“Woolmergate”: Cricket and the Representation of Islam and Muslims in the British Press

Abstract

This article illustrates how the media represent Islam and Muslims in the post-9/11 context through an examination of British newspaper coverage of the death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer at the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The article argues that key elements of the cultural stereotyping of Islam and Muslims identified in Said’s Orientalism—namely, violence, irrationality, and backwardness—were reproduced. These ideas stem from, and reinforce, a narrative of absolute and systematic difference between the East and the West. Thus, representations of Islam and Muslims in sport-related coverage, just as in “mainstream” reporting, tend to be negative and hostile. The article further argues that such representation has become more homogeneous and more heavily focused on religion and terrorism post-9/11 and that uniform and uncritical portrayals are particularly likely to appear in the seemingly apolitical context of sport-related issues.

An exploratory study of image and performance enhancement drug use in a male British South Asian community

“…Absence of exercise culture and lack of physical activity among British South Asian groups have traditionally been observed (Duncan, Woodfield, Al-Nakeeb, & Nevill, 2008;Lucas, Murray, & Kinra, 2013;Williams, Stamatakis, Chandola, & Hamer, 2011). British South Asian male bodies are also not well represented in British sport, fitness and leisure media (Brettingham, 2007;Farooq & Parker, 2009;Malcolm, Bairner, & Curry, 2010). Asian countries themselves indicate low levels of nonmedical use of AAS due to the lack of westernised value of muscularity (Cafri et al, 2005;Pope et al, 2000Pope et al, :2001Yang, Gray, & Pope, 2005).…”

That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore: Racial Microaggressions, Color-Blind Ideology and the Mitigation of Racism in English Men’s First-Class Cricket

“…Four years later, writing in the influential Wisden Cricket Monthly, journalist Robert Henderson extended such rhetoric to minority ethnic players, arguing that they did not try as hard as white ones when playing for England and even gained some pleasure from the team's defeats (see Wagg, 2007). Racial stereotyping-both cultural and biological-about minority ethnic players has also been prevalent, including accusations of ball-tampering, cheating, and match-fixing by Pakistani players and officials (Malcolm, Bairner & Curry, 2010;Williams, 2003) and pejorative comments about Caribbean bowlers' physicality (Williams, 2001). Evidence also highlights discriminatory recruitment and selection policies by some English County Clubs, such as Yorkshire (Williams, 2001), which, despite its proximity to substantial minority ethnic communities, did not field a British Asian player until 2004.…”

Re-Conceptualizing Sport as a Sacred Phenomenon

“…Muslim sportspeople in the UK, such as the boxer Amir Khan, receive exceptional scrutiny on the basis of concerns about 'Muslims-as-terrorists' and the capacity of Muslims to adapt to the implicitly Christian 'British way of life' (Burdsey 2007;Malcolm et al, 2010). As Magdalinski and Chandler (2002: 5) note, lacking in most accounts of religion and sport is the recognition that the colonization of sport by religious groups can constitute 'a divisive mechanism', yet this modality of the socio-religious sporting sacred can help us understand why conflicts occur.…”