MISREPRESENTATION OF ISLAM IN ISLAMIC FILMS: ANALYSIS OF KEY INCIDENTS OF THE MESSAGE (1977)
Kesilapan Gambaran Mengenai Islam dalam Filem Islam: Satu Kajian terhadap The Message (1977)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33102/abqari.vol12no1.76Keywords:
Islamic films, Islam, media propaganda, media representationAbstract
Film is a medium that depicts human activities. It visually portrays ideology and culture as well as empowers knowledge and the understanding of civilisation. The most concern is about the misrepresentation of media content, particularly concerning Islam and Muslims in films. The Message (1977, dir. Moustapha al-Akkad) is one of many made-in–Hollywood films that portray Islam and Muslims livelihood in Mecca during the revelation era of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and His migration from Mecca to Madinah. This paper intends to focus on how Islam is being represented in this film and how it portrays Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his companions. The main question that this paper attempts to answer is: are the actions and incidents of The Message film authentically portrayed? Identification of scenes containing actions and key incidents were done through the lens of content analysis. Based on the analysis of key incidents, findings indicate that the film supports the propaganda against Islam that Islam is a terrorist religion and Muslims are aggressors.
Keywords: Islamic films, misrepresentation, Islam, media propaganda, media representation.
Abstrak
Filem ialah medium yang memaparkan aktiviti manusia, seringkali memaparkan ideologi dan budaya secara visual yang memperkasa ilmu serta pemahaman mengenai tamadun. Apa yang paling membimbangkan adalah mengenai representasi yang salah terhadap kandungan media, terutamanya berkaitan Islam dan Muslim dalam filem. The Message (1977, dir. Moustapha Al Akkad) merupakan satu daripada filem buatan Hollywood yang menggambarkan Islam dan kehidupan Muslim di Mekah pada zaman kewahyuan Nabi Muhammad (SAW), dan penghijrahan baginda dari Mekah ke Madinah. Kertas ini bertujuan untuk memberi tumpuan kepada bagaimana Islam digambarkan dalam filem dan bagaimana filem tersebut menggambarkan Nabi Muhammad (SAW) serta para sahabat baginda. Adakah aksi dan insiden dalam filem tersebut digambarkan dengan sahih? Pengenalpastian adegan-adegan yang mengandungi aksi serta insiden utama dilaksanakan menerusi kaedah analisis kandungan. Berdasarkan analisis adegan- adegan utama, dapatan menunjukkan filem The Message mengandungi propaganda mengenai Islam, iaitu Islam adalah agama pengganas dan Muslim adalah penyerangnya.
Kata kunci: Filem Islam, silap gambaran, Islam, propaganda media, representasi media.
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