The media plays a strong role in promoting Islamophobia in the world, according to Nathan Lean, editor-in-chief, Aslan Media and a researcher at Georgetown University. Lean made this remark while participating in a panel discussion at Arab Media Forum on “Islamophobia: Is the media doing enough to reverse perceptions?” The session discussed how to bridge the knowledge gap between the Middle East and the West. It also discussed the role of social media and its impact on the Arab Spring and solutions in Syria and other parts of the region. A person of Middle Eastern origin travelling to the West is perceived to be a ‘terrorist,’ unless proven otherwise, media experts pointed out. However, a lot of this is due mostly to ignorance in the West.
About 60 per cent of the Americans had favourable views about Islam in around the time Sept. 11 happened. “However, by 2011, 60 percent of the Americans had unfavourable views about Muslims and Islam. In 10 years, the media had changed this. So, media plays a strong role in reshaping public perception on Islam,” Lean said.