MEDIA PORTRAIT OF MIDDLE EASTERN PEOPLES Introd

This research discusses the way in which the peoples of the Middle East of Muslim origins are portrayed in the American and other Western mass media, the effects of this portrayal on persons of Middle Eastern descent who live in the United States and the complex psychological, political, economic reasons for such treatment.

On the whole, the Western mass media--the movies, television, radio and other publications--portray Middle Eastern peoples from predominantly Muslim countries, including those who have emigrated from the region, in a stereotyped, biased and derogatory manner. The effects of that treatment on public opinion are to predispose the American public to expect the worst from Arabs, Iranians and other non-Jewish Middle Easterners, and these expectations have generated some hate crimes and other difficulties for the Middle Eastern community in the United States, which, as a result of this biased coverage, is put in the impossible position of defending its national patriotism and loyalty to America.

These problems may also lead to that community becoming more active politically than it has been in the past. The reasons for this slanted presentation are complex and have their roots in history, widespread ignorance of the region, the political clout and general pervasiveness of pro-Israeli sentiment in the West and in the United States in particular and fears and anxieties of many Westerners, including Am

. . .
ng lullabies or healing the sick" (Shaheen, 1988, p. 10). With a few exceptions, such as actor Omar Sharif, who has played a variety of film and television roles, most Arab actors play only roles as villains and terrorists. Immigrants of Middle Eastern origin are frequently portrayed as a subversive force, one which, Pipes (1990) says, many believe "will subvert Western civilization from within" (p. 28). For example, the 1986 NBC TV production, Under Siege, told the story of Arab-American Shi-ite terrorists in Michigan who launched a heavily armed, terrorist attack on the United States (Lerner, 1986, p. 25). In the 1987 movie Wanted Dead or Alive, Arab terrorists conspire with Arab-Americans to poison the people of Los Angeles (Shaheen, 1988, p. 10). The vision of Middle Eastern residents in Western countries as a potential fifth column is not limited to the fantasies of the media. According to Peter Frisch, the head of German internal intelligence, "Islam represents the greatest danger to his country's internal security in the coming century" and "he warned the Muslim community there against sending its daughters to school wearing head scarves, . . . a sign of challenge and crossing boundaries" (Tash, "Western", p. 1). A num
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Middle Eastern, Middle East, Muslim Americans, Walter Lippmann, Tash West's, Green Peril, United Israel, Occidental Oriental, Lebanon Syria, Middle Easterners, middle eastern, abourezk 1993, middle east, middle easterners, pipes 1990, middle eastern peoples, muslim americans, islamic world, hate crimes, eastern peoples, public opinion, shaheen 1988 10, abourezk 1993 27, tash dr 1997, 1993 october 22,
Approximate Word count = 4126
Approximate Pages = 17 (250 words per page)