Investigating the Role of Translation in the Construction of the Public Narrative of Islamophobia in American Far-Right Media

I TJHSS Vol. 1, Issue 2, Winter 2021 54 atmosphere that has paved the way for the construction of the Islamophobic narrative. The second objective is to analyse the representation of Islamic dogma by American Far-Right Media. The study attempts to prove that the public narrative of Islamophobia does not justify the values of Islam. Hence, the role of translation in the creation of this public narrative is foregrounded. 1.2 Research Questions The research aims to underline how Islam is narrated and by whom through the scope of Islamophobia. Additionally, it highlights how certain elements have been selected and privileged in order to render a specific image about Islam within the frame of the public narrative of Islamophobia. 1.3 The Narrative Theory in Translation The analytical framework of the narrative theory is characterized by the ability to analyse the systematic patterns of narration that underlie the portrayal of reality. Baker (2006) explains that our narrative location determines how our thought patterns are shaped and modified. Significantly, translation contributes to the creation of the narrative that describes the ‘Other’. In the case of the current study, the ‘Other’ is Islam and its followers. The study highlights the public narrative created and promoted by the American Far-Right media about Islam and illustrates its reception by the American public. The study foregrounds the patterns of translation through which negative concepts and representations of Islam and Muslims are normalized in Fox News. Public narratives are constructed, elaborated and circulated by the varying institutions and entities that play a significant role in shaping the public opinion trends that individuals follow and conform with. Media entities such as Fox News are examples of these powerful institutions that design public narratives. In order to insightfully examine the constitution and promotion of Islamophobia by Fox News channel as a Far-right media outlet, this research relies on three features from the analytical narrative framework designed by Baker (2006). The three features are selective appropriation, temporality and relationality. Selective appropriation focuses on the selection and exclusion processes that underlie the construction of public narratives through translation. The decision of what to translate reflects the intents and motives of the creator of any public narrative. The second analytical feature that is used in the research is temporality. This feature focuses on the temporal and spatial settings of the narrative. To better understand the processes through which a narrative is constituted, it is vital to comprehend the setting of the narrative itself. The last analytical feature employed in this research is relationality. The translation of certain words and terms from the source culture to the target one can be of high sensitivity based on the fact that the selected translation might lead to words which have special relational significances and meanings in the target culture. There are multiple studies that apply the narrative framework in different realms of knowledge. Bacon (2012) applies the analytical features of the narrative framework to the Russian regime’s public narrative since 2000. Bacon (2012) employs the features of relationality, selective appropriation, temporality and causal employment in investigating the values around which the public narrative of the Putin regime is constructed. Elimam (2019) also employs the narrative framework to investigate how Qur’an, Islam and Muslims are narrated and represented by the British press. Elimam (2019) attempts to explore the reasons behind the negative portrayal of Islam in the British press through identifying the Qur’anic verses that are repeatedly quoted in this press to TJHSS Vol. 1, Issue 2, Winter 2021 56 narrate Islam and Muslims negatively. 2-Research Methodology 2.1 Sampling Process and Design: The type of sampling that is implemented in this study is purposive sampling. Based on this type, specific episodes are selected for this research through employing certain selection criteria. All the data of the corpus are in the form of televised episodes from the number one far-right media outlet Fox News. These sampled episodes are within the period between 2011 and 2017 since this period coincided the rise of ISIS, the peak of the tone of hatred towards Muslims in the US and Europe and the escalation of terror attacks in the US and Europe by Islamic radicals. Hence, the episodes cover terror attacks carried out by Muslims in the US or Europe or to discuss Islamic Radicalism. Obviously, the episodes include translated Islamic items such as Qur’anic verses and Sharia Law rules. The translation of these items in all the sampled episodes serves to portray Islam negatively. 2.2 Procedures: The narrative feature of selective appropriation is applied to the episodes to highlight how certain Islamic items such as Qur’anic verses or Sharia Law rules are selected for translation by Fox News for the aim of constructing the public narrative of Islamophobia. Firstly, the patterns of selecting which Islamic items to translate and present by Fox News are explained. Then, the translated items are introduced and interpreted as they are used and presented by Fox News in the episode to comprehend the reasons behind the selection and privileging of these specific items and their presentation in a decontextualized manner. After that, all items are contextualized historically and literally to show the difference between their actual interpretation when put in context and between their decontextualized introduction by Fox News. The second feature of temporality is applied to firstly conduct macro-level analysis of the temporal and spatial settings of constructing the Islamophobic narrative. Secondly, temporality is applied to conduct micro-level analysis of the temporal and spatial sequencing and ordering of the translated items in the episodes. Finally, relationality is applied to investigate Islamic terms loaded with relational meaning that are either transliterated or translated by Fox News. The terms are examined to discern how the decisions of translation of transliteration are based on how to better depict Islam negatively. Notably, the Qur’an translation of Ali (2015) is utilized in this research as it is merited for its focus on rendering the contextual, historical and situational aspects of the verses in addition to the literal one. Furthermore, it should also be noted that the translation of Ali (2015) is approved by AlAzhar as a valid and credible translation of Qur’an. 3-Analysis The analysis is divided into three parts as each part focuses on the application of one of the three narrative features employed in this paper. Each part begins with an explanation of the major patterns and categories that are followed by Fox News in its translation of Islamic items. After that, an example of each pattern is provided in order to show how the narrative framework is applied in the analysis. 3.1 Part One: Selective Appropriation 3.1.1 Qur’anic Verses By investigating the patterns followed in the selection of the Qur’anic verses to be translated in the sampled episodes, it is found that the verses selected for translation by Fox News embed Islam into the four themes of intolerance and hatred, violence and torture, deception and manipulation, and the TJHSS Vol. 1, Issue 2, Winter 2021 57 mistreatment of women. This indicates that the selection process has the main purpose legitimizing the accusations directed towards Islam of being violent and intolerant. Table 1. A Verse Translated by Fox News to Reflect the Intolerance of Islam Sura/Verse Number Fox News Episode/Date Al-Maaida 5:51 1-Understanding the Rise of Radical Islam (16th of May 2014) 2-One-On-One with Anjem Choudary (27th of August 2014) 3-Islamists Among Us (14th of January 2016) 4- Islamists Among Us: Democrats Continue to Insist ISIS Is Not Islamic (14th of January 2016) The selected verse that is mentioned or referred to the most during the episodes to reflect the pattern and theme of intolerance in Muslims is the 51st and hatred towards nonAl-Maaida. The original verse in Arabic is “ َء ْولِيَا َ َصا َرى أ يَهُو َد َوالنَّ ْ ِخذُوا ال َمنُوا ََل تَتَّ ِذي َن آ َّ يُّهَا ال َ يَا أ ََل َّن ََّّللاَ ِ ِمنْهُ ْم إ ِنَّهُ هُ ْم ِمنْ ُکْم فَإ َّ َول ٍض َو َم ْن يَتَ ْولِيَا ُء بَ ْع َ بَ ْع ُضهُ ْم أ الِ الظَّ َ ْوم قَ ْ يَ ِمي َن by translated is verse Theْ ”. هِدي ال the presenter during the episodes into “ Take neither Christians, nor Jews as your friends “.The recurrence of the verse in four episodes by the presenter of the show reflects the presenter’s intent of stating that Islam is an ethnocentric and isolationist religion that induces its followers to show intolerance and hostility towards the people of other religions. In addition, the translation of the verse embeds Islam into the meta-narratives of the clash of civilizations and the war on terror. However, the historical context of the verse, according to Al-Qurtubi (2006) and Al-Tabari (1994), is one of war and conflict. The verse commanded Muslims during the early age of Islam to not take Jews or Christians as allies or protectors. According to Al-Qurtubi (2006) and Al-Tabari (1994), several Muslims wanted to keep the alliances and the connections they had with Jews and Christians during a tumultuous period that followed the victory of Muslims in the battle of Badr in 624 AD. During this period, many Jewish and Christian tribes were at war with Muslims. As a consequence, the Qur’anic command came to prevent Muslims from keeping such alliances. Furthermore, the subsequent two verses consolidate this historical and situational context. The original verses in Arabic are, ِهْم ُعو َن فِي ِ ِ ِهم َّم َر ٌض يُ َسار ُوب ل ِذي َن فِي قُ َّ َرى ال فَتَ تِ َي ْ َن يَأ َع َسى ََّّللاُ أ ۚ فَ ِصيبَنَا َدائِ َرةٌ َن تُ ُو َن نَ ْخ َش ٰى أ يَقُول َس ُّروا َ ٰى َما أ ُحوا َعلَ ِ ٍر ِّم ْن ِعن ِدِه فَيُ ْصب ْم َ ْو أ َ أ ِ فَتْح ْ ال ِ ب ِس ِهْم نَا ِدِمي َن ) نفُ فِي أ 52ُ ؤََل ِء َ ٰ َهَ َمنُوا أ ِذي َن آ َّ ( َويَقُو ُل ال َط ْت ِ َمَعُکْمۚ َحب ِنَّهُ ْم لَ َمانِ ِهْمۙ إ ْي َ ََّّللِ َج ْهَد أ ا ِ َس ُموا ب قْ َ ِذي َن أ َّ ال ي َن ِ ْصبَ ُحوا َخا ِسر َ ُهُ ْم فَأ ْع َمال َ أ . Those in whose hearts is a disease - thou seest how eagerly they run about amongst them, saying: "We do fear lest a change of fortune bring us disaster." Ah! perhaps Allah will give (thee) victory, or a decision according to His will. Then will they repent of the thoughts which they secretly harboured in their hearts. And those who believe will say: "Are these the men who swore their strongest oaths by Allah, that they were with you?" All that they do will be in vain, and they will fall into (nothing but) ruin. (Ali, 1934, p. 72) Hence, the subsequent verses emphasize the historical and situational context, showing that the command does not extend beyond this context of dealing with hostile tribes or groups of non-Muslims during wartime. 3.1.2 Sharia Law Rules Sharia Law rules that are translated and presented by Fox News revolve around the themes of the mistreatment and oppression of women, the oppression and intolerance directed towards non-Muslims, and the punishment inflicted upon homosexuals. The following table includes one of the most recurrent Sharia Law rules that is selected for translation and presentation by Fox News. Table 2. A Sharia Law Rule Translated by Fox News to Reflect Islam’s Mistreatment of Women. TJHSS Vol. 1, Issue 2, Winter 2021 58 Sharia Law Rule Number of References Fox News Episode/ Date Women cannot report being raped because she will be asked to provide four witnesses, otherwise she will be accused of adultery and stoned to death 3 1-Bill O’reilly on Islam Rape abuse of women (28th of March 2011) 2- Rise of Radical Islam (10th of January 2015) This rule says that women cannot report being raped because they will be asked to provide four male witnesses; otherwise, the one who does report her case without bringing witnesses will be accused of adultery and stoned to death. Seemingly, the rule, as mentioned on Fox News, confuses between the Sharia Law rule of committing adultery by married women or men, and between the crime of rape. Islamic jurists establish the validity of the rule of adultery on the basis of a saying by Prophet Muhammad related to married individuals who commit adultery. This saying represents the Arabic source to the rule as it is phrased and framed by Fox News presenters and guests. The saying is mentioned in Sahih alBukhari (2001) Narrated Jabir: A man from the tribe of Bani Aslam came to the Prophet while he was in the mosque and said, "I have committed illegal sexual intercourse." The Prophet turned his face to the other side. The man turned towards the side towards which the Prophet had turned his face, and gave four witnesses against himself. On that the Prophet called him and said, "Are you insane?" (He added), "Are you married?" The man said, 'Yes." On that the Prophet ordered him to be stoned to the death in the Musalla (a praying place). When the stones hit him with their sharp edges and he fled, but he was caught at Al-Harra and then killed. (p.1181) Both Adamec (2009) and Kamali (2019) state that all Muslim jurists agree that adultery is punishable by death for married adulterers and by lashing for unmarried adulterers in case there are four male eyewitnesses that can confirm the occurrence of adultery in explicit details or in case the adulterer confessed four times of committing adultery. Kamali (2019) shows that there are very detailed and sophisticated conditions that have to be met for the eyewitnesses’ testimonies to be considered valid. Kamali (2019) states the fact that, “ its conditions are also made extremely difficult to obtain is expressive of the Lawgiver’s desire for requital and concealment”. (P.66) On the other hand, rape is not tolerated by Islam and women are not required to bring four eyewitnesses to prove or validate it. According to Kamali (2019), an incident of rape that happened during the age of Prophet Muhammad and where the Prophet sentenced the rapist to death proves that women are not required to bring a specific number of eyewitnesses. In spite of the disagreement between jurists regarding the cases of rape and how they should be punishable and how the case itself should be proven if there is no confession, the link made between rape and the conditions of proving adultery by Fox News presenters and guests reveals the intent of the Channel in distorting the image of Islam 3.1.3 The Hadith and Commands of Prophet Muhammad. The episodes include two translated sayings by Prophet Muhammad that are mentioned to frame Islam as a violent and dogma that orders the killing of innocent peopleOne of the sayings that attributed to Prophet Muhammad expresses that the world is split into Dar AlHarb, the house of war, and Dar Al-Islam, the house of Islam. This saying is mentioned by a guest in one of the episodes to explain the terror attacks carried out by Muslims against Western countries or interests. Yet, by investigating the origins of this saying and these two terms, it is found that they were not mentioned by Prophet Muhammad and do not exist in the Qur’an or the Hadith. Imam Al-Tayyeb (2016), the current Grand Imam TJHSS Vol. 1, Issue 2, Winter 2021 59 of al-Azhar, reiterated that the two terms are not to be found in Qur’an or Hadith; however, they were coined by Islamic Jurists in the early age of Islam to describe the global reality of military confrontations that continuously existed between all world empires back then. Hence, the terms were formed to describe a reality Muslims had to accept and deal with, and not a law that Muslims were commanded to obey. This intentional inclusion of a false Hadith reflects the intents of Fox News regarding the negative representation of Islam and Muslims. 3.2 Part Two: Temporality 3.2.1 Macro-level Analysis: There are certain political and global events that have temporally contributed to the constitution of the narrative of Islamophobia. The first event is the 9/11 attacks that occurred in the US in 2001. The attacks mark the beginning of gradually constructing and broadly promoting the public narrative of Islamophobia by far-right media outlets as discovered and elaborated by Green (2015). The attacks have constituted a milestone in the adoption of the anti-Islamic tone in the American media outlets, especially the farright one, as underlined by Berry and Sobieraj (2016). The second event is the emergence of the terror group ISIS ‘Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’. The creation of the Islamophobic narrative found a fertile ground for growth through the emergence of ISIS. It can be noticed that the rise in the number of terror attacks carried out by ISIS has provided a pretext for far-right media to negatively depict Islam and Muslims. Hence, these attacks that took place in the period between 2011 and 2017 made up the temporal context of the constitution process of the Islamophobic narrative. In addition, this period that forms the temporal context of the sampled episodes has another spatial dimension since many of the terror attacks during this period took place inside the US and Europe. This caused the US population to feel that terrorism is an imminent peril. Far-right media, according to Berry and Sobieraj (2016), exploited this fear in constituting and promoting the public narrative of Islamophobia. 3.2.2 Micro-level Analysis: There are two patterns of temporal sequencing of Qur’anic verses that are followed by the presenters of the shows. The first pattern is displaying and sequencing the verses in the beginning of the show or in the beginning of one of the parts of the show. The second pattern is the presentation of these verses during an argument in an attempt by Fox News presenters to refute claims or arguments made about the peacefulness and tolerance of Islam. The following table includes some Qur’anic verses that are sequenced by Fox News presenters at the beginning of the show in an illustration of the first pattern mentioned above. Table 3. A List of Verses Sequenced by Fox News in the Beginning of the Show. Episode (Spatial Setting) Verse/s Rise of Radical Islam 1-So when you meet those who disbelieve in battle strike their necks. (Muhammad 47:4) 2-Fight against the people of the book until they pay the Jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued (Al-Tawbah 9:29) 3-The Jews say, “Ezra is the son of Allah”; and the Christians say, “The Messiah is the son of Allah.” That is their statement from their mouths;…May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded? (Al-Tawbah 9:30) 4-But those who disbelieved will have cut out for them garments of fire. Poured upon their heads will be scalding water by which is melted that within their bellies and their skins. (Al-Hajj 22:19, 22:20, 22:21) Islamists Among Us 1-Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and his Messenger and strive upon Earth (to cause) corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or TJHSS Vol. 1, Issue 2, Winter 2021 60 that they be exiled from the land.” (Al-Maaida 5:33) It is observed that in these episodes in the table the translated verses are sequenced to be temporally in the beginning of the episode or in the beginning of one of the parts of the episode. This temporal sequencing of these translated verses aims at authenticating the portrayal of Islam as a violent and intolerant religion since their display in this manner envelops them with validity because they are being stated as facts about Islam. Their temporal sequencing at the beginning mirrors the newscasting tradition of beginning the episode or one section in it with the facts and news items before seeking the commentary later on during the episode, as explained by Boyd (2000). In terms of the spatial ordering, the presentation of these verses in a news program in one of the top news channels authenticates the narrative version adopted by Fox News, a version that aims at negatively portraying Islam through authenticating Islam’s violent and intolerant nature by displaying these verses in news programs. In terms of the second pattern of sequencing, the following table displays the Qur’anic verses sequenced by Fox News presenters so as to be used to make their case against Islam. Table 4. A List of Verses Translated by Fox News and Temporally Sequenced as a Rebuttal of Claims Made in Favor of Islam. Episode (Spatial Setting) Verse/s Understanding the Rise of Radical Islam Take neither Christians, not Jews as your friends (Al-Maaida 5:51) One-On-One with Anjem Choudary Take neither Christians, not Jews as your friends (Al-Maaida 5:51) Islamists Among Us 1-Cut off the hands and feet of those who fight Allah (AlMaaida 5:33) All these translated verses are mentioned by Fox News presenters in a debating manner. They make use of them to prove to their guests that Islam is intolerant and hostile. Thus, they are used by presenters right after any argument that is made in favor of Islam to prove this argument wrong. Temporal and Spatial Sequencing of Sharia Law Rules. The translated Sharia Law rules are mostly used by the presenters to highlight the stark difference between what Islamic Sharia dictates and between the liberal and free norms and traditions that Western societies are characterized with. Noticeably, these translated rules are sequenced by presenters to follow two different patterns. Table 5. A List of Sharia Law Rules Translated and Mentioned on Fox News Rule Number Sharia Law Rule 1 Women cannot report being raped because she will be asked to provide four witnesses, otherwise she will be accused of adultery and stoned to death 2 women are stoned to death 3 Women are not allowed to drive 4 Women are not to be seen in public with men who are not related to them 5 use of the word ‘Allah’ by Christians 6 the discussion of faith by any non-Muslims 7 the promise of 72 virgins in heaven 8 Stoning and Killing Gays and Homosexuals 9 Converting non-Muslims to Islam 10 Killing of Apostates 11 Christians and Jews are persecuted The first pattern is represented by the sequencing of the translated rule right after negative statements made by guests about Islam and Muslims in order to emphasize these statements and validate them, thus normalizing the negative image about Islam and Muslims. This can be seen in the sequencing of rules one, two and three in the episode entitled “Understanding the Rise of Radical Islam”. In an attempt to emphasize one of the guest’s attack on Sharia Law and its mistreatment of women, the presenter TJHSS Vol. 1, Issue 2, Winter 2021 61 responded by using these translated rules to emphasize what the guest said as the rules indicate the stoning of women and the injustice towards those who are raped. The second pattern of sequencing translated Sharia Law rules entails the employment of the rules by presenters in debates with guests who oppose their opinions. For example, rules number seven and ten are used by the presenter in the episode entitled “Radical Muslims on the March” in order to refute the opinions expressed by two of the guests stating that Islam is moderate and that the majority of Muslims condemn terror acts. In attempting to refute these opinions, the presenter refers to these rules that involve the killing of apostates and martyrdom in Islam to prove that Islam is a violent and intolerant dogma. Temporal and Spatial Sequencing of Hadith The episodes include two sayings that are attributed to Prophet Muhammad. The primary sequencing pattern used in translating and mentioning these sayings is the use of them by presenters or guests to validate negative opinions or statements about Islam and Muslims. The second pattern, which applies to only one saying, involves the use of a saying by the guest to agree with claims made about Islam by the presenter, hence sequencing the saying right after the claim is made. The following table includes the two sayings followed by the explanation of the patterns that relate to them. Table 6. A List of Sayings Attributed to Prophet Muhammad by Fox News. Hadith Number Hadith/Command 1 Dividing the world into Dar Al-Harb, the house of war, and Dar Al-Islam, the house of Islam 2 Whoever changes his Deen (Religion) kill him As an example of the first pattern, the first saying in the preceding table is mentioned by a guest who was claiming during the episode that Islam promotes war and violence against non-Muslims. To prove this, the guest resorted to this transliterated saying as part of her explanation of the religious motives that drive Muslims to commit acts of violence against Western countries and citizens. On the other hand, the second saying in the table is sequenced by the guest as a validation to a claim made by the presenter about Islam. As the presenter asked the guest a rhetorical question about Islam’s killing of apostates, the guest promptly replied by saying this translated hadith. Sequencing the saying right after the rhetorical question validates its content and normalizes the accusation directed to Islam of committing violence. 3.3 Part Three: Relationality 3.3.1 Transliterated Terms The following table includes Islamic and Arabic terms that have been transliterated by Fox News since they have a negative relational profile in the Western culture. Table 7. A List of Terms Transliterated by Fox News. Transliterated Terms Number of Episodes Caliphate 4 Fatwa 3 The first term is the word “Caliphate”. The word is used by Fox News presenters and guests to refer to the intention of Islamist groups such as ISIS of establishing an Islamic Empire. In fact, the word has associations to old times when Islamic Empires used to extend their rule over huge territories and to reign over many nations. This extension, especially during the reign of the Ottoman Empire, was done militarily, as Quataert (2000) states. Hence, the use of the word “Caliphate” has associations in the target culture with Islamic militarism and expansion, which relates Islam to the military and terror attacks carried out by terror groups such as ISIS. Significantly, ISIS and the other military TJHSS Vol. 1, Issue 2, Winter 2021 62 groups that conduct operations in the name of Islam could be referred to by simply using their names, yet the word “Caliphate” is used to naturalize the relation of these groups to Islam. The second term is the word ‘Fatwa’. The word in Arabic means an authorized religious opinion. Seemingly, the word is retained in Arabic by Fox News presenters and guests to associate the terror acts committed by groups such as ISIS to the teachings of Islam. The retention of the word shows the target audience that these terror acts are committed intentionally by groups that are exclusively inspired by the “Fatwas” of Islam. Significantly, the word gained its modern negative associations, according to Coughlin (2009), from the late 1980s when Ayatollah Khomeini issued a Fatwa of killing the British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie in 1989. This is why the word has in the West this negative connotation of seeking to kill people. 3.3.2 Translated Terms: The following table includes Islamic and Arabic terms that have been translated to English since they have a negative relational profile. Table 8. A List of Terms Translated by Fox News. Translated Terms Number of Episodes Apostate 4 Infidels 3 Blasphemy 3 The first word that is translated into English since the English equivalent is loaded with relational meaning in the target culture is the word “Apostate”, which is mentioned in four episodes by Fox News. Obviously, the word is frequently used to signify the high level of intolerance and violence practiced against non-Muslims under the rule of Islamic Sharia Law. For the target audience in a culture like the US culture where freedom of expression and freedom of belief are basic rights, the treatment of apostates under Islam as depicted by Fox News would be seen as regressive and brutal. This is why the word is translated, leaving this effect of how wide the gap is between the regressive Islamic culture and the progressive US culture. The same interpretation applies to the use of the words “Infidels” and “Blasphemy”. The use of these words reminds Western audience of medieval times, when the Church practiced its authority in condemning blasphemy and infidelity in extreme and severe manners, as reported by Pettegree (2000). Therefore, Islam is seen as backward, ruthless, and discriminating after these terms are integrated into the construction of the Islamophobic narrative associated with it. Conclusion: Islamophobia is investigated in this research by utilizing Baker’s (2006) analytical narrative framework. The analytical features provided by Baker (2006) allow for deep examination of the translation process in terms of how this process is ideologically and politically-driven in order to depict Islam as a hostile dogma. The use of the feature of selective appropriation shows that certain elements are selected for translation by Fox News from Arabic to English for the purpose of portraying Islam as a violent, backward and intolerant religion. All verses and rules that are chosen for translation are intentionally presented out of their historical, situational and textual contexts. This reflects the motive of Fox News of solely highlighting the literal meaning of the verses and rules because all the verses and rules that were picked for translation include words and phrases that could reflect violence, hatred, and intolerance. The second feature utilized in the analysis is the one of temporality. Through this feature, it is illustrated that the translated tokens are sequenced by Fox News to follow specific patterns that validate and naturalize TJHSS Vol. 1, Issue 2, Winter 2021 63 the negative image of Islam to Western and American viewers. The last narrative feature that is utilized in the analysis is the one of relationality. It is through this feature that the decisions of whether to translate an Islamic item or to transliterate it are analyzed. The analysis shows that the main purpose that lies behind this decision-making process is to portray Islam as a hostile and aggressive dogma. Hence, Islamic items are translated or transliterated based on which option has more negative relational associations in the target culture.