How to Write about Muslims in Media?

I normally don’t pickup content from elsewhere and post it in this blog. But this one i thought was worth adding to this blog. This is an elaboration from Muslimah Media Watch about how to (or not to) write about Muslims and specially Muslims women in media. If anyone out there is listening then please follow these points. For complete post go here.

Rule #1: Don’t assume that Muslim women need to be saved, or that you know how to save them.

Rule #2:Rather than assuming you know what Muslim women’s lives are like, try asking them.

Rule #3: Be careful of who you talk to regarding Islam and/or Muslim women.

Rule #4: Understand that Muslims are just like anyone else in terms of their belief systems.  Not everything a Muslim does has to do with Islam.

Rule #5: Understand that there is no such thing as a “Muslim culture” or “Muslim Language”. Muslims come from a variety of cultures, region and countries and culture is dynamic – it’s constantly changing.

Rule #6: Don’t create a dichotomy between “Muslim” and “Canadian” (or “American,” “British,” etc.), or between “Muslim” and “Western.”

Rule #7: Tone it down! Be mindful of the language you use.

Rule #8: Take responsibility for the consequences of your writing.

Rule #9: Leave the headscarf alone.

Rule #10: And please please don’t act like every Muslim you meet is a terrorist or a fanatic Islamist. There are whole lot of in fact the majority of Muslims around the world are way liberal than you can think of.

The last rule is added by me, since this was one thing i have been feeling lot lately.