The Muslim Portrayal
The Violent Muslim Male in the News​
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On nearly any given day, you can find an article about Muslims or Islam. In the recent past, the vast majority of these article have included portrayals of a violent Muslim male doing things which are to be seen as absurd. A lot of these articles are accompanied by pictures which include Muslim men, seemingly often dressed in all white, doing a symbolic act of violence, or even performing violence against others. We are to understand that the basis behind the actions of these violent men is their religion. That they are doing what Allah has instructed them to do.
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Why does the media choose to portray this way?
One answer would be that these pieces are what the viewers and readers are most likely to pay attention to. We live in a place where violence is fascinating to us. It takes people's interest in a piece of news in order to make it popular. Another possibility is that the media in our country wants the Muslims to look bad. Have we ever thought of that? Instead of teaching about tolerance and diversity, we are focusing on one small percentage of Muslims. After a stereotype has begun, it is very difficult to end it. While many people do realize that Muslims as a whole are not like this, the very developed stereotype of the violent Muslim male will forever be hard to erase.
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The Violent Male
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Anyone who has paid attention to the news over the last 15 years has witnessed an example of the violent male muslim. Popular media presents them in violent protests, starting fires, bombing, and torturing people.
News Examples
"Inside the Muslim Brotherhood's Torture Chambers"
http://frontpagemag.com/2012/dgreenfield/inside-the-muslim-brotherhoods-torture-chambers/

This bloody article talks about the Muslim Brotherhood, an extremist Muslim group and their torture chambers. Words such as "kidnappers", "beat them", and "torturers" put a scary spin on the story. While this may be happening, the article lacks any explanation of the Muslim Brotherhood and their mission. There is also a gruesome picture shown with the article. Nothing is mentioned about the percentage of Muslims which are involved in such a movement or anything. This article does a terrible job and could lead many people to make hasty generalizations.
"US based anti-Islam filmmaker, 6 other sentenced to death by Egypt court"

"...now accepted as a terrorist attack..." are exact words from the article. It seems that Muslims are now synonymous with the word terrorist. This article highlights the idea of Muslims being quick to anger reacting with extreme aggression as their only means to get revenge or make things better from their perspective. Once again, this does not include the majority of Muslims, and it is yet again not explained that these are more extreme Muslims.
"Muslim Violence, Anti-American Protests, Fallout from Middle East: This week Roundtable"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miqHPq5l3SE

This edition of the Roundtable, which includes commentators from various political perspectives, addresses how things would be with different leaders in position in the United States. What comes out, is that they seem to believe that no matter who is leading, the Muslims are determined in their violence and therefore unstoppable. One commentator on the topic of the Muslim protests from the Anti-Muslim video questions if all the violence is really from the video, or is actually due to something more fundamental. This questioning of Muslim can cause issues in understanding. Are they really just out to get us?