The way Islam is understood today, and for much of the Western world, is based on the perception that was established by Orientalist scholars of the 18th to 20th century. Many studies have demonstrated that the negative images of the Muslim world, in American Western mass media, particularly Hollywood movies, are inherited attitudes from the old ‘guild tradition’ school of Orientalism. As the matter of fact, these biased attitudes, which still in some ways dominate the Western way of thinking, are deeply rooted in the history of colonialism and orientalist scholarship. Today, American mass media and particularly Hollywood is taking these inherited misconceptions of the Muslim World and representing it to the world in a new format.
This study examines the representations and portrayal of Islam and Muslims in American Popular Culture, especially Hollywood movie productions. The findings indicate that Islam and Muslims received negative coverage. A consistent stereotyped association with violence, terrorism, fundamentalism and extremism marks the representations of Islam and Muslims in Hollywood movies. These representations encapsulate the perception of Islam and Muslims by mass media to the point it becomes very difficult to perceive Islam and Muslims differently.
The study also attempts to examine the role of education in demystifying the negative representations of Islam and Arab Muslims in Popular Culture. Moreover, it demonstrates that the critical study of these misrepresentations in the American popular culture may contribute towards establishing a more democratic, peaceful, and just world.
