Having to resort to pointing out the definitions of words to a national newspaper is a sad business but in the case of tomorrow’s Daily Star, it has to be done:
Muslim noun
An adherent of the faith of Islam. As a religious practitioner, Muslims can be any race or ethnicity and the word should not be confused with Arab.
Brit noun (informal)
A citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Now, here’s the front page that seems to be blissfully ignorant of these simple and, you would have thought, widely-understood definitions:
One doesn’t need to condone the shameful behaviour of these dreadful children to point out that they are still “Brits” themselves too. The juxtaposition of “Muslim” thugs and “Brit” schoolboy is yet another dog-whistle signal that Muslims aren’t the same as “us”.
(It’s also worth pointing out that the Star’s headline is misleading in that it claims that there was an attack. There wasn’t; only threats of an attack.)
At the time of writing, this attempt at journalism isn’t yet available online, so I’m unable to read the story in its entirety. It has, however, already been covered by the Mail:
After reading the Mail’s headline, I believe a reprise of one of the definitions is called for:
Muslim noun
An adherent of the faith of Islam. As a religious practitioner, Muslims can be any race or ethnicity and the word should not be confused with Arab.
This confusion over the word “Muslim” is not an accident.
Of course, the majority of Muslims tend to be of darker skin and Islam was, originally, very much a religion of the Arabs. But Islam never had any ethnic or relational restrictions with regards to adoption. One of the first things they taught me about Islam in Religious Education at school was that it was “universal” and that anyone could sign up at any point in their lives.
Still – forget all that. Remember, the Muslims aren’t like us. They’re not British… Got it?
(Read more about Desmond’s other rag and its attempt at perpetuating the “us and them” fallacy.)
I had already print-screened the mail headline!
Nice to see the patriotic triggers again!
I count 9 occurrences of 'Facebook'
Whilst it incident did seem to happen on facebook.
The paper quotes;
"Principal Wendy Thomas said facebook was an increasing concern for schools.
…
‘Facebook is a big concern for schools and we urge all parents to monitor what their children say on the site."
Look on the schools news page;
http://www.sidneystringeracademy.org.uk/news.html
"Open the letter on Social Networking"
->
"Do you know what your children do when they are using a computer?
Use of interactive web sites, chat rooms, mobile phones, messaging and the internet – and possible serious consequences"
"I am writing to you to ask for your support in dealing with an increasing problem: the use of computers by some students to use social networking sites to spread stories and gossip about others."
Whilst it does mention Facebook by name, it also refers to other social networking sites, perhaps for example, MySpace?
Even some of the comments mention that the problem is not only with facebook.
So why single it out, if the school is warning about "interactive web sites, chat rooms, mobile phones, messaging and the internet" why only quote the bit about facebook?
Another point beyond the muslim/white point.
"A gang of 12-year-old pupils made up of five Muslim boys and one white girl, began plotting a vicious attack on Darius – whose father is Asian – for supporting British troops."
Is it known if they are a gang? 'Gang' has a lot of negative connotations.
Also the use of the word 'plot', maybe it's justified but it would seem to be more threating/intimidating than actually plotting?
"Darius – whose father is Asian" Which is implying what? I'm not sure what the purpose of that is?
The Star, factually accurate as ever. Look at the football score at the top of the page.
Putting Brits and Muslims aside for one moment, I thought the England France game finished 2-1 not 2-0?
To be fair to the Star, this copy was probably a first draft. The football score was corrected for the print version.
Unfortunately, the main headline was not corrected.
I find people tend to be surprised when I tell them Arabs make up only 20% of today's Muslims. And whenever I ask someone who doesn't have a direct interest in Muslim affairs which is the most populus Muslim majority nation state, they ALWAYS reply Pakistan. In fact, it's Indonesia (approx 200 million).
FYI
His mum has a bit of form by the looks of it.
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/2010/04/29/hillfields-mum-s-bid-to-buy-daughter-s-education-on-ebay-92746-26342284/
The Mail article has the desired effect: http://www.facebook.com/English.Defence.League.EDL/posts/150169718362393
As does the Star's: http://www.facebook.com/English.Defence.League.EDL/posts/142808359101277
The Star's headline has changed to 'School of Hate'.