Viewpoint
U.S. Media Ban: Undemocratic and Totalitarian
By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer
The White House’s decision to selectively bar certain news outlets from briefings could be decried as "undemocratic, unacceptable, chilling, and totalitarian.” But that’s just part of the story.
No doubt some of these news outlets and networks like the CNN and the New York Times don’t have a "bright” track record when it comes to covering news about the ongoing U.S.-led wars and occupations in the heartlands of the Muslim world. But barring them from White House briefings is something new, indeed an unprecedented development.
Perhaps this is how the Trump administration retaliates when the media report facts they don’t like. However, it is wrong to call the exclusion "yet another disturbing example of the Trump administration’s contempt for the vital role a free press plays in our democracy.”
Mind you, the press in the United States is not that "free” and "impartial”. The American media have always been an "enemy of the Muslim world” and those which have been excluded from the White House briefings are not exception. They are the ones that have been a distraction from larger matters such as the U.S.-led wars on Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya. Like in the United States, some European media outlets are also full of the kind of racial, economic, cultural-religious injustice, bias and discrimination against Muslim immigrants and refugees.
Over the past two decades, they have helped far-right governments marginalize Muslim immigrants and minority groups. Western politicians and media lackeys are happy with the situation and continue to prevent Muslim immigrants and refugees from entering or integrating into their societies by means of controlling public opinion, mass media, and anti-immigrant policies and bans.
The argument is that the liberalist media in the West strives to accuse the Islamic world of violating basic human rights to get away with their own bias, racism, discrimination, and poor human rights records. They always hold back sensitive information about the real situation for minority groups and Muslims. But the ongoing protests in the United States and Europe against Trump’s Muslim ban and Syrian refugee restrictions have managed to unveil the hidden aspects of the West to the world as regards blocking the voices of a religious community that has no voice, no protection and no support.
The Western media must take concrete steps to rectify these problems, as there are no puzzles here. The core problem is not Trump’s media ban but Muslim degradation and alienation manifesting themselves in the belts of educated, usually unemployed, young men throughout Arab, African and Asian urban areas.
The barriers of culture, language and class in the West are also high, but those marginalized are now determined to fight back. Community leaders in slums have long complained of a lack of jobs and widespread discrimination against Muslims. Many Muslim immigrant groups and minorities are rapidly gaining power and the West can no longer treat them the way it did before.
All told, the ongoing political-media crisis in the U.S. has important messages for the world:
Muslim ban, discrimination, social divide, poverty, inequality, and degradation of other cultures are the adverse impacts of liberalist policies. Just like Western governments, mass media have left Muslim immigrants and minorities to their own devices. This is while there should be respect for cultural, social, and religious rights of minority groups and communities. Last but not the least, the international community should take the fight against Muslim ban in the U.S. seriously.
Above all, the United States and Europe should abandon their colonial mentality such as imposing Muslim ban, refugee restrictions and other measures to quell immigration and nationwide protests and unrests. The world has seen it all this year and there are other constructive ways to ensure order and security and/or peace with Muslims, immigrants and refugees.
The White House’s decision to selectively bar certain news outlets from briefings could be decried as "undemocratic, unacceptable, chilling, and totalitarian.” But that’s just part of the story.
No doubt some of these news outlets and networks like the CNN and the New York Times don’t have a "bright” track record when it comes to covering news about the ongoing U.S.-led wars and occupations in the heartlands of the Muslim world. But barring them from White House briefings is something new, indeed an unprecedented development.
Perhaps this is how the Trump administration retaliates when the media report facts they don’t like. However, it is wrong to call the exclusion "yet another disturbing example of the Trump administration’s contempt for the vital role a free press plays in our democracy.”
Mind you, the press in the United States is not that "free” and "impartial”. The American media have always been an "enemy of the Muslim world” and those which have been excluded from the White House briefings are not exception. They are the ones that have been a distraction from larger matters such as the U.S.-led wars on Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya. Like in the United States, some European media outlets are also full of the kind of racial, economic, cultural-religious injustice, bias and discrimination against Muslim immigrants and refugees.
Over the past two decades, they have helped far-right governments marginalize Muslim immigrants and minority groups. Western politicians and media lackeys are happy with the situation and continue to prevent Muslim immigrants and refugees from entering or integrating into their societies by means of controlling public opinion, mass media, and anti-immigrant policies and bans.
The argument is that the liberalist media in the West strives to accuse the Islamic world of violating basic human rights to get away with their own bias, racism, discrimination, and poor human rights records. They always hold back sensitive information about the real situation for minority groups and Muslims. But the ongoing protests in the United States and Europe against Trump’s Muslim ban and Syrian refugee restrictions have managed to unveil the hidden aspects of the West to the world as regards blocking the voices of a religious community that has no voice, no protection and no support.
The Western media must take concrete steps to rectify these problems, as there are no puzzles here. The core problem is not Trump’s media ban but Muslim degradation and alienation manifesting themselves in the belts of educated, usually unemployed, young men throughout Arab, African and Asian urban areas.
The barriers of culture, language and class in the West are also high, but those marginalized are now determined to fight back. Community leaders in slums have long complained of a lack of jobs and widespread discrimination against Muslims. Many Muslim immigrant groups and minorities are rapidly gaining power and the West can no longer treat them the way it did before.
All told, the ongoing political-media crisis in the U.S. has important messages for the world:
Muslim ban, discrimination, social divide, poverty, inequality, and degradation of other cultures are the adverse impacts of liberalist policies. Just like Western governments, mass media have left Muslim immigrants and minorities to their own devices. This is while there should be respect for cultural, social, and religious rights of minority groups and communities. Last but not the least, the international community should take the fight against Muslim ban in the U.S. seriously.
Above all, the United States and Europe should abandon their colonial mentality such as imposing Muslim ban, refugee restrictions and other measures to quell immigration and nationwide protests and unrests. The world has seen it all this year and there are other constructive ways to ensure order and security and/or peace with Muslims, immigrants and refugees.