"Everyone was very supportive of the media in the sense that freedom of speech is necessary, we need to know what's going on in the world. But it would be nice if we get a different slant on it sometimes."
Source/Credit: Mississauga.com
By David Paterson | November 8, 2013
MISSISSAUGA — The sometimes fraught relationship between the media and religion was put under the spotlight recently at the Bait-ul-Hamd Islamic centre in Mississauga.
Representatives from five of the major world faiths came together for a ladies-only symposium to debate whether their religions were recognizable from their portrayal in the media.
The event was organized by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women's Association, a reformist movement within Islam that aims to promote the religion by peaceful means. Around 250 women attended the event to hear speakers from Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism and Islam discuss the representation of their faiths in the media. Mayor Hazel McCallion also took part in the question-and-answer session.
Naheed Khokhar, the organization's outreach secretary, said that while all the speakers recognized the importance of the role played by the media in public life, they wanted a more multi-dimensional portrayal of their faiths.
"Everyone was very supportive of the media in the sense that freedom of speech is necessary, we need to know what's going on in the world. But it would be nice if we get a different slant on it sometimes," she said.
Among the criticisms levelled against the fourth estate was its often mocking stance towards Christianity and a failure to separate fact from supposition.
Separately, the organization also held a symposium on the role of women in Islam. Entitled "Muhammad: Liberator of Women," the event aimed to challenge stereotypes about oppression of women in the religion.
Pointing out that much of the portrayal of Islam in the Western media is influenced by depictions from the Arab world, Khokhar said that many branches of Islam had acknowledged women's rights to divorce and vote for centuries.
"These were things that were brought in 1,500 years ago, but people don't see it like that because you've got the Arab dominance in the media, which shows women cannot even drive," she said.
Read original post here: Symposium questions whether media portray religions fairly
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