Adjudication No. 1236  (March 2004)

The use of words "Islam", "Islamic" and "Muslim" in reports of terrorist attacks around the world is causing problems both for the Muslim community in Australia and the Australian media. This has resulted in complaints to the Press Council.

The Council believes that in some cases the use of these words with religious connections may be accurate, perhaps in a strict sense, but not entirely fair to those of the Muslim faith. Terrorists may be Muslims, but Muslims are not automatically terrorists.

The Press Council urges papers to be aware of the sensitivity of groups about whom they are reporting. Headlines are a particular problem, given the need to capture the essence of a story within a limited compass, and again the Council urges care.

Martin Oliver complains about the use of the word 'Muslim' in the headline, Muslims kill 27 to 'stop oppression', on a Weekend Australian story about bomb attacks in Istanbul last November. The attacks were on the British Consulate and a branch of the British-based Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.

The complainant says that the word 'Muslim' was inappropriate, and 'terrorists' would have been more accurate. He sees a "political agenda" behind the headlines to "forge a stronger link between the climate of fear in Australia and Muslims in general".

The paper says the headline was "accurate and fair" since the report quoted the organisations themselves as having claimed the bombings to be "a joint action by the al-Qu'ida terror group and the Islamic Front of Raiders of the Great Orient - a radical Sunni Muslim group whose aim is to set up a federal Islamic state and stop the oppression of Muslims". It strongly rejected any hidden agenda and denied any intention to "brand all Muslims".

The Press Council accepts that the paper had no ulterior motives and did not intended to damn all Muslims. However, in the Council's view, the usage of words must be seen in context. Many readers would see the headline as too all-encompassing to be fair.

The Council agrees. This complaint is upheld.

The Forum on Australia's Islamic Relations (FAIR) complains about the headline Islamic terror kills peace in Baghdad and Jerusalem, which appeared in The Australian last August. The headline introduced a news report on suicide bombings in both cities. FAIR saw the use of the word Islamic as offensive, unfair and a "gratuitous slander against the meaning of Islam, which is peace".

The Press Council believes that the use of the word 'Islamic' in the phrase 'Islamic terror' in this headline was within bounds of normal usage. It accepts that Muslims might see it as unfair, but considers that it accurately reflected both the operational method and the fundamentalist religious motivation of the bombers.

This complaint is dismissed.

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