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Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate modern orientalist ideas present in US news media in regards to Islam and Muslim women. This study takes a linguistic perspective on finding the ten most common words associated with Islam and Muslim women within the US news media and considering them alongside the ten most common words associated with Islam and Muslim women by Albanian women. The ethnographic research conducted through an online questionnaire aims to address the questions: Is the presentation of Muslim women in US media accurate? What are possible misconceptions about Muslim women in US media? How does the response to these misconceptions by Muslim Albanian women help us gain a better understanding of the relationship of Islam with the secular world? Through coding 30 articles from the New York Times, Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal and analyzing the responses from 161 Albanian women (both Muslim and otherwise). It was evident that there were both some similarities and differences in the perceptions of the Muslim woman identity by US news media and the Albanian women – therefore, demonstrating that an identity is more nuanced and may depend on several factors.