Muslims in Western Media: New Zealand Newspapers' Construction of 2006 Terror Plot at Heathrow Airport and Beyond

Abstract

This study critically examines the representation of the 2006 “suspected aircraft terror plot” at Heathrow Airport in London by three mainstream newspapers in New Zealand—the Otago Daily Times, the Press (Press) and the New Zealand Herald. It seeks to illustrate how these newspapers espoused an Orientalist view of “Islamic Other” in framing the issue by representing Islam and Muslims as a threat to “the West” as well as to New Zealand. It is argued that in reporting the issue, these newspapers provided extraordinary emphasis on Islamic terrorism that was extrapolated from the event but they maintained their categorical silence when the initial sensationalizing representations were found to be questionable, as evidence did not fully support the scale of the Orientalist representation. In trying to explain this media frenzy, we point to the existential fear of New Zealand society about Islam and Muslims both globally and locally. We argue that this typical media representation aimed at controlling discourses and discursive formations about Islam and Muslims in society by overfeeding media consumers with ideologies so that they do not have an opportunity to internalize alternative discourses.