ABSTRACT
In today’s world, distorted media representations of Muslims often supersede the everyday realities of complex, multicultural societies. Yet these representations are not mimetic images of a reality that exists ‘outside’ of cultural practices. The book makes an important contribution in uncovering the ‘behind the coverage’ tensions and conflicts journalists face when reporting on Muslim-related stories. Through these tensions, it becomes possible to uncover both the enduring nature of the reproduction of negative Muslim representation, and how spaces for challenging these representations are found. Bringing together the key points discussed throughout the book, the final chapter puts forward some normative considerations for how journalism can represent Muslims more fairly within newspaper coverage. This calls for a critical re-conceptualisation of market-led and ideological assumptions of audiences and the British public, and often rigid interpretations of journalistic norms and values, to reposition Muslim representations from a starting point of inclusivity rather than difference.
