Elon professors analyze portrayal of Middle East protests in recent film
Reports of protests and violence in the Middle East have made headlines this week, but four Elon University professors cautioned against accepting the Western media's established narrative of Islam and the series of recent events. Sarah Salwen, assistant professor of political science, Laura Roselle, professor of political science, Michael Pregil, assistant professor of Islamic studies in the department of religious studies, and Shaereen Elgamal, assistant professor of Arabic, participated in a panel Thursday that discussed recent events in the Middle East, especially as they relate to the film "The Innocence of Muslims." Although Salwen acknowledged the intensity of the protestors' response to the film has been upsetting to many Americans, she focused on how their expression aligns with American values: they are expressing their opinion and anger with the portrayal of Islam in the film, she said. "So the protests themselves, apart from the violence that accompanies them, is not a worrisome thing," Salwen said. Nevertheless, the conventional media in the United States has attributed a specific image to the Muslim protestors, portraying their response as anathema to proponents of freedom of speech. "Western civilization has a pathological view toward Islam and the Islamic world," Pregil said. Contrary to popular belief, the violent expression did not all start with a film.
