THE INFLUENCE OF PRINT MEDIA ON SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION TOWARDS ISLAM: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

Abstract

This paper examined the construction and dissemination of representations of Islam in mainstream Pakistani print media and their impact on public opinion. Employing Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as the methodological framework, the research drew on Fairclough’s (1995) three-dimensional model, van Dijk’s (1998) socio-cognitive approach, and the discourse-historical approach of Reisigl and Wodak (2001). The data comprised a purposive sample of newspaper articles, editorials, and opinion columns from two national newspapers, Dawn and The Nation, covering the period 2024–2025. The qualitative analysis aimed to identify recurrent themes, ideological stances, and discursive strategies shaping societal perceptions of Islam. Special attention was given to linguistic features, including lexical choices, metaphors, passive constructions, nominalization, and evaluative language, to uncover underlying ideological and power structures. The study further explored how these textual practices were connected to broader socio-political discourses and contributed to constructing dominant narratives about Islam and Muslim identities. The findings revealed coherent discursive patterns portraying Islam and Muslims either as moral guides or as socio-political concerns, inter-discursive linkages between security, cultural identity, and global Muslim solidarity, and ways in which media discourse either reinforced or contested prevailing ideological positions. This paper also contributes to the growing literature on media discourse, ideology, and the social construction of religion, emphasizing the role of language in shaping public opinion, social perceptions, and power dynamics. By highlighting how print media mediates ideology through textual and linguistic strategies, the study provides critical insights into the intersection of media, religion, and society in a South Asian context.