When someone shows me another cliched stereotype about “Muslim terrorist” or “Islamic extremism” you know what my reaction is? Disappointed but not surprised. That being said, there’s always the hope that we’re moving towards a global society that treats Islamophobia with the same disgust as it extends to discrimination faced by dominantly white Western communities.
As it turns out we might have to wait longer than expected. Cultural critic and AJ+ creator Sana Saeed, who has gained popularity for her video commentary on key global issues took to Twitter to share her latest discovery.
What was meant to be a casual every day Google search turned out to be a lot more, because apparently when you search the word ‘militant,’ it shows a caricature of a man who is very obviously Muslim.
So I was googling the word ‘militant’ for some purpose, when uhhhhhh what in the racist hell? pic.twitter.com/NdNaylYzFk
— Sana Saeed (@SanaSaeed) August 23, 2020
The beard and turban, coupled with a military vest and gun are all the details of the same image used time and time again to depict Muslims in media, entertainment and politics.
As the discourse surrounding the word ‘terrorists’ goes in mainstream Western media, it is only Muslim terrorists that seem to be identified by their religion. The same principle doesn’t seem to apply to white supremacists or Hindu extremists to the same extent.
It’s also worrying to see the way narratives have developed. We may have overtly moved away from the ‘every Muslim is an extremist,’ depiction but what’s followed isn’t particularly helpful either.
As shown most commonly in Bollywood – which has a long history of perpetuating Muslim stereotypes – we now see Muslim characters who have to actively prove they are not a terrorist. It’s a burden unduly assigned to the global Muslim community despite the fact that terrorism has never been limited to one particular religious group.
ALSO READ
Here’s How Dirilis Ertugrul & Fauda are Battling It Out in India
Where the association has helped is in political maneuvers that have allowed countries like the US to justify occupation, infiltration and the ever-existing wars in the Middle East.
There’s enough political propaganda flying around as it is. That is why, when ordinary people like us start seeing images such as this one on something as simple as a Google Search, this normalization of ‘Muslims being miitants’ is a lot more worrying. Google may have just parsed a non-religious symbol or icon to denote the same, but apparently no.
Saeed’s tweet led to an outcry against the use of this caricature with the term, with she and her followers encouraging users to report the image as inappropriate. However, despite efforts the vile image has yet to be taken down.
Funny how quickly social media sites will claim to block forms of “hate speech” but refuse to extend that courtesy to damaging Islamophobic narratives
