The news has been dominated recently by reports of Islamophobia running rampant throughout the country. With the infamous "Ground Zero mosque" controversy splashed across headlines, anti-Islamic sentiments are more pronounced now than they have been in years.
New waves were made yesterday when it was reported that a church in Florida has plans to burn copies of the Quran this week to protest the 9/11 terrorist attacks because, as the Dove World Outreach Center's leader Rev. Terry Jones claims, Islam is of the devil. He refuses to refrain from the demonstration despite warnings from Gen. David Petraeus that this would put American troops in Afghanistan in danger.
The fact that we are still having debates over the nature of Islam in the year 2010 is unfortunate. Obviously not all Muslims are terrorists and burning the Quran isn't an appropriate way to protest 9/11.
The vast majority of Americans recognize this. Anti-Islamic sentiments clearly aren't as widespread as the news media makes them out to be. As it has with so many controversial issues, the news media has taken the situation and blown it completely out of proportion, exploiting small news items because they make good stories that will boost ratings. The crazy antics of a minister with only 50 followers isn't the most newsworthy of stories, but anything involving Islam is immediately shot into the headlines. Perhaps if Jones wasn't assured of the spotlight, he wouldn't be committing this stunt in the first place.
The building of a mosque near ground zero is a different story. It is definitely a subject worthy of debate, and it is easy to see why some people would be against it, as it involves a very sensitive subject in recent American history. This could have resulted in a reasonable dialogue about the pros and cons of the situation. But with today's news media being as polarized as it is, the thought of a fair debate is, sadly, inconceivable.
People watching their news station of choice immediately took up either the liberal or conservative cause and held fast on their side of the issue, with no intention of budging. The possibility of taking a middle ground was barely considered. People based their opinions on their immediate emotional reaction and never reconsidered. The media thrives on stirring up people's emotions, and while that is an important aspect of journalism, today's newsmakers need to instead shift their focus toward stimulating people's minds by handling their coverage of sensitive issues responsibly. Maybe then we can have a fair debate.
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