THE IMAGE OF ISLAM AND MUSLIMS IN THE FRENCH MEDIA: BETWEEN THE HAMMER OF THE MEDIA AND THE ANVIL OF PUBLIC OPINION

The history of European countries has been associated with migration. These states have developed and flourished, economically and culturally, thanks to the successive waves of migration: Spaniards, Italians, Portuguese, Turks, Arabs, and Muslims. Kings, rulers, and peoples of European "origin" treated immigrants in different ways: Welcome, racism, kindness and hatred. The estimated number of Muslims in Europe is 44 million, giving a rate of 6 percent of European inhabitants. Most of them are from the Arab Maghreb (Tunisia - Algeria - Morocco), or Turks, who mainly settle in Germany, while those coming from Asia choose to stay in Britain. However, the largest proportion of Muslims (about 4 million) lives in France. There are historical and political ties between these Muslims and European countries. Unfortunately, over the years, a distorted image of Muslims has been established through several steps to make it prevail firmly in the minds. Fed by world bloody terrorist events, the media, traditional or modern, played a prominent role in disseminating and making that image prevalent among European, especially French, public opinion. Research Question: What is the image of Islam and Muslims in the French media and how has the latter, with the help of elite, shaped French and European public opinion? In a first stage, the study describes and identifies the features of the image prevalent in the French media. It shows, with evidence, how the “problem” of Islam and Muslims is established and shaped mentally through media uneven dealing with religions, absence of media coverage of the common practice of Islam and media emphasis on the issue of Islam of “Crises”. In a second stage, the study introduces and explains both the nature and characteristics of information work and activity, the political affiliation of the medium, their impact on handling the issue of Islam, and the monopoly of the so-called “media experts” of media outlets. This could be a confirmation of Maxwell MC Combs and Donald Shaw's argument that: “The media don't tell people (audience) how to think, but what to think about.” Finally, the study deals with the audience (accused/victim) and how it reacted, through modern media, to defend Islam and Muslims, address the prevalent image and misperceptions, and alert the public opinion to the transgressions, exaggerations and misconceptions. Research Method: a descriptive, analytical method was employed in the study with an ongoing follow-up and observation of the French media landscape. KEYWORDS: Islam and Muslims, Mental Image, Traditional and Modern Media, Shaping Public Opinion, Audience in Media, Information Work & Media Coverage