@ cycads: thanks for throwing in another perspective (and for actually getting back to the topic at hand!) That’s a good point that you bring up that at least space is being made for a Muslim to talk about “everyday issues,” which certainly is rare in mainstream western media. I still worry about the constructions of “Muslim” that it conveys, but it’s important to bring in the positive reactions that some Muslim readers in Britain may have just by seeing it there.

@ Faith: totally agree, well said.

@ laila: I think you bring up a really good point about people saying things like “well, since Ingrid Mattson is white, mainstream Americans/Canadians will be better able to relate to her, etc.” While that may actually be true in a lot of contexts, it is certainly not something to be proud of! I wonder what would happen if she (and others like Hamza Yusuf, Abdul-Hakim Murad, et al.) actually made explicit comments about the disproportionate attention they receive and authority they are given when speaking about Islam to western audiences. Although I really respect the work that she has done, I definitely agree that it’s no accident that she, as a white woman, has received the attention that she has. And if we keep positioning white people as the spokespeople for Muslims, then we’ve got a really sketchy situation of white people speaking on behalf of communities that are largely comprised of people of colour… and taking a lot of power and voice away from Muslims who are people of colour – even when this is unintentional, it is really disturbing to see it happen.

“Honestly, I think it’s because it serves a greater political agenda. Most of the stories on Muslims in the Western media, especially American media, serves to otherize Muslims. What better way to do that than to constantly present “foreign” Muslims as opposed to indigenous Muslims?”

BINGO!

But do you know what’s even more unfortunate, the media is even more unlikely to present a Female (Black) Muslim, actually I don’t think I’ve ever seen it! As a black woman myself, I feel neglected.

Honestly, do you think if Ingrid Matteson was a woman of color she would have gotten as much recognition? Don’t get me wrong, she is an amazing scholar and it’s hard enough making it as a woman in a male dominated sphere but do you think her skin colour has contributed to her legitimatization, as Krista mentioned? I don’t think that she would have received as much mass communication if she was black, regardless of what media it was.

It’s SAD because some people I talked to think it’s a good idea Ingrid Matteson is white because then she’ll have a greater impact towards the white demographics in the media, and else where. WTF (I’m speechless!).

Fatemah you make a good point, “It’s not just how we’re represented…it’s how we’re NOT represented as well.”

Honestly, I think it’s because it serves a greater political agenda. Most of the stories on Muslims in the Western media, especially American media, serves to otherize Muslims. What better way to do that than to constantly present “foreign” Muslims as opposed to indigenous Muslims?

While I believe that the diversity of Muslims have been completely glossed over under the umbrella ‘Muslim’ in Noorjehan’s column, I actually welcome such a space in ‘The Guardian’ newspaper.

‘The Guardian’ has styled itself as a liberal, centre-left paper but it’s the only ‘proper’* newspaper in Britain that has a reserved space for ‘immigrants’ to talk like normal people with normal everyday issues like dating and family. I use the word ‘immigrant’ with some bitterness here, because depending on where you’re from can determine your job prospects and how you’re treated by the local government and society.

Being Malay in Britain, and especially in Oxford, I’m so used to being a minority of minorities that I welcome the opportunity to listen to the experiences of anyone who shares the same religion and a culture that’s deemed foreign and ‘exotic’ to Britons, and who shares the everyday complications that white Britons who perhaps do not understand and not know about. In short, I like Noorjehan’s column, and because within the context of Britain and immigration, I find her putting ‘Muslim’ as part of her column’s title is good enough for me.

*’proper’ as in non-tabloid types that’s famous for its immigrant-bashing tone.

I think this has been written about really well by Tariq Nelson (who writes a great post about tension between African and African American Muslims and gave his thoughts on Azhar Usman’s “public apology” to the black Muslim community) and Margari Aziza Hill. I also wrote about this for alt.muslim.

My concern is that if we make an allowance for this, then perhaps we have to make an allowance for other topics that don’t directly deal with media representation that are big issues, and then we risk falling into discussion of “my Islam vs. your Islam” type stuff. I feel like we can’t say “we’re not talking about [insert issue here]” and then talk about an issue without media representation (at least as a jumping off point). But I really do feel that we can come up with media representation within the Muslim community (or lack of representation) as a forum to discuss these issues.

I think this would be a GREAT post for Muslimnista. It is an issue that needs to be talk about constantly until people start to get it, just like sexism.