Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World

Very interesting book. It brings to mind that, that there is more to what meets the eye. So in that sense, truth is truth, when it is able to withstand the test of time and all challenges that it brings.

The most misunderstood important society on the planet. Islam. Why are we so misinformed about Islam? he greatest struggle for Middle Easterners isn't the battle against terrorism, or the battle within Islam, or the problem of authoritarianism in most Middle East countries. It's a problem of perception--the many and varied ways westerners misinterpret, mis-characterize, stereotype and flatly...more

The most misunderstood important society on the planet. Islam. Why are we so misinformed about Islam? he greatest struggle for Middle Easterners isn't the battle against terrorism, or the battle within Islam, or the problem of authoritarianism in most Middle East countries. It's a problem of perception--the many and varied ways westerners misinterpret, mis-characterize, stereotype and flatly misrepresent various people and issues across the greater Middle East. It's important to face the myths head-on, demolish them and correct the record. Here are five of the most common myths. The Middle East is Synonymous with the Arab World Not at all. Afghanistan, Iran, Israel and Turkey, to name just four countries, are in the Middle East, but except for Israel’s Palestinian-Arabs, the majority of their populations are not Arabs. Ethnically, Iran is made up for the most part of Persians and Kurds. Afghanistan’s population is Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aimak and Turkmen. A quarter of Israel’s population is Arab, the rest is Jewish, though from varying backgrounds. Turkey’s population is either Turkmen or Kurds. Large portions of populations in Arab nations such as Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are not Arabs but mostly Asian laborers. In the UAE’s case, the majority of the population is non-Arab. Edward Said's books on this topic help (even though they are 2 decades old now, ) unravel some of the confusion and explain the cross-currents of power struggles that the media omits as it generalizes in a dangerous way about millions of innocent people. Please read this book and others by Said to begin to understand who it is we are interacting with in the 'war for control of the Middle East'.   hide

I couldn't agree more with the previous three reviews on this book. A must-read, indeed.

Essential reading if you want an informed and balanced opinion on Islam. Debunks the Middle Eastern stereotype and the mythical image of Islam as a monolithic culture.