The world appears to be experiencing a permanent process of encounters between ‘Self’ and ‘Other’, and media excel worsening their effects on peoples and cultures. I was stunned by a particular ad poster at Washington metro subways recently that displays a charming kid, likely 7 or 8 years old, dressed as Muslim boys and men often do when they go to the mosque. The worst part of the picture shows the child’s feet manacled, restraining him from any sort of movement. Above the picture is a large title in bold and capital letters, containing two very loaded words. ‘Islamic Apartheid’ was coined to create a negative image in readers’ minds by associating Islam with the most wretched forms of racism and segregation.
Islam, whose first connotation and denotation conveyed peace and tolerance, is distorted by the poster to refer to a doctrine of servility and enslavement. The sentence in red below the picture warns the audience that a racial-religious conflict is gaining ground in Mauritania. The statement that the black race suffers from ‘tyranny’ of Muslims is an exaggerated fiction designed to aggravate the situation. Such statements do not fight the evil of racial apartheid; a huge minority of Muslims, white or black, in America will be affected by this ideological discourse.
The last message states that the U.S. must stop aiding Islamic states. This phrase suggests superiority of the modern West and relegates all Muslim countries to a secondary position of inferiority and beggary. Racism is a universal phenomenon that victimizes not only blacks. Anyone classified as a ‘foreigner’ might experience marginalization and discrimination..
We dream today of a world free of such harmful ethnic slurs as ‘gypsies’ and dark skinne'; yet, the poster glorifies the derogatory concept of ‘apartheid’, which is an arm that could be turned against its users.
Step by step, the U.S. media is politely endorsing or tolerating this viewpoint, while opening the door for other harmful perspectives such as war against Muslim countries or curtailing Muslim immigration to the U.S.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy
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