Muslims and Media Images News Versus Views By Ather Farouqui, ed. (New York: Oxford UP, 2011. pbk. 368 pages.)

Abstract

Ather Farouqi’s edited book Muslims and Media Images: News Versus
Views examines the Hindi and Urdu press as well as Hindi and regional language
films. The uniqueness of the collection lies in the grounded approach
taken to study the topic of media images of Indian Muslims. Along with an
introduction and two appendices, this volume consists of nineteen mainly
short chapters organized in four sections that highlight the experiences of
media practitioners, who provide their own accounts and testimonies. Consisting
of journalists, newspaper editors, filmmakers, and academics ‒ the
contributors to this volume are writing from the field, while incorporating
historical components in a tone embedded in a storytelling style. Although
certain generalizations and scattered links between chapters might distract
readers, such grounded conversations are valuable to academics interested
in generating theory from the practice of making media. Most authors provided
vivid examples here from their own involvement in the process of
writing or editing news, while relying on a minimal use of citations, which
presents an interesting alternative format to standard academic studies.
This book offers relevant reading to scholars of Islamic studies, communication,
journalism, cinema, political science, and readers interested in
Indian media and Muslim representations ...