Saying it How it Is…Journalists Offer Insight on Islam and the Middle East in the Nieman Reports
After watching an interview with Nonie Darwish the other day, I had to wonder, How small have American minds become? The interviewer accepted Nonie Darwish's experiences and opinions as status quo. No questioning the possibility that another opinion exists. No wondering if Ms. Darwish might be rebounding from a profound personal experience that is outside the realm of the average Muslim. Nope, that’s too much to hope for. Instead, we see the interviewer’s head-shaking, wide-eyed acceptance of the idea that Muslims have a disturbing psychological agenda.
But perhaps we can take heart. Despite the media campaign in the West to demonize Islam and sensationalize the violence in the Middle East, there are efforts by seasoned journalists to offer candid and honest analysis on these topics. It’s unfortunate that this balanced view doesn’t always make it onto airways and into mainstream US publications, but it’s out there, if you look hard enough to find it.
The Summer 2007 issue of Harvard University’s Nieman Reports is one laudable example. Devoted to the topic of Islam: Reporting in Context and With Complexity, it dishes out a generous serving of journalists’ personal experiences and opinions on the topic. You can browse the summer issue of Nieman Reports online. The pieces are fairly short and easy-to-read, and all encourage minds to expand beyond the thinking imposed on us by much of the US media.
