacks fear as bombers given burial
Section: News
Written by: Jo Steele
Page: 21

Outline: This story is about the execution of 3 men in Indonesia for their part in the Bali bombings. Steele opens the article by describing them as "Three Islamist militants", the opening line sets the tone for the reader as they are immediately told of a link between militancy and Islam.

The article presents a negative view of Islam and Muslims and is the 2nd such article by Steele in today's Metro.

Article Verdict: Negative

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Church can't belive hymn ban
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 6

Outline: At first glance one may be forgiven for thinking that this story will most likely be about a hymn ban imposed out of fear of offending Muslims. This is because the tabloid Media has previously used such ludicrous and sensationalist headlines in relation to Islam and Muslims.

However, this article is actually about a ban imposed on the phrase 'singing from the same hymn sheet' by Salisbury Town Hall.

Not Surprisingly this is an extremely brief story at just 49 words long. It features none of the subjective and inflammatory narrative that often accompanies similar stories about bans where Muslims are involved.

If anything this is a perfect example of the negative media bias that exists against Islam and Muslims in the UK.

Article Verdict: Negative

Thursday 6th November

Nil return from both newspapers today

Wednesday 5th November

Metro

Article 1
Headline: A Grin and a Prayer
Section: Photo
Written by: ?
Page: 7

Outline: This photo shows Prince Charles on a visit to a religious School in Indonesia described in the caption as an "Islamic school". The caption describes him as offering a "light hearted prayer" whilst on a trip to promote "inter-faith" dialogue.

The photo features smiling schoolgirls in the background and can be termed as a nice bit of PR for both the School and HRH Prince Charles, albeit with the use of a cheesy strapline across the top of the photo

Article Verdict: Positive

Tuesday 4th November

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Doctor is banned over gay letter slur
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 11

Outline: This story is a follow up article to one reported in the Metro on Tuesday 28th October by Fred Attewill about comments made by Dr Muhammad Siddiq. In that particular story the headline used was "Muslim GP: Gays 'prey on society'".

This time the headline is less sensationalist and doesn't present any leading indicators as to the identity or ethnic/religious background of the Doctor. Like the previous article though it does start off by introducing the Doctor as "the head of the Islamic Medical Association..." and says that he "..was suspended".

There are far fewer column inches used to report this story this time round and there is no reference to any other incident related to Dr Siddiq, which Attewill did highlight in his original article.

In summary this article is less sensationalist and sticks to the facts, although it does leave out Dr Siddiq's comment in defence of his position which were featured in the last article. It is a significant improvement on Attewill's original piece although the identity of the journalist is not known in this particular case.

Article Verdict: Neutral

Metro

Article 2
Headline: "Palestine:"
Section: Metro World
Written by: ?
Page: 14

Outline: This brief is part of a section, which reports various news stories from around the World where the names of countries are given followed by a short news story from that country. This particular story is reporting on comments made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about prospects for a peace deal before the end of the year.

The key thing here is that Palestine is recognised as a sovereign entity by being referred to as "Palestine" rather than "Palestinian Territories" etc. Mahmoud Abbas is referred to as "the President" and reference is made to "...Jewish settlements on the Occupied West Bank... ". There is also mention of "divisions among Palestinians" but no part is mentioned by name.

This is a positive article as it presents readers with factual terms vis a vis Palestine and there is an attempt to treat Palestine as a nation state with an head of state rather than just a territory. By mentioning the "Occupied West Bank" also helps readers to understand the fact that

Article Verdict: Positive

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Terror suspect's 'film' claim
Section: News
Written by: Nicola Dowling
Page: 5

Outline: This article is a follow up to one written previously by Nicola Dowling on Tuesday 21st October about the trial of Habib Ahmed and Rangzieb Ahmed, both of who are accused of terrorism related offences.

As in her previous article, Dowling reports this story in a factual manner without referring to any of defendants' ethnic/religious background.

Article Verdict: Neutral

Monday 3rd November

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Arab money 'on the way to help IMF'
Section: News
Written by: Joel Taylor
Page: 16

Outline: This article is about Gordon Brown's meetings with the leaders of the Gulf states to request that they inject cash into the IMF.

The striking thing about this article is the headline and the classification of the prospective Gulf funds as "Arab money". Is it really necessary to classify it as such? Absolutely not. I guess Joel Taylor was aiming to create the image of 'ethnic money/funds'.

However this is not the main problem with the article. Contained within this story is a sub-article that reports on Gordon Brown's visit to a rehab facility in Saudi Arabia for former terrorist suspects which is described as a 'de-radicalisation' centre.

It states that the PM "shook hands" with the patients who both spent time in Guantanamo Bay and are described in the article as having "al-Qaida links". Taylor doesn't elaborate what these alleged links are, probably beause he can't.

In fact the reality is that none of the patients at this rehab centre have been charged with any offence and all have been released. The rehab centre is proof that Saudi Arabia is taking steps, long demanded for by the right-wing and the Neo-Con establishment, to tackle extremism.

That message however is lost on Taylor.

Article Verdict: Negative

Article 2
Headline: Muslim sues Met after being told to fry bacon
Section: News
Written by: Fred Attewill
Page: 29

Outline: One week after writing an article with the headline "Muslim GP..." Fred Attewill writes about Hasanali Khoja, a chef who is suing the Met for religious dicrimination because "it refused to guarantee that he would not have to handle pork".

Whilst in his last article Attewill was considerate enough to stick the the title "GP" to the headline, in this particular case the headline simply uses the word "Muslim..." this is another example of where the term lacks any humanity.

If it was necessary to identify this person by his faith, is it really asking too much to ask that he be referred to as a Muslim Chef or Muslim man?

However I don't think that the term Muslim should be used at all. After all, in Friday's articles there was a story about boxer Amir Khan, despite being Muslim he wasn't referred to as Muslim so why is the tag used when there's a negative story to report?

Article Verdict: Negative

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Horror goes on for bomb family
Section: News
Written by: Fay Schlesinger
Page: 15

Outline: In Friday's articles I picked up coverage by the MEN and Metro of the bomb attacks in the Indian state of Assam. I mentioned how neither article used the word "terror" or one of it's derivatives to describe the atrocities in Gauhati and how it would be interesting to contrast the articles with similar reports about atrocities involving Muslims or Muslim countries.

This article provides us with the comparison. It's a report about a man who survived the bombings at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh in 2005. The opening paragraph mentions "A Father and son who survived the Sharm El Sheikh terror bombs..."

Unfortunately the difference in the reporting styles and language between what happened in Assam and Egypt is clear to see.


For failing to maintain consistency in reporting terrorism this article has to marked down as negative.

Article Verdict: Negative

Friday 31st October

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: 30 people are killed as blasts rock India
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 12

Outline: This story is about the deadly blasts in the Indian city of Gauhati in the state of Assam. Whilst this is clearly a terrorist incident, there is no mention of the "T" word anywhere in the article. The closest we get is the use of the word "militant" and reference is made to "separatists".

I've flagged this article because it will be interesting to contrast this with reports of explosions carried out elsewhere in the World i.e. in Muslim countries to see how reporting styles differ.

If I were to allocate a verdict on this particular piece I'd have to say that it's neutral because it sticks to reporting the facts of this tragic incident without referring to any one particular ethnic/religious group.

Article Verdict: Neutral

Metro


Article 1
Headline: Dozens killed in bomb attacks
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 25

Outline: This is the Metro's take on the bomb attacks in the Indian state of Assam. In this article the perpetrators are referred to as "militant sepratist groups" similar to the way they were reported in the Manchester Evening News article.

There is no mention of the perpetrators religious beliefs nor of their ethnicity. Based purely on the article this is a neutral story as it sticks to the facts.

Article Verdict: Neutral

Article 2
Headline: Mother held girl captive for 8yrs
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 15

Outline: This artcile is about a Woman who kept her daughter locked up for 8 years. This incident took place in Japan but the article doesn't refer to the Woman as Japanese nor does it make any other sort of religious affiliation.

It's a factual article and will be marked as neutral. However the reason for flagging this is to provide us with an example, which we can compare with should a similar story emerge involving Muslim individuals to see how the reporting styles differ.

Article Verdict: Neutral

Article 3
Headline: Tough test: Khan
Section: Sport Digest
Written by: ?
Page: 52

Outline: This story is about Boxer Amir Khan's comeback fight after his defeat last month. The article does not refer to Khan as Muslim but sticks to a mainly factual description of the upcoming fight as well as stats for the contender.

The reason for flagging this article is that positive stories about Muslims seldom refer to the individuals by their faith whereas negative stories almost always highlight their religious identity just like in the example of the "Muslim GP" from Tuesday's Metro.

Based purely on the content this article will be marked as neutral however in light of other reporting about Muslims by the Metro such as the GP story above it does highlight editorial bias against Muslims by the paper.

Article Verdict: Neutral

Thursday 30th October

Nil return from both newspapers today

Wednesday 29th October

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Muslim worker loses Tesco alcohol row
Section: Metro Digest
Written by: ?
Page: 4

Outline: This news brief is about a former Tesco worker who lost a race dicrimination case. The individual, Mohammed Ahmed, was not aware that his job entailed handling crates of alcohol which he objected to on religious grounds.

The article's opening line refers to Mr Ahmed as "A Muslim who protested....".

If the journalist felt compelled to identify Mr Ahmed by his Muslim faith then surely he deserved the right to be referred to as "A Muslim Man..." as opposed to simply being called "A Muslim", which is a term devoid of any humanity.

The article only uses one quote by Mr Ahmed which quotes him as saying that "There was a conflict with my Islamic beliefs" and does not present any other information which may help to give a fuller picture of the incident. Further to this, the article states that Tesco made efforts to find Mr Ahmed an alternative role.

In summary, Mr Ahmed is presented as a Muslim man who sued his employers and wasn't flexible when they tried to help. His religious beliefs are explicitly quoted and readers are left with the impression that this was the cause of the whole affair.

Article Verdict: Negative

Article 2
Headline: Crisis 'is God punishing us'
Section: Metro
Written by: ?
Page: 5

Outline: This article is about comments made by Rt Rev Wallace Benn, Bishop of Lewes ,who said that the credit crunch is "God's way of punishing Britain for being too materialistic". A counter argument is presented by the Adam Smith Institute which criticises Reverend Wallace for his remarks.

The article identifies Rev Benn by his Anglican faith but doesn't refer to him as a Christian Bishop. Similar stories presented about Muslim leaders and their comments almost always identify them as Muslim rather than Sunni or Shi'ite or by another sectarian ID tag.

In summary the article does cast Rev Benn in a negative light.

Article Verdict: Negative

Article 3
Headline: Muslim gang 'killed boy in drinking row'
Section: Metro
Written by: ?
Page: 7

Outline: This story relates to the murder of a 17 year old youth at the hands of a gang who, it is alleged, objected to Muslims drinking. It describes the weapons used in the attack and mentions that the incident was sparked after a lecture on avoiding violence, which some of the men attended.

There really aren't any prizes for guessing what classification this article is going to get. There is nothing religious about the gang that murdered the youth therefore the use of the headline "Muslim Gang..." is typical tabloid sensationalism and an example of irresponsible journalism.

By chance the story above this article on the same page relates to the murder of Rhys Jones. That incident also involved gangs and reference is made to the term gang in that article. However at no point are any other identification tags used for the gang. T

he question for the Metro is, if in one article a gang's identity is left ambiguous why then in the article immediately below does the journalist feel compelled to use the term "Muslim gang"?

Further along in the same edition of the Metro on page 14 there is an article (Victim of girl gang 'glassing') about about a woman who was a victim of glassing by a "girl gang". Here the Metro identifies the gang by their gender but this is a very ambigious description as it does not reveal the gang's race/ethnicity or religion.....because there's no need to.

The use of the word "Muslim gang" creates fear amongst readers and creates an association with the wider Muslim community, this is a clear cut example of Islamophobia in my opinion.

Article Verdict: Negative

Tuesday 28th October

(Please Note - Due to the volume of articles contained within the papers, the analysis will be presented 1 day in arrears from now on)

Metro

Article 1
Headline: N/A
Section: Caricature
Written by: unknown
Page: 2

Outline: The above caricature makes reference to two news events. The first is the US military attack inside Syrian territory, and the 2nd is the assasination plot against US Presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The caricature is in very poor taste as it exploits the deaths of Syrian civilians killed in the American assault and thus deserves a negative rating as it de-humanises the suffering inflicted upon the Syrians.

Article Verdict: Negative

Article 2
Headline: Actor's waterboard screams
Section: Metro Digest
Written by: unknown
Page: 4

Outline: This news brief reports on the experience of actor Richard Armitage whilst filming for the tv series 'Spooks'. Armitage agreed to be subjected to waterboarding as part of a scene for the series but then spoke of his terror. His quote from the news brief states "I realised that it really is a form of torture and shouldn't be used. I only lasted five to ten seconds, and the sound of my voice crying out to stop isn't me acting".

This news story helps to highlight the brutality of this torture technique which has been carried out against detainees alleged to be terrorists, almost all of whom are Muslim hence it's a positive article because it describes Waterboarding for what it is - torture.

Article Verdict: Positive

Article 3
Headline: Muslim GP: Gays 'prey on society'
Section: Metro
Written by: Fred Attewill
Page: 22

Outline: This article reports on Dr Muhammad Siddiq, who is alleged to have made comments about homosexual people 'preying on society'. Dr Siddiq is identified in the opening line of the article as "The Islamic Medical Association's leader". The comments are alleged to have been contained in a letter that was published in July 2007. The article contains comments from Dr Siddiq in which he claims that he was under stress when writing it, which was later changed to a claim that his son wrote it as a joke. The inconsistency in the story doesn't paint a favourable picture of Dr Siddiq. Towards the end of the article, reference is made to a death of a baby who died shortly after he circumcised it in 2006. It mentions that whilst he wasn't at fault he was told to undergo training which he refused.

At no point in the article does it mention any religious motivation behind the comments hence the article headline of "Muslim GP..." is unneccessary and sensationalist in order to immediately create an association between the GP's actions and the religion of Islam. The inconsistencies in Dr Siddiq's statements relating to the comments as well as the death of the baby all serve to create an impression of a doctor with a questionable character and technically incompetent.

In summary an unreliable Muslim GP who can't do his job properly. Whilst the competence and character flaws may well be true and accurate there is absolutely no need to identify the GP on the basis of his religion and thus is irresponsible journalism.

Article Verdict: Negative

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Doctor in baby tragedy 'wasn't up to standard'
Section: News
Written by: Amanda Crook
Page: 5

Outline: This article talks about a hearing into the conduct of Dr Sami Al Shenar and his dealing with patient Michelle D'Rozario, who lost her premature baby. Dr Al Shenar was criticised over his treatment of Ms D'Rozario because he failed to take urgent action when she came to see him. The article presents the story in a factual manner and at no point refers to either Dr Al Shenar or Ms D'Rozario by their faith or ethnicity. It also states that Dr Al Shenar is well regarded by colleagues, received excellent references and has learned from his mistake.

Overall the article is well balanced and does not attempt to sensationalise the story.

Article Verdict: Neutral

Article 2
Headline: Everest is summit of Emon's ambition
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 18

Outline: This article reports on the attempt of businessman Emon Choudhury to scale Mount Everest to raise money for his charity, Islamic Relief, which is described as a "British Charity". Details are provided about Mr Choudhury's planned trip i.e. that he plans to send the raised funds to help orphans in Africa through Islamic Relief.

The article also describes his fitness routine and details the preparation undertaken by him so far. The article finishes by mentioning that Mr Choudhury has been fundraising for Islamic Relief since being introduced by a friend and also provides a weblink (www.justgiving.com/emonchoudhury) to allow readers to sponsor his expedition. The photo used in the article shows Mr Choudhury wearing an Islamic Relief T-shirt against a superimposed backdrop of Mt. Everest.

In summary the artcile presents the story in a factual manner and portrays Mr Choudhury and Islamic Relief in a positive light.

Article Verdict: Positive

Article 3
Headline: Cousins Net Tasty Soccer Stadium Deal
Section: Business - Enterprise
Written by: ?
Page: 13

Outline: This short piece reports on the success of Bolton Based entrepreneurs Umar Mohammed and Ahmed Suleman who have secured a contract to provide their curry snack to the official caterers at Bolton Wanderers stadium.

It mentions that they are in talks about another deal with pub group Thwaites and that manufacturing is carried out by British suppliers.

The article presents the duo as a entrepreneurial success story.

Article Verdict: Positive

Wednesday 22nd October

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Thirty-year fight 'to end Muslim extremism'
Section: News
Written by: Gavin Cordon
Page: 28

Outline: The article reports on comments made by Security Minister, Lord West of Spithead. It mentions how Lord West envisions that it will take 30 years to end the "radicalisation of extremists". According to the quotes used in the article at no point does Lord West actually use the term "Muslim extremism" as it states in the headline. The headline creates a very negative view of the situation and leaves the reader thinking that there is probably no hope of ending extremism. The word 'Fight' is also a clever use of 'Unspeak' by the journalist. This is where certain words come loaded with alternative meanings e.g. the word fight invokes a feeling of difficulty, struggle, a lot of effort, no guarantee of victory etc. However, the work being done by Lord West and the positive results he is seeing is 'hidden' in the body of the text, reading the full article actually makes it clear that whilst it will take a long time the initial results are in fact positive. Some may say that picking at the healdine is being really petty but not all readers read the full story and if some of them just focused on the headline and didn't delve into the story then this will most certainly leave a negative view of Muslims and Islam. A more responsible healdline would have been "Thirty year fight to end extremism", this is because it doesn't allocate ownership of extremism to any one group of people.

Article Verdict: Negative

Tuesday 21st October

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Taxi driver 'had al-qaida number'
Section: News
Written by: Nicola Dowling
Page: 7

Outline: The article reports on the trial of Manchester taxi driver Habib Ahmed and Rangzieb Ahmed. The pair are accused of a series of offences related to terrorism. This particular article focuses on the allegation that Ahmed had the number of al-qaida's number 3 in command as well as other individuals that are highlighted as significant. Whilst the men being referred to in the article are Muslim, their faith is not mentioned explicitly, nor is any term like Islamist. The article appears to be a factual report on the court hearing.

Article Verdict: Neutral

Article 2
Headline: Murdered aid worker's crime - being a Christian
Section: News
Written by: Sam Marsden
Page: 12

Outline: The article reports on the murder of British aid worker Gayle Williams in Kabul, Afghanistan. It states that Ms Williams was a member of Christian charity 'Serve Afghanistan' and that the responsibility for the Murder has been claimed by the Taleban who alleged that she was attempting to spread Christianity "in the conservative Islamic Nation". The headline would have one assume that Ms Williams was targeted for simply being a Christian whereas the article actually makes it clear that she was murdered because of the mistaken belief that she was a missionary. This is significant because the article creates a negative view of Afghanistan which is described as a "...a conservative Islamic Nation" hence the implication is that Conservative Muslims are intolerant of Christians.

Article Verdict: Negative

Article 3
Headline: Coup trial halts in chaos
Section: World Today
Written by: Unknown
Page: 12

Outline: This small news brief reports on the trial of 86 people in Turkey who are charged with attempting to overthrow the "country's Islamic Orientated Government". The session was halted because of chaotic scenes in court. The term "Islamic Oriented Government" is interesting as its referring to the ruling AK party who are not mentioned by name. The AK party have in fact gone on record to state that they will abide by Turkey's Secular Constitution so the assertion that they are "Islamic Oriented" is incorrect and is possibly being used to somehow justfiy the actions of the coup plotters. The AK party have been delivered into office with 2 decisive election victories where they have been given a mandate to rule by a majority of the Turkish population. There is no need to mention that they are "Islamic Oriented" as this is irrelevant, the proper way to report this would have been to state that the plotters were attempting to overthrow the Democratically Elected Government of Turkey.

Article Verdict: Negative