GENEVA (Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Swiss Islamic Shura Central Council organizes this month seminars and workshops in inter-cultural communication and media praxis.
Oscar Bergamin, Chief of presidential Staff and responsible for Public Diplomacy of the Council is leading these Muslim focused trainings. Bergamin is a Swiss convert and former editor and journalist.
"Media in Western Europe are presenting Islam as a separate and other religion. For them Islam does not have values in common with other cultures, is not affected by them and does not influence them. Islam is mainly seen as inferior to the West and it is presented as barbaric, irrational, primitive, and sexist", Bergamin explained to the Kuwait News Agency.
"So most people's perceptions of Islam and Muslims in Europe are shaped by media coverage. The media almost never cover ordinary Muslims and Islamic culture, preferring to show graphic images of fiery imams, gun toting militants, and anti-Western demonstrations, with emotions and actions taken in the name of Islam", he added.
Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslims and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society and the bad thing is, that it is seen as natural and normal.
"The debate about Islam in Switzerland after the ban of minarets is mainly a discussion of sovereignty in determining what is Islam and what is not Islam without asking the Muslim people", says Bergamin.
"Western media tack the role to tell the society what is Islam and what is not Islamic but from its point of view, and in the society there is no inter-religious dialogue, there is only a double lead monologue about religion", explained Bergamin.
Unfortunately, nobody is really interested in a dialogue with Muslims, and the public discussion about Islam is lead by a small group of right-wing outsider who is pushed into the center of mass media where they can spread bias and lies about the mix of immigration and Islam, he noted.
"Muslim viewpoints are under-represented and that issues involving Muslims usually depict them in a negative light. Small groups are able to show that Muslim people from an immigrant background are school failures, petty criminals, welfare recipients, Islamists or thugs", he said.
He sees his Job in gathering Swiss Muslims together to make them capable in confronting future perception on issues concerning Islam, such as a ban on Hijab or other subjects.
"Muslims must call and write their local media when they see and hear erroneous or bias reporting and shows. Western media organizations must see the Muslims in the west in everyday life as a member of the society and not as strangers", says Bergamin.
In the Trainings on inter-cultural and inter-religious Communication and Media praxis, Bergamin shows young Muslims how to get in the media, how to fight these biased opinions and perceptions.
He also shows how an editorial board works and he addresses the usefulness of journalistic forms and styles as leading concepts against Islamophobia and how can Muslims get involved in the public discussion about Islam.
He is teaching techniques of producing and the mechanics of producing media, like newspaper, TV, Radio and Internet and how to reduce anti-Muslim discrimination and stereotyping, how to get the right spokespeople and work with the media, how to depict Muslims in day-to-day types of things in media-relations and how to create balanced content on Islam.
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