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: NegativeThe 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 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
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
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
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