Annotated Bibliography - The Portrayal of the Burqa Ban in the Media

Schlesinger, P. (1993). Islam, postmodernity and the media: an interview with Akbar S. Ahmed. Media, Culture & Society, 15(1), 29-42. doi 10.1177/016344393015001003

Philip Schlesinger wrote this article while working in the Department of Film and Media Studies at University of Stirling, Scotland.  He conducts an interview with Pakistani anthropologist Akbar S. Ahmed.  Schlesinger is interested in Ahmed’s research into the media and postermodernity when it comes to Western perceptions of Muslims and vice versa.  Ahmed argues that the media and globalisation are making it impossible for groups in society to isolate themselves and live a traditional lifestyle.  Ahmed relates this to an East-West division that is built on thousands of years of history and social relations.  Schlesinger probes the argument put forward in Ahmed’s research about film and television media and their role in postmodernity in the Muslim world.  Ahmed essentially argues that postmodernity is culturally contextual, for Muslims it has to do with the changing world order after the Cold War.  He stresses that the global aspect of Western media is intruding on traditional values and providing Muslims with misleading images of Western society and causing tension.  Ahmed suggests that reconciliation between Western and Muslim cultures needs to be based on respect, cooperation and celebration of differences.  Schlesinger conducts the interview with respect to Ahmed’s views but does attempt to highlight his cultural bias and prejudices.

Barns, G. (2010, May 7). Cory Bernardi’s sinister plot to ban the burqa. Crikey. Retrieved from: http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/05/07/corey-bernardis-sinister-plot-to-ban-the-burqa/

Greg Barns has written something close to an editorial but with a heavy analysis of social and political commentary and Australian law.  Barns assesses the comments by South Australian Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi who made a claim that the burqa should be banned in Australia.  Senator Bernardi made this claim after an incident in Sydney when a thief used a burqa as a disguise.  Senator Bernardi links the wearing of the burqa to repression of women by Muslim society as well as criminality in Western society.  Barns writes that Senator Bernardi’s call for banning the burqa is more ‘sinister’ than claims from other countries.  He makes this assertion within the framework of racial vilification laws in Australia.  While these laws vary from state to state, Barns reviews each state and claims that Bernardi is in breach of racial vilification laws in Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria.  Barns claims that Senator Bernardi cannot defend himself against these laws by arguing that his comments were in good faith, as linking the burqa to oppression and criminality are deemed irrational.  Barns accuses Senator Bernardi of breaching these laws as he has incited ‘serious contempt’ for Australian Muslims.  This piece comes across as opinionated as Barns claims that Senator Bernardi’s comments are the most sinister ever made on the topic.  This statement is put forward before the legal and social justificatory framework.  This piece highlights that there is not a celebration of differences between Muslims and Australians.

French face veil ban comes into force (2011, April 11). Al Jazeera. Retrieved from: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2011/04/20114117646677858.html

This article was written after the French government implemented controversial laws that banned citizens from wearing face veils in public.  The writer highlights the immediate civil disobedience campaign against these laws by stating that two women, wearing niqab veils, were arrested.  However, according to French authorities, they were arrested for participating in an unauthorised demonstration.  The article includes comments from a variety of sources.  The French government said that the ban is due to male oppression of women.  Muslim leaders in France state that they are neither for or against the banning of face veils, as wearing these garments is a cultural, rather than religious practice.  Protestors claim that the ban is against their European and human rights.  The author analyses the reasoning behind the French government’s decision to ban face veils.  According to official rhetoric, it is to promote France’s secular values and educate the people about the responsibilities of French citizenship.  However, some human rights groups argue that it was a move by former French President Nicholas Sarkozy to win votes from far-right voters.  Al Jazeera is known for delivering news from a non-Western perspective and relies heavily on non-governmental sources in this piece, although it still does provide a balanced argument.  This piece highlights that there is not much respect between Western and Muslim culture and that differences are not being celebrated.

Human rights chief slams burqa ban. (2010, March 8). SBS World News Australia. Retrieved from: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1209342/Human-rights-chief-slams-burqa-ban      

This article discusses international and customary law regarding several countries’ attempts to ban the wearing of burqas.  This article consults human rights commissioner for the Council of Europe, Thomsas Hammarberg, to discuss the social, legal and normative dimensions and implications of banning the burqa in European society.  According to Hammarberg, banning face veils would be an ‘unreasonable’ invasion of personal privacy and would not liberate oppressed women.  He argues that banning the burqa and other face veils would in fact do the opposite of what the supporters are trying to promote, it would actually lead to further alienation and segregation of society.  Hammarberg not only relies on this social and normative argument, but also on the basis of international and European law.  He states that banning the burqa would be against the European Convention of Human Rights depending on the context of the banning laws.  Hammarberg then analyses the situation in France where he denounces their approach and calls it undemocratic considering the circumstances.  SBS is known for presenting a multicultural view on current affairs and has often been criticised for having a left-wing bias.  This article calls for respect and cooperation between Western and Muslim cultures and to celebrate the differences.      

R2P

Here's my factual storytelling exercise.

I'm not interesting enough to have a feature story about and I don't know anyone who would want me to share their story with my cohort (or the rest of the internet for that matter).

Instead I chose a group that I first heard about on Market Day during O Week. Seeing as I study International Relations and Peace & Conflict Studies in my arts degree it makes sense that I look into groups like this and explore my interests. I'm already really interested in areas like human rights and human security.

Learning about R2P has really inspired me to achieve my study goals. One day I want to work with someone like them and try to make a positive difference in the world.

Getting a 7 on this assignment isn't important to me anymore (even though I would love one) because I've learnt more about myself and where I want to go in life. So enjoy and tell me what you think!

Mediaphile

The Internet

So the time has come to see what my relationship with the media is really like.  I kept details of the time I spent on the internet, watching TV and reading over a period of ten days from 13 March to 22 March.  Let’s start with the largest part of my media consumption; the internet.

Scary stuff, I spend the equivalent of six and a half days on the internet. That’s over half the time that I undertook this study (ORLY?)  A much simpler way of looking at the time I spend on the internet is through a pie chart.

According to the survey that the JOUR1111 cohort completed at the beginning of the course, the average amount of time that we spend on the internet everyday is about two to three hours.  My average is about fourteen and a half...

Now I do spend a lot of time in front of a computer, but there are other reasons why my internet usage is so high.  In my browser I have all my regularly visited sites bookmarked for convenience.  So I can open several tabs with most of my bookmarks open.  This shows that I don’t just sit on Facebook for several hours, then go to Youtube, then to Blogger.  It shows that people are generally doing more than one thing at a time when they use the internet.

According to the survey 77.3% of us have an internet enabled smartphone, I am part of this group.  I have a HTC Incredible S (iPhone’s are too mainstream for me) and have unlimited access to Facebook and Twitter.  Days when I’m at uni and have a massive break (five hours every second Tuesday, thanks SI-net) I constantly check Facebook on my phone because I’m so bored.  It seems bad that I spend so much time on Facebook, but that’s what 91.9% of us spend most of our time doing on the internet. 

I finish uni at about six o’clock each day and don’t get home until seven thirty, which means I stay up doing work and have the internet open.  When I do work I listen to music on Youtube and compulsively check Facebook.  I also prefer watching TV over the internet which does take up a fair bit of my time.

Television

Like I said before, I prefer to watch TV over the internet but I still do watch it like normal people.  I have a table to prove it and everything.

According to the survey people spend about one or two hours a day watching TV, my average is 1.7 hours.  Days when I watch a fair bit of TV is because I am catching up with them online.  The survey also said that 36.6% of us stream TV shows from the internet which is probably a sign that we prefer this method of television as we can watch what we want when it suits us.

Music & Radio

Radio is considered old fashioned by some and is struggling to compete against other forms of media.

As the graph shows from the survey, most people only listen to a few minutes of radio every day.  I don’t really listen to any.  That is because I don’t put the radio on at home to listen to and rarely travel anywhere by car, which are the two main ways people would listen to the radio.

In saying that I still listen to music, just not usually through radio.

So I clearly utilise the two main mediums that the cohort uses to listen to music; the computer and i(one of their products).  However I mainly listen to music through CD’s and it does surprise me that more people don’t use them.  I download music like most other people yet still enjoy buying CD’s and thought that some other people would be the same.  I use CD’s a lot because I use my stereo to drown out the distractions in my house when I’m trying to do work (I still get distracted, so it doesn’t really work).

Reading

I like to read quite a lot because I’m quite nerdy.  So I thought that would be worth noting for this assessment.  And by publications I mean things like newspapers and magazines.

Because I’m a uni student I spend most of my time doing academic reading and only read leisurely when I’m travelling to or from uni or when I’m procrastinating.  I do read some newspapers, but I mainly read publications like Time and New Scientist as I usually get my news from online news sources.  As the survey shows more people get their news from online “newspapers” than from regular newspapers.

Old VS New Media

I am clearly a new media person as I spend the majority of my time on a computer.  However, I still do find time for old media and find it still to be a valuable resource.

Media Production

Even though I spend a lot of time on social media websites, I would say that I am definitely more of a consumer than a producer.

During the ten days, on Facebook I posted eleven status updates, three photos and one link.  On Twitter I tweeted four times and I posted twice on Blogger.

I think I consume more than I produce because I like to observe things rather than be the centre of attention.  Then again, as I explore the media more through my studies I think I will become more of a producer while at the same time still consuming quite heavily due to my interest in other people’s opinions and what not.