Article 1
Headline: 10 killed in mosque attack
Section: World Today
Written by: ?
Page: 12
Outline: This news brief is about an attack on a Mosque in Thailand in which 10 people were killed. It mentions that the Imam was amongst the dead.
The brief ends with the statement "Islamic separatists are thought to be to blame".
One glaring omission is mention of the fact that all those killed in the attack were Muslims carrying out worship. Some may argue that this is obvious as it mentions an attack on a Moque. However if the writer can go to the trouble of pointing out the "Islamic"-ness of the murderers then it is worth making it painfully obvious to the reader that the victims were also Muslims. Failure to do so may make some people think that religous terrorism somehow inspired by Islam may be behind this attack when in fact this heinous crime is as far removed from the teachings of Islam as can possibly be.
This article is given a 'Negative' rating.
The brief ends with the statement "Islamic separatists are thought to be to blame".
One glaring omission is mention of the fact that all those killed in the attack were Muslims carrying out worship. Some may argue that this is obvious as it mentions an attack on a Moque. However if the writer can go to the trouble of pointing out the "Islamic"-ness of the murderers then it is worth making it painfully obvious to the reader that the victims were also Muslims. Failure to do so may make some people think that religous terrorism somehow inspired by Islam may be behind this attack when in fact this heinous crime is as far removed from the teachings of Islam as can possibly be.
This article is given a 'Negative' rating.
Artice Verdict: Negative
Article 2
Headline: Terror suspect 'wanted Blair and Brown dead'
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 19
Outline: This article is about the trial of a suspect accused of soliciting the murder of Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. The accused is named as Ishaq Kanmi of Blackburn and his religious or ethnic background is not mentioned.
However there is plenty of mention of Islam and Muslims in the article. Amongst the demands that Mr Kanmi is accused of making is for "...the release of all Muslims..." from Belmarsh Prison. He is also accused of posting the messages soliciting the murder of Mssrs Brown and Blair on a "...Jihadi website". The statement he is alleged to have made is printed as "...In the name of Allah...we the organisation of al Qaida in Britain...".
There is plenty in these short snippets to inform the non Muslim reader about the religious background of the accused. It is also more than likely that the excerpts above will undoubtedly cast the religion of Islam in a negative light hence this article is given a 'Negative' rating.
However there is plenty of mention of Islam and Muslims in the article. Amongst the demands that Mr Kanmi is accused of making is for "...the release of all Muslims..." from Belmarsh Prison. He is also accused of posting the messages soliciting the murder of Mssrs Brown and Blair on a "...Jihadi website". The statement he is alleged to have made is printed as "...In the name of Allah...we the organisation of al Qaida in Britain...".
There is plenty in these short snippets to inform the non Muslim reader about the religious background of the accused. It is also more than likely that the excerpts above will undoubtedly cast the religion of Islam in a negative light hence this article is given a 'Negative' rating.
Artice Verdict: Negative
Article 3
Headline: 250,000 Lancashire bricks to go to the Gulf
Section: Business
Written by: Jill Burdett
Page: 34
Outline: This article is about a firm from Bolton that has secured an order to supply 250,000 bricks which will be used in a new resort being built in Abu Dhabi.
The article provides details of the resort and the name of the company that will be building it. As is often the case with stories that highlight a positive contribution by foreign Muslim countries there is no mention of Abu Dhabi being the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which is a Muslim country. Now if we follow the rules of the Press Complaints Commission code of practice then th religious background shouldn't be mentioned when it isn't relevant to the story and in this case it clearly isn't. However the reason I am flagging this is because we see the code of practice violated with stories where there is a negative association to be made with Muslims. So my argument is that if it can be violated for negative stories then why not positive stories too?
Doing so would show readers that in times of recession a foreign Muslim country has placed an order with a local North West firm which will no doubt help secure jobs of those people who will be involved in the deal. That is something to celebrate and shout about, but alas the opportunity is missed.
Based purely on the content of the article I have to give it a 'Neutral' rating but this represents a missed opportunity.
The article provides details of the resort and the name of the company that will be building it. As is often the case with stories that highlight a positive contribution by foreign Muslim countries there is no mention of Abu Dhabi being the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which is a Muslim country. Now if we follow the rules of the Press Complaints Commission code of practice then th religious background shouldn't be mentioned when it isn't relevant to the story and in this case it clearly isn't. However the reason I am flagging this is because we see the code of practice violated with stories where there is a negative association to be made with Muslims. So my argument is that if it can be violated for negative stories then why not positive stories too?
Doing so would show readers that in times of recession a foreign Muslim country has placed an order with a local North West firm which will no doubt help secure jobs of those people who will be involved in the deal. That is something to celebrate and shout about, but alas the opportunity is missed.
Based purely on the content of the article I have to give it a 'Neutral' rating but this represents a missed opportunity.
Artice Verdict: Neutral
Metro
Nil Return
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