Pakistani Women as Objects of “Fear” and “Othering”

Abstract

The study uses Said's concept of Orientalism and van Dijks concept of socio-cognitive processes to analyze the framing of Pakistani Muslim women in the newsmagazine Time from 1998-2002. A critical discourse analysis of the selected articles of the magazine follows Fairclough's and van Dijk's guidelines. It uncovers how in a particular socio-political context, stereotyped images of Pakistani Muslim women were framed to project "superior American" ideals of "tolerance" and "democracy," as against the "intolerant," "undemocratic" values of Muslim as "others." It also argues how in the process of "othering" Pakistan and particularly its youth are framed as intolerant, and source of fear.

The Social Construct of Religious Identity and Its Implications on the Integration Experience of Immigrant Muslim Youth in Canada

“…The issue Eshan Ali and King (2021) state lies in the preconceived assumption and notion that young Muslim men and women need saving from their barbaric religious beliefs and this can only be done through exposing them to Western ways of life (Elshimi, 2015). Rahman (2014) further states that orientalist agendas dehumanizes Muslims and labels them as objects in which their identities become insignificant when they are labeled as a group to be "feared" (p.1). One of the most common discourse surrounding the Muslim identity is that "Islam is not compatible with Western democracies" (Elshimi, 2015;Rahman, 2014, p.2).…”

“…This MRP's findings demonstrate that Canadian news media outlets overwhelmingly misrepresent and negatively construct Muslim identities. The othering of Muslims is embedded in Canadian news medias from an Oriental lens that portrays Islam as a foreign and dangerous religion (Bryce, 2013;Said, 1978;Jerrentrup, 2021;Rahman, 2014). The largest theme in the findings reflected that by constructing a false reality that Islam is violent, news media have depicted Muslim immigrant youth to be helpless and weak victims of Islamic extremism.…”

Understanding the Populist Shift. Othering in a Europe in Crisis Edited by Lazaridis, GabriellaCampani, Giovanna (London; New York: Routledge, 2017, ISBN 9781138101654); xvi + 196 pp., £39.99 (ebk), £110 (hbk)

“…Also, concerning current research agendas, the book adds significantly to the literature on Othering as an explanatory factor for current political trends. In recent years, the concept is employed increasingly in the study of European Integration, especially in the areas of Euroscepticism and new forms of Nationalism (see, for example, Gillespie, ; Jensen, ; Lazaridis & Tsagkroni, ; Rahman, ; Wodak, ). Among those publications, the volume is just one example for the considerable attention Othering has received in connection to the abovementioned topics, yet probably the most comprehensive collective volume.…”