Framing Ashura in Western Newspapers: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Framing Ashura in Western Newspapers: A Critical Discourse Analysis

تأطير عاشوراء في الصّحف الغربيّة: تحليل الخطاب النّقدي

 فاديا غريب Fadia Gharib^([1])

تاريخ الإرسال: 31-7-2026                                   تاريخ القبول:12-8-2026

الملخص                                                                             Turnitin:4%

أجرت هذه الدّراسة فحصًا نقديًا لكيفيّة تغطية الصّحف الغربيّة لحدث عاشوراء باستخدام نموذج فيركلوف ثلاثي الأبعاد لتحليل الخطاب النقدي؛ وتألفت العينة من سبعة وعشرين مقالًا نُشرت على مدى عشر سنوات في صحف واشنطن بوست، والغارديان، وديلي تلغراف. تشير النّتائج إلى أن التغطية كانت انتقائيّة وغير مكتملة بشكل عام. فعلى الرّغم من أن عاشوراء وُصفت عادةً أنها مراسم شيعيّة جادة تتضمن مواكب وطقوسًا غريبة، إلّا أنّه لم يُولَ اهتمام يُذكر لجوانبها الدّينيّة والأخلاقيّة. وبدلًا من ذلك، انصبّ اهتمام كبير على استعدادات الشّرطة، والتّهديدات المتطرفة، والصّراع السُّني الشّيعي. وفي بعض السّنوات، لم يُغطَّ الحدث على الإطلاق. كما أظهر التّحليل العديد من المفاهيم الخاطئة؛ إذ عدَّت بعض المقالات معركة كربلاء السّبب المباشر للانقسام بين السُّنة والشّيعة، وربطت هذا الانقسام بالّتنافس بين إيران والسّعودية. وبشكل عام، تدعم النّتائج دراسات سابقة تشير إلى أنّ الخطاب في وسائل الإعلام الغربيّة قد يُعيد إنتاج وجهات نظر سلبيّة ومتحيزة تجاه الإسلام والمسلمين.

الكلمات المفتاحيّة: عاشوراء، المسلمون الشّيعة، وسائل الإعلام الغربية، تحليل الخطاب النقدي، الاستشراق، الأيديولوجيا.

Abstract

The way the West understands Islam has been shaped by Orientalism, a view that presents Eastern societies as strange, irrational, backward, and inferior to the West (Said, 1978; Akbarzadeh & Smith, 2005). These views are often strengthened by discourse, since such discourse does not just reflect social relations but also affects them (Van Dijk, 1997). The discourse in the media is of particular importance since it shapes the way the public sees Islam and Muslims.

Western media has on many occasions presented Muslims in the role of an inferior ‘Other,’ extending from suspicion to outright accusation (Poole & Richardson, 2006; Alghamdi, 2015). These kinds of depictions can lead to prejudice and racism, which can be defined as the way in which ethnic groups are treated as being inferior (Anthias, 1995). Concerning Shi’a Muslims and Ashura, Western reporting is typically characterized by a lack of knowledge, cultural misunderstanding, and caution. As a result, the news coverage may strengthen existing anti-Muslim views and help to form public opinions in countries such as Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom (Richardson, 2004). The present study looks at the way in which Western newspapers cover Ashura and examines how these representations affect attitudes towards Muslims.

Keywords: Ashura, Shi’a Muslims, Western Media, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Orientalism, Ideology.

Background of study

As a form of public discourse, news reports convey the political position and ideology of their respective states and impact the attitudes of their readers. This study examines how Ashura is portrayed discursively in Western newspapers, analyzing how they promote anti-Muslim racism.

The Holy Day of Ashura

One of the most revered and sentimental occasions in Islam, Ashura, which means “the tenth day,” is a pivotal holy occasion for Shiites. Ashura is the day on which the martyrdom of Imam Hussein by Yazid in the battle of Karbala in the year 680 AD is remembered, together with that of 72 of his supporters and relatives. Ashura is observed by the Shi’a Muslims as a day of mourning, it being the conclusion of a ten-day period of mourning for Imam Hussein.

It is a “prototypical Shi’i tradition” (Spellman-Poots, 2012). It is often observed with processions and other forms of devotional activity. In some Shiite countries, Ashura is a public holiday. The specific practices and customs associated with Ashura can vary depending on the region and the traditions of the local Muslim community.

Orientalism

An understanding of Orientalism is important as a background to the way that modern media represent Ashura and Shi’a Muslims. The term at first denoted the Western academic interest in Eastern societies and cultures (MacKenzie, 1995). It has since become linked with a perspective which sees Islam and the West as fundamentally different (Sayyid, 1997).

Modern Orientalism is generally seen as an ideology which supports Western power and serves to justify the marginalization of Eastern peoples (Macfie, 2002). When it depicts Islam as a single, static, and inferior culture, Orientalist discourse fails to take into account the diversity that exists among Muslim societies and traditions. This view still has an impact on the way that the press covers Ashura and Shi’a identity.

Ideological Conflict and Stereotype

Recent studies have investigated the impact of social media in fostering social tensions through the dissemination of hate speech and stereotyped ideas. For instance, numerous modern studies of ‘political Islam’ adopt an orientalist perspective, attributing Middle Eastern political conflicts to religious culture rather than social, economic, or personal considerations (Richardson, 2004).

In another approach based on Foucault’s concept of knowledge and power, Said (1978) analyzed Orientalism through the lens of how the West constructs knowledge about the Orient in order to exercise control over it. He later argued that the American media presents a misleading image of Islam and portrays it as a backward and irrational faith (Said, 1997). Orientalist stereotypes were also found in other predominant “images of primitivity” (Manan, 2008), and metaphors categorizing Islam and Muslims as “uncivilized others.” (Lazar & Lazar, 2008).

Shi’a Muslims in Australia, the UK, and the USA

Islam is usually regarded as a single religion from the Middle East, and the media and political circles often link Muslims with extremism (Chamas & Shelton, 2021). This way of portraying Muslims reinforces stereotypes and results in prejudice.

In Australia lack of knowledge of Islam has resulted in both direct and systemic discrimination against Muslims (Kabir, 2005). Many Australian Muslims also believe that they are treated unfairly by the police and that they are given biased treatment in the media (Safi & Evershed, 2015).The same patterns are seen in both the United Kingdom and the United States. British Muslims have been subjected to continuous negative portrayal, social exclusion, and a high rate of religious hate crimes (Saloojee, 2005; Dearden, 2022). In the United States as well, studies have discovered ongoing media discrimination towards Muslims, Arabs, and Arab Americans (Stiffler, 2013). Taken together, these examples demonstrate that bias against Muslims is still a common element of media discourse in the West.

Theoretical Framework

Discourse is used to show and keep alive racism, usually resulting in unequal social relationships and thus helping to strengthen ethnic prejudice, power, and exclusion (Richardson, 2004). Fairclough (1992) believed that discourse is a major means by which ideologies, values, identities, and social practices are transmitted. In the same way, Fowler (1986) stated that news discourse is not a neutral representation of reality but is a form of communication shaped by ideological perspectives.

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) examines the relationship between language, power, and ideology and views language not only as a means of description but also as a form of social action. In accordance with Fairclough’s model, discourse is seen as a dialectical relationship between social structures and communicative events (Fairclough, 1995b); his method consists of three closely linked levels: the description of the text, the interpretation of discursive practice, and the explanation of the wider social context. The model is used in the present study to see how Ashura is portrayed in Western newspapers.

Methodology

To investigate both the explicit and implicit meanings in the news coverage of Ashura and Shi’a Muslims, the study makes use of qualitative and quantitative methods and applies a coding tool to articles from The Washington Post, The Guardian, and The Daily Telegraph. The quantitative patterns are identified first, and then the study carries out a detailed critical discourse analysis. By doing this, the approach is able to show broader trends in the way Ashura and anti-Muslim prejudice are presented in the Western media.

The analysis makes use of Fairclough’s three-dimensional model: at the level of the text, the vocabulary, grammar, expressions and structure are looked at; the discursive practice examines the way in which the reports were produced, and the attitudes, implications or misconceptions they contain; and the social practice considers the historical, political and cultural conditions which influenced the coverage.

The 27 articles were published between 2012 and 2022 and were located by means of the search terms “Ashura”, “Karbala”, “Shi’a Muslims”, and “Shiite”.

 Analysis and Discussion

Quantitative Analysis of Lexical Representation

The way the coded lexical descriptions are distributed among the three newspapers (see Appendix, Table 7) reveals that there are 35 coded descriptions in total, including 22 references to Ashura and 13 references to Imam Hussein. The Guardian has the highest number of entries with 16, then The Washington Post with 12, and The Daily Telegraph with 7. This shows that The Guardian provides a more extensive lexical coverage regarding Ashura, whereas The Washington Post gives a more balanced number of descriptions for both Ashura and Imam Hussein.

Patterns in the representation of Ashura. As for Ashura, the quantitative data indicate that The Guardian has the greatest number of descriptions, with 12 listed in Table 2; The Washington Post has 6 in Table 1, and The Daily Telegraph has 4 in Table 3. This means that Ashura is given more lexical coverage in The Guardian than in the other two newspapers. Yet the number of descriptions does not reveal whether the representation is positive, negative or neutral. It is therefore necessary to carry out a qualitative analysis in order to look at the meanings and ideological implications of these descriptions.

Patterns in the representation of Imam Hussein. Imam Hussein is mentioned in 13 coded descriptions according to the tables. Table 4 of The Washington Post has the most, with 6 descriptions. The Guardian has 4 descriptions in Table 5, and The Daily Telegraph has 3 in Table 6. The fact that Imam Hussein is identified in all three newspapers as “the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson” indicates that the newspapers usually refer to him in terms of his family lineage, whereas fewer of the entries deal with his moral, spiritual, or political importance.

Qualitative Critical Discourse Analysis

By Fairclough’s Three-dimensional Framework, this section presents analysis and discussion from three perspectives: text, discourse practice, and social practice.

Description: Lexical Representation. The lexical choices in Tables 1–3 indicate that the three newspapers offer both respectful and reductive accounts. For example, in The Washington Post Table 1, Ashura is described using serious and religious phrases such as “a somber religious ritual”, “a major religious commemoration”, “one of the most sacred and emotional events in Islam”, and “one of the most solemn events” (Salaheddin, 2013; Cunningham, 2014; Constable & Vitkovskaya, 2016; Salim & Loveluck, 2019). While these phrases recognize the religious significance of Ashura, they also highlight the emotional and dramatic elements of the rituals.

In Table 2 of The Guardian, Ashura is referred to as “the Day of Mourning”, “a solemn event”, “a significant occasion” and “their holiest day”, while it is also described in more secular or spectacular terms such as “festival”, “concert-like” and “political thing”. In Table 3 of The Daily Telegraph, the descriptions are usually briefer and less explanatory, for example “annual Shia Muslim march”, “annual procession”, “annual Shiite celebration” and “day of memorial”. This shows that Ashura is often identified, but not always fully explained.

Interpretation: Discursive practice. In the selected reports, intertextuality appears through quotations from people who criticize Ashura processions or question the mourners (Elmjouie, 2013). It is also visible in the choice of photographs. Images often highlight bloodletting, mud-covered bodies, and fire rituals without explaining their religious meanings (Constable & Vitkovskaya, 2016; Hodge, 2016; Kenare, 2017). These choices may present Ashura as strange or disturbing and shape readers’ understanding of the event.

Tables 4 to 6 indicate that Imam Hussein is most often referred to in terms of his genealogy as ‘the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad’. This is the case in all three newspapers. Yet Table 6 gives a more evaluative account of Imam Hussein, describing him as ‘a symbol of peace, freedom, equality and opposition to tyranny’ (Reuters & Staff Writers, 2016). The fact that there is this difference shows that Imam Hussein is at times presented only in relation to his family ties, while his moral and religious importance is given less attention.

Explanation: Ideological implications and social practice. The discursive strategies employed in the chosen news reports are now examined in order to discover the attitudes and underlying ideologies they convey. The analysis also shows how these strategies help to create certain images of Ashura and Shi’a Muslims in Western newspapers. The main ideological patterns identified by the analysis are set out below.

Attitude. The reports by Sharifaee in 2014, Cunningham in 2014, Constable and Vitkovskaya in 2016, and Salim and Loveluck in 2019 reveal a biased approach in the way Ashura is portrayed. While these reports describe Ashura as a significant annual commemoration, they pay only limited attention to the beliefs, intentions, and spiritual objectives of the people who attend. On the other hand, the coverage usually focuses on the processions, public gatherings, emotional outpourings, and matters concerning security. Consequently, although the ritual significance of Ashura is recognized, it is not fully elucidated.

Elmjouie (2013) and Hodge (2016) offer more reductive examples of framing. Thus, Elmjouie (2013) uses terms like “concert-like”, “festive” and “political thing”, while Hodge (2016) uses disparaging descriptions like “bizarre” and “absurd”. The use of such phrases may lead the reader to focus on the visual, emotional or strange aspects of Ashura instead of its theological meaning. However, Salim and Loveluck (2019) provide a more contextualized explanation by relating the Tweireej run to the unsuccessful rescue effort of Imam Hussein, hence attributing a more concrete historical and religious significance to the ritual.

Implication. The accounts given by Constable (2017) and Salim and Loveluck (2019) generally set Ashura within a situation characterized by sectarian tension and violence. This approach could cause readers to see Ashura primarily in terms of the conflict between Sunni and Shi’a communities rather than as an occasion for mourning, sacrifice, and moral resistance. In a similar way, Salaheddin (2013) mentions al-Qaeda and extremist violence, thereby indirectly linking the observance of Ashura with security threats and sectarian conflict.

A similar pattern is found in Cunningham (2014), Dehghan (2016), and Faratin (2022), in which Shi’a identity is linked to Iran, to Iranian political influence, or to groups backed by Iran. This way of framing might lead readers to see Shi’a religious identity mainly in terms of political and military connections rather than in terms of religious beliefs, historical memory, and communal devotion.

Misconception. The accounts given by Otte (2020), Hodge (2016), Constable and Vitkovskaya (2016), and Salim and Loveluck (2019) could lead to an incomplete or misleading interpretation of Ashura. For instance, Ashura is at times connected with the Sunni–Shi’a schism or dealt with mainly in terms of sectarian conflict and political rivalry. In this way, the religious and ethical aspects of Ashura may be diminished, and the observance is instead seen mainly as a symbol of division.

Dehghan’s report from 2016 also indicates a possible misinterpretation of ritual practice, since the distribution of food—something linked with charity and religious devotion—is seen either as a means of attracting strangers or as part of a festive public display. In a similar way, Cunningham (2014) and Hodge (2016) explain certain mourning customs by comparing them with Christian suffering and crucifixion. While such comparisons might help readers who are unfamiliar with the situation to understand the scene, they could also impose an external religious framework on Ashura and thus diminish its particular Shi’a significance.

Conclusion

The analysis indicates that the chosen reports present Ashura and Imam Hussein by combining respectful, selective, and reductive perspectives. Although some reports, for example Salim and Loveluck (2019) and Reuters and Staff Writers (2016), make more meaningful references to the historical and moral importance of Imam Hussein, other reports such as Elmjouie (2013), Hodge (2016), and Constable and Vitkovskaya (2016), tend to emphasize emotion, spectacle, sectarian tensions, or unfamiliar ritual practices. Hence, the reporting is not completely negative, but it is often partial. As the media has the power to influence public opinions, stereotypes, and ideologies, the way it represents the subject can lead to prejudice against Muslims (Wodak & Busch, 2004). From a CDA point of view, these lexical and framing choices could cause readers to see Ashura mainly as a dramatic or political event rather than as a religious commemoration focused on sacrifice, justice, and moral resistance.

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Appendix

Table 1. Ashura in The Washington Post

Table 2. Ashura in The Guardian

Table 3. Ashura in The Daily Telegraph

Table 4. Imam Hussein in The Washington Post

Table 5. Imam Hussein in The Guardian

Table 6. Imam Hussein in The Daily Telegraph

Table 7: Distribution of Coded Descriptions across the Three Newspapers

[1] – A doctoral student at the Lebanese University, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of English Language and Literature. Email: fadiagarib@gmail.com

طالبة في المعهد العالي للدكتوراه في الجامعة اللبنانيّة الآداب والعلوم الإنسانيّة والاجتماعية –قسم اللغة الإنكليزيّة وآدابها