Persistent Islamophobia in the Spanish written press

18 November 2019 | Corporate news

The second annual Report of the Observatory of Islamophobia in the Media, an initiative of the IEMed and the Al Fanar Foundation, points to a considerable improvement compared to the 2017 data. But the presence of Islamophobia in the Spanish media is still important.

According to the report, Islam continues to be associated mostly with negative elements and errors persist, such as not sufficiently questioning Islamophobic discourses, linking the entire Muslim population to terrorist actions or spreading stigmatizing stereotypes.

The IEMed today hosted a debate-presentation of the report’s results, as well as a preview of the follow-up that is being carried in 2019. Presented and moderated by Lurdes Vidal, director of the Arab and Mediterranean World department (IEMed) and co-director of the Observatory, Nuria Martínez, head of the Department of Citizenship Rights and former coordinator of the Municipal Plan to fight Islamophobia (Barcelona City Council) and Carles Macian, attached to the Secretary of Equality, Migration and Citizenship (Generalitat de Catalunya).

As a special guest, Shaista Aziz, a British journalist who has contributed with a view from the United Kingdom to the treatment of Islam in the media, has also participated. Aziz collaborates with The Guardian and BBC Radio where she addresses issues of social exclusion and Islamophobia and where she dissects the narratives of the main newspapers. She has also worked for the CCN and Al Jazeera, as well as Amnesty International, Doctors without Borders and Oxfam.