Introduction
The history of Islam and Christianity in the context of the western people is based how the West collaborated with the Islamic countries in the Middle East or the conflict that arises between the West and the Western people. During these terrorist attacks, most people and most fingers are often pointed towards the Muslim individuals with a claim that they orchestrate the terrorist attacks on the western land. Such kind of conclusions do not just arise from nowhere but are rather a series of occurrences which cause such kind of utterances from the western people. For instance, when nineteen Arabs hijacked a plane on September 11, 2001, where approximately three thousand people were killed, the Arabian countries and citizens got into the Western radar which made the then president George W Bush to declare a solemn war on terrorists. By saying this, his reference audience was the Arabians who hijacked the plane and killed the people. The relationship between the Western and the people of Middle East deteriorates each day the West experiences a terrorist attack. The fact that the terrorists also majored on the religion-based attacks, it gave the western countries a common ground to come together to fight against this kind of terrorism. (Alsultany, pp1)
Role of Music
The conflict between the West and the Western countries go way back. Some of their rivalries are portrayed in the Arabian music or the American music. To become familiar with the culture of the west and the Middle East culture, most of the music fans should stop listening to the songs and listen more to the lyrics of the songs and what the songs speak about. Music is mostly used to portray a person’s mind, so rather than just listening to the beats the fans, who mostly are the young people in the society, are urged to follow the music and get the message of the music clips not only their mullah. Cultural music mostly embeds a great cultural aesthetic value in them. Sometimes music portrays the cultural features of the Arabs in this case, for instance, their practices and their traditional values as a community.
Music, especially cultural music, has the power to change and transform the public. It is, therefore, important to listen to the Arabs aged between the twenties to thirties, sing or play. They are the future of the Arabian countries, but as well they are the future of the Americans and other western countries. (Rupe Fiasco) The plans they have for their countries could directly have an impact on the western countries. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the youth in the population of Middle East. They constitute the major percentage of the population of the Middle East. In the economy of the Middle East, there are those bad Muslims and the good ones with liberal minds and the mindset of collaborating with the western cultures to elevate their economic status and initiate development processes in their countries. Therefore, it brings about the aspect of both conflict and collaboration between the Muslims and Americans and other western countries. Bohlman often argues that music can afford to give power to that one person who seeks to find the true meaning of some problem in the society. However, the same music can be interpreted in different ways. In most cases, heavy metal music and rap music of is compared to the soldiers of war. When rap music is used by the youth, it portrays resistance from the youth. In most cases it is a protest from the unfavorable government or society in general.
Role of Media Station in the Conflict
The media stations are profit making companies who base their profits mainly on how many articles are read or sold to the readers. As a result, they look for better stories which in their opinion will captivate the readers and give them the insight to read more, it is just how the business works, looking for better grounds to hunt and look for better stories. As a result, the media sometimes exaggerates the relationship situation of the Western countries and the Middle East. The American people often depend on the news Medias to obtain information. The citizens take directly what happens in the media without any further scrutiny. The media is entrusted with the responsibility of disseminating information and news to every individual in the country. In most cases, the media newspapers, TV stations, Radio stations, and magazines often deliver information on terrorism in a manner that could appear to be biased. Therefore, there are very limited sources of Islam cultures or preferences and in most cases such kinds of articles are never read by many people in the society. However, in as much as this is the case, there are specialized journals, printed books and other lecturers with more detailed explanation of the terrorism situation better than the media puts it. (LeVine, pp59)
Besides, America’s media coverage of other countries only portrays their interests. The government of the U.S has the capabilities of deciding what I put in the media and what appears in the news, and as long as it portrays the United States as not a god government, the news will not be aired to the public, and the a substitute news will be formulated. The Americans and the western states in general often have a common point of interest. We see this for instance in the case of Iraq. This central consensus modifies the news contents and decides what news to appear first during the news bulletin and so forth. This is a typical example of cultural heritage rather than a dictatorship gesture or a conspiracy. The result of the media view of the Islam communities is that, most people in the current contemporary American society have a formed opinion that the people from the Middle East have are terrorists. (Said, 49) This view has inflicted fear on the Americans so much that seeing a Muslim only brings to mind the perception of the Muslim being a terrorist. This perception has deteriorated the meaning of Islam to a point where Islam can be defined in two ways. To both Americans and the westerners in general the Islam is a representation of the destruction of the democracy in the western world. Islam is therefore a disruption of the economic order of democracy in the west. On the other hand, Islam in the contemporary Middle East definition means a counter reaction to the tarnish of the first image of Islam. Most Muslims react in defense of their religion and their beliefs.
Role of religious preferences in the conflict
The Western criticism about Islam is mainly based on their religious preferences. The conflict between the Islam communities and the western cultures is a very advanced battle. The conflicts and misunderstandings are real. The war between two have two sets of trenches, set of barricades and two sets of military equipment. Therefore as it appears, the war between the two rival societies seems to have unified the western countries and states. The same case is similar to the Middle East countries. They have been unified in curbing the hostility that they face from the western countries. The Islamic world have therefore been unified with a common interest and goal. The Islamic communities are always irritated with the fact that most of the people do not understand and respect the value of their religion. As a result, they often intend to make statements to prove their points, they do this through the terrorist activities which lead to loss of lives. (Said, 47)
Conclusion
In conclusion, the rivalry between the West and the Islamic countries dates way back in the years. The reasons for their misunderstandings is often amplified by the media stations in the country. The stations exaggerate or misrepresent the situations between Islamic countries and the Western states. This has elevated the suspicion rate of the Muslims in case of a terrorist activity even of it was never perpetrated by the Muslims. Music also portrays the level of conflict between the West and the Islamic countries. A good example is Lupe Fiasco’s rap song “American Terrorist” which explores how the government and other business people intends to suppress and prevent the society from going on with collaborations. To bring to an end this level of tension between the two regions, collaborations can be arranged between the two regions so that the regions can incorporate each other into their activities to promote cultural interdependence. For instance, musicians could produce songs collaboratively to portray cultural acceptance of both regions. This kind of interregional dependence can only be achieved if the media relays unbiased information and dwelling so much on airing relevant information which will build the relationship between them and the Islamic countries.
Works Cited
Alsultany, Evelyn. Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race and Representation after 9/11. New York: New York UP, 2012. Print.
LeVine, Mark. Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance, and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam. Print.
"Rupe Fiasco — American Terrorist Ryrics." Rupe Fiasco. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.
Said, Edward W. Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World. New York: Pantheon, 1981. Print.
