The Question of Intertextuality and the Perception of Muslims: The Case of the New York Times Op-Eds

Rachid Acim

University Sultan Moulay Slimane, Beni Mellal, Morocco

“Texts are rarely completely original but borrow and quote from other texts.
Reporting other people’s speech or thought is a form of intertextuality.”

(Fairclough, 1992)

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to question intertextuality, as one literary discourse device, in the New York Times Op-Eds addressing Muslims inside and outside of the United States. The researcher argues that the New York Times employs a whole plethora of texts to disseminate specific arguments and assumptions about such people. The periodical use of poetry, for instance, enables reporters to trigger powerful emotions in their readers, and get them take sides as regards matters related to Muslims. Add to this, the continuous occurrence of different intertextual strategies such as quotations, allusions, translations, songs and so on, are fashioned to create fixed and unstable images about Muslims in the world of print media. It is thus claimed that the reporters of the New York Times take shelter in intertextuality with a view to producing a sense of intimacy with their readers and attract their full attention more easily. To approach the issue at hand more effectively, the researcher starts by introducing how some scholars have perceived intertexuality. Then, he shifts into demonstrating how intertextuality occurs and manifests itself in the overarching media as represented by the New York Times Op-Eds. Finally, he suggests some pedagogical implications to assist students (re)consider thoroughly the multiple voices spoken inside the New York Times Op-Eds.

Keywords: Intertextuality, The New York Times, Muslims, Op-Eds, Voices, Quotations.