Islamic Propaganda

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the political strategies and propaganda efforts by the American press and politicians to rally support for an imminent strike on Iraq. It also looks at the side of the Islamic supporters and their use of Al-Jazeera, the 24 hour news channel, as a source of broadcasting their view to the world. The writer discusses the role of propaganda and media bias in this ongoing conflict and how the American press has succeeded in shaping an image of the Muslims in America in the minds of the American population.

From the Paper:

"Most strategists, heads of state and military experts will agree that, without domestic support, war is a very difficult undertaking. Conflict, specifically of the armed variety, has the inevitable tendency to place its participants and those sovereign to them at considerable risk. This, of course, is no mystery to the inhabitants of warring nations. As such, obtaining their approval to be placed in the path of such peril can be a task formidable size. That fact has never been more evident than in the last few weeks as talk of war with Iraq intensifies. President Bush has spent the better portion of his time before cameras and journalists attempting to garner public acceptance for the mounting operation. And his words reveal a truth about public perceptions in time of war. People will accept, support and even rally for a cause if it appeals to a concern, fear or ideology relevant to their survival, success and happiness. This is a universal condition of war. In an effort to present a unified front in the face of foreign threats, ruling parties may be inclined to exploit this human tendency. Information campaigns have always been a direct route to capturing the hearts and imaginations of citizens who might otherwise be wary of battle. By placing biases on the information used to implement such a campaign, message sources overstep the line between reporting fact and purporting propaganda.(15) Propaganda is, however, a label that one must be cautious in using. In the interests of accuracy, a person, group or organization looking to apply the propaganda tag to the dissemination of information must consider its own biases as well."

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