Islam was depicted as anti-democratic, the Koran, the sacred book of Islam was considered as the source of incitement and the Islamic law, the (Shariah) was labeled as an instrument to oppressing women.

1. West and East

Looking thoroughly at the media campaign against Islam, a similarity can be drawn between the propaganda against Islam and the cold war against the Soviet Block launched in the 60s, 70s and 80s of the last century. 
If we consider Islam as the religion of the poor which is embedded in the Southern part of the Globe, so we can assume that the present cold war against Islam has shifted geographically from being a war between East and West to a clash between North and South, or West and South, or back to the classical concept of "Orient versus Occident". Consequently, we can say that, the so called Soviet threat against the West has been replaced by a fictional "Islamic threat".
There is no doubt that with the collapse of the Soviet Union the West has lost a valuable enemy which was used to tighten the internal ranks. Communism, the former ideological enemy of the West has been substituted by Islam. Although this new designated enemy does not enjoy the authenticity and the credibility of a real threat, if compared with the huge military power or the potential threat posed in the past by the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, Islam fits in the context of cold war ideologists and war mongers in the West. Edward Said, in his book "Covering Islam", published in 1981, discussed how Western media rely on "Experts", in particular scholars and ignorant officials to form a pejorative image of Islam. Said demonstrates that the Government business establishment has produced a portrait of Islam based on ignorance, inaccuracy and prejudice. He also says that some "Orientalists" and Islamic experts in the West work together in connivance with capitalist interest groups to feed mass media with falsified images and misleading information about Islam and Moslem countries.
Renowned Orientalists like Bernard Lewis contributed in fueling the discrepancies between Islam and the West. He was the first to talk about clash of civilizations and was a fore runner to Samuel Huntington's book about "Clash of Civilizations". 

2. Colors and Symbols.
Playing with colors is a favorite tool of Western media to influence the public and push them to identify themselves with the current drum-beat against Islam. The red color which represented the symbol of Communism has been replaced by the green color of Islam, this according to Western Media. Playing with colors to mobilize public opinion in the West is not a new stance for the Western mind which used the yellow color to depict the Chinese and Japanese menace early enough, during the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
Looking at the methods and tools of the propaganda campaigns launched against the enemies of the West, we see similarities in style or practices. The much hated hammer and sickle which symbolized hatred and fear during the cold war period has been replaced by the crescent, and international communism has been replaced by an imaginary "International Moslem league", according to the French weekly Magazine l'Express, (29 Avril au 5 Mai 1992) "Les Islamistes" . The word "Jihad", translated literally as the "Holy War" becomes the source of horror and fear. 
In brief, cold war apologists in the West are in need of a scare crow to frighten the vast majority of ordinary people and by creating new enemies to use them as a tool of manipulation and mobilization. They conduct a well planned campaign of Islam-o- phobia and disseminate their arguments not only in the Western Hemisphere, but around the whole world.

3. Anti Semitism.

To widen the gap between Islam and Judaism, they use the actual contradiction between the two opposing cultures in and on Palestine, Jerusalem (Al Quds) and the Al Aqsa Mosque claimed by the Zionists and called by some Jewish fanatics as the "Temple Mount". Zionist extremists intend to destroy the Holy Mosque of Al-Aqsa and build the Jewish Temple in order to accelerate the advent of the "true Christ", thus marking the end of the world and the beginning of the "Jewish Millennium". According to this Jewish narrative Islam has to be depicted as hostile to the Jews and Judaism and an obstacle to the materialization of the Jewish prophecy. (Apocalypse)
Televangelists and "Born again Christians" in the United States who believe in the materialization of such prophecy are staunch supporters of Israel and hostile to Islam, Moslems and the Palestinian just cause. 

Simultaneously, Judaism and Jewish nationalist ambitions in the Middle East were shielded by Western policies and media coverage. On the other hand, Western cultural and religious institutions established the "link" of the common Judeo-Christian Heritage. 
In this context no criticism was allowed to be voiced against the expansionist policies of Israel or against its daily violations of Human Rights in the Palestinian territories occupied violently and militarily by Israel. Charges, such as "anti-Semitic" which were previously pasted to Communism and the Soviet Union are now labeled to Islam and Muslims. Moreover, Islam was classified in the framework of totalitarian ideologies such as Nazism, Fascism and hence labeled as hostile to democratic values and individual freedom.

4. Oppressing Christians.

In order to continue with its smearing campaign against Islam, Western media continue to expose the so called aggressive nature of Islam by launching its" holy war" against Christian communities in Moslem countries, such as the attacks of Egyptian Moslem fanatics against Christian Copts, or in Sudan where a civil war is going on in the South between Christian separatists and the central Government in Khartoum in the North. 
Another campaign was launched against Palestinians who are supposedly oppressing Palestinian Christians in the occupied Territories forcing them to emigrate and thus emptying Palestine from its indigenous Christian Community. Nothing was mentioned about the military occupation of the Israelis who are oppressing Moslems and Christians alike. But the French Weekly "Paris Match" of (September 24, 1992) " La Grande Peur des Chretiens Palestiniens" accused Hamas of trying to impose the head scarf on Palestinian Christian women. In this respect we come to the conclusion, that there is an intentional will to equate Islam as a tolerant religion with some extremist elements perpetrating their crimes using Islam as a cover for their own political or social purposes. The teachings of Islam do not preach fanaticism or extremism, they rather teach tolerance and mutual understanding between nations and tribes. In verse 13/49 of the Koran, it states:
"O Mankind, We have created you, from a single (pair), male and female and made you in to nations and tribes, that you might know each other, verily the most honored of you in Allah's sight is the most righteous of you. Allah is wise and all knowing." Al Hujurat (Chambers). 
Acts of violence perpetrated by some isolated political splinter groups don't represent Islam, nor do they reflect mainstream Moslem principles or the spirit of Islam, known as the religion of justice and tolerance. Islam does not tolerate acts of terrorism against innocent civilians, or plane hijacking, or the abduction of foreign journalists, or the attacks on tourist buses in Egypt, or the September eleven terrorist attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York etc…Such acts of unreasonable violence should be condemned and alienated from real Islam, the religion of compassion and brotherhood.
Some Western apologists claim that Extremism and violence is in built in Islam and constitute part of Moslem character tending to aggression and violence. In this way they are trying to stereo-type all Moslems in the eyes of Western public. 
Finally, we should not forget that the Palestinian resistance against a foreign oppressive occupation was condemned by Western media as terrorism, thus depriving an oppressed nation from its legal right to fight back for their freedom and self-determination.

5. Islam and Terrorism.

The global fight against terrorism will be more successful if the world community does more to resolve the Palestinian problem and stabilize Iraq, said Malaysia's prime minister, Mr. Abdallah Ahmad Badawi. (Palestine Times, January 24, 2007). He said that the Israeli- Palestinian conflict is the "single most powerful factor" dividing Islam and the West, with the US-led conflict in Iraq a close second. He continued to say that "much of the roots of the conflict in the Middle East will disappear if the world is able to resolve the issue justly, in line with United Nations resolutions, Abdallah said. At the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London Badawi continued to say that " I am convinced that the campaign against militancy and terrorism will be much more successful if we are able to make effective progress with regard to issues of Palestine and Iraq", he continued. "Much of the resistance and militancy in the Middle East, as well as terrorism, will begin to subside", he said.

It is easier for the Western and Muslim countries to fight terrorism, since it was a problem to both and "perhaps even more of a threat to some Muslim countries than it is to western countries or interests." Terrorism had little impact on Muslim Western ties when it is essentially driven by domestic factors, and both sides cooperated when it is linked to Al-Qaeda and international terrorism.

The campaign "transcends divide between the West and Muslim countries" he said.

He warned that Muslim countries should tackle intolerant strains of Islam in their own societies by fighting poverty and ignorance.

Although extremism exists as a phenomenon in all religions, cultures ethnicities and nationalities, some Western experts tried to establish a nexus between Islam and Terrorism. In his article in the Atlantic Monthly in (1990)9 under the title "The roots of Muslim Rage" Bernard Lewis tried to establish the relationship between Islam and Terrorism ignoring totally the reasons. 
In the interpretations of those experts Islam is depicted as violent and preaches terror. The Prophet Mohammad is a violent man who is contrary to Jesus Christ doesn't preach peace and love to his followers. 
The Shariah, the Islamic Law is depicted a source of violence and oppression to women and orders whipping, stoning and hands amputation to sinners and thieves.

"The word Jihad had the ominous ring conjuring up a host of images, from turbaned warriors swinging scimitars to wild-eyed fanatics waving Kalashnikov rifles. We instinctively associate the word Jihad with holy war", says Mark Hartwig. 

Terrorism and Islam have been assimilated, although some Western ideologues try to differentiate between radical Moslems and true Islam. In general Islam has become a source of fear. The outspoken Brzezinski argues that the "war on terror" now the "national mantra" launched by the Bush administration on the wake of 9/11 "has created a culture of fear in America". He explained that such fear-mongering, reinforced by security entrepreneurs, the mass-media and the entertainment industry generates its own momentum." He went on:"These entrepreneurs, usually described as experts on terrorism are necessarily engaged in competition to justify their existence. Hence their task is to convince the public that it faces new threats."

The result is "TV serials and films in which the evil characters have recognizable Arab features, sometimes highlighted by religious gestures that exploit public anxiety and stimulate Islam phobia. Arab or African facial stereotypes, particularly in newspaper cartoons, have at times been rendered in manner sadly reminiscent of the Nazi anti-Semitic campaigns" 

6. Islamic Bomb

In the framework of fear-mongering, Islam should be given a dangerous image in order to fit in the context of a complicated propaganda structure based on frightening Westerners from an eventual Islamic build up and constitute a threat to Western interests. The modest military power of some Moslem countries should be puffed up in the media to take a greater size than reality.

Arab or Moslem countries have no right to develop or procure nuclear energy, even for peaceful purposes. Pakistan's endeavor to procure nuclear energy, or to produce nuclear weapons to counter Indian superiority was attacked and called the "Islamic Bomb", although it was partially tolerated by the West, because it was directed against the Indian threat to the East and not towards the West. But India which has already developed nuclear weapons was never attacked in the media, and the Indian Bomb was never called as the "Hindu Bomb". The same as the "Christian Bomb" or the "Jewish Bomb" were never labeled according to the religious affiliations of their owners.

Arabs and Moslems are not allowed to procure nuclear energy even for peaceful purposes. So the Iraqi reactor of Tammouz built by French technology was destroyed in 1981 by an Israeli air strike with U.S. green light. Algeria's plan to build a nuclear reactor for energy purposes in Ain Assira with French Technology in mid-eighties was doomed to fail. Libya had to abandon recently its nuclear program for fear of being sanctioned or attacked by Western powers. 

Actually the debate is going on against the Iranian nuclear reactor, and Iran is threatened by economic sanctions and eventually by a military strike. The immense pressure exercised against Iran aims at undermining Iran's efforts to implement its nuclear program for peaceful purposes and comply with UN Security resolutions dictated by Western super powers. 

A similar pressure was exercised against North Korea which was also threatened by International sanctions; however, the pressure against North Korea was less harsh than against Iran.

7. Mediated Culture.

On the cultural level we can witness an absolute hegemony of Western culture in general and US American control of Mass media and cultural products in terms of the size of production and the range of dissemination. The world of today can be divided in to two main blocks: A world of rich people and a majority of poor peoples, a knowledge and culture producing countries and a world of consuming nations who do not even have means to consume the cultural products of the rich nations.

The mass communication revolution and the globalization phenomenon transformed our planet in to a "World Village". Multi National companies have imposed themselves on our way of living and their life style on the whole world. Globalization has imposed itself, although it has become the center of critique to many scholars and researchers. Most of what is being said today about globalization has become close to what was said previously about "cultural invasion", or "cultural imperialism", meaning the subordination of smaller cultures and identities to the dominating rich ones, or even to what was said about "modernity" as "alien" and "invading" concept.

Multi-nationals disseminate their own views, or the views of the ruling elite in the Western countries about Islam and the Arab World which is mostly considered as hostile and belonging to the camp of evil whose main purpose is to promote terrorism and undermine Western civilization.

Multinational companies active in the field of media and culture produce a large scale of cultural products, such as Newspapers, movies, books, TV news, radio news and disseminate their own logic and their condescending concept about third world countries and cultures. Islam and the Arab world are mostly dealt with in a negative way. The culture of Islam is classified as an "alien" culture, and it will continue to be considered as such, as long as the spirit of resistance to cultural hegemonies persists in the soul of freedom loving nations. Free spirits in third world countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America do not consider coca-cola culture as a model to their young and rising nations. Nevertheless, they can learn a lot from the democratic evolution of the democratic system in the developed democracies. 

Rapid changes in communication technology are now shaping and transforming economic and social constructs in the global society. A transition from an industrial to an informational society is taking place. The cultural influence of media and information technology is affecting the way of thinking of the global society. 

A penetrating look at the way in which experts, policy makers and Western media have dealt recently with the crisis of the Iranian nuclear energy and the Middle East conflict in the last five or six decades shows clearly that their position is far from being fair or balanced. 

This imbalance was shown recently when Queen Elisabeth II of Britain awarded the Indian writer Salman Rushdie by declaring him "Knight of England" for his infamous book "Satanic Verses" in June 2007. The book was considered as a blasphemy of the Prophet Muhammad and Islam and hurts the sentiments of millions of Muslims around the world.

Conclusion
The media campaign against Islam is still going on in the heads of some Western ideologists, especially those who believe in the confrontation between East and West and the "clash of civilizations". Unfortunately, politicians and influential decision makers fall prey to such incitement and align themselves with devil in pushing their respective countries and their peoples into destructive and bloody wars. Some of those politicians might believe that they are serving in good faith the interests of their countries and nations, but the fact is that innocent people are killed and properties destroyed for the sake of a handful of wicked ideologists and hate mongering experts.

However, Islam means the submission to God, to Allah in Heaven, and Islam means Peace with God and his creatures around the world. 

* A Palestinian writer based in Ramallah. He was PLO spokesman during the Lebanon period until 1983 and was the Director General of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) until 2005. He is author of three books on Media, a Novel in Arabic and other publications.