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

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.