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Halim (2005) and Azumah (2015) have observed some isolated cases of Islamist extremist groups. They have expressed concern on how such groups interpret the Islamic concept of jihad (struggle), giving room to distortion of the image of Islam. These scholars of Islam find a situation where many Muslims across the

world have been identified with these groups. In such cases therefore, many Muslims are caught up in an attempt to distinguish themselves from these militant people. The larger Muslim community faces the blame of the isolated terrorist and criminal acts. These observations provided an impetus to this study and similar situation was realized in Nairobi North District. This study investigated the print media reports on activities of radical groups like al Shabaab and al Qaeda. It revealed that the image of Islam presented by Kenyan newspapers is based on ideologies of the Muslim extremists.

Kuthiela (2001), Noorani (2002) and Nagata (2010) note that radical religious fundamentalism common among certain Muslim extremists is not unique to Islam. They supported this point by mentioning the Jewish extremists who have made illegal settlements on the West Bank and the Gaza strip and have vowed to drive all Arabs from their holy land. Other examples include the Jerry Falwells moral majority and the new Christian Right which regarded the Soviet Union as evil empire in 1980s and wielded astonishing power in the US. Further illustrations can be drawn on the Hindus who have taken to the streets to defend the caste system and oppose the Muslims of India. Their concern is the selective manner in which the mass media gives attention to Islamist extremists. This study aimed at revealing the image of Islam that is seen in the reports of Islamist radicals in the print media in Kenya. The study found a connection between Islam

and extremism in reports of violence both by Kenyan journalists and from news agencies.

Ndung’u (2010) finds a similarity of the Islamist radical groups with the Kenyan vigilante terrorist groups which normally perform ethnic cleansing. These groups which have claimed to liberate people of their ethnic groups have heavily borrowed from the religious aspects of their communities. She concurs with Noorani (2002) that none of these groups in the contemporary world has succeeded in their political mandate, including the famous Jamaat al- Islami of Pakistan. She criticizes their negative traits which include hostility towards minorities, anti-intellectualism, intolerance and moral blindness. In view of these emphases of previous research, it becomes dire to find out the Islamic teachings on peace vis- a- vis the philosophies of the Islamist radical groups that lead to their violent behaviours. The study established that Islam is rich in teachings on tolerance and inter- faith coexistence, negotiation, forgiveness, and reconciliation. This is unlike what is portrayed in the actions of the Islamist militias.

Maina (2011) and Botha (2013) list the series of attacks attributed to radical extremists. They include the bombing of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in July 1998; bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel in Kikambala, Kilifi District in 2005; the petrol bombing of Hope FM radio station in Nairobi and a grenade attack on a bus destined for Kampala in December 2010. Attacks of this nature according to Mazrui (2006) and Bruton (2013) need to be explained from

the perspective of global economic and political affairs. Mazrui continues to say that Kenyans are victims of the effects of globalization in the way they have been caught up by terrorism. In particular, the issue of Israeli -Palestine conflicts and the involvement of the US has caused this. Mazrui examines how such events have led to poor perception of Islam and Muslims. Mazrui offers little about the reason why these actions are not religious as seen in the media. The underlying factors to such actions are of interest in comparison to the portrayal of the media. This study evaluated how the print media represents such violent activities in relation to Islam and Muslims. According to the findings of this study, media ascribes such events only to Muslim contributions despite that political and economic factors play a major role. These include; global problems like Al Shabaab and Somalia bordering to Kenya and Palestine – Israeli conflicts.

Rashid (1999) and Ali (2013) note that, the late Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda group was set with different agenda from other movements and radical groups among Muslims. Many radical groups claim to be in place in seeking to establish the “lost caliphate”. Osama and the al Qaeda claimed to be in revenge mission for Muslims against the US, Israel and their allies. He therefore receives a bigger criticism from scholars of Islam including Armstrong who argued that Islam does not condone revenge or mass killing. Mazrui (2006) is concerned with the translation of Osamaphobia (fear of Osama) into Islamophobia (fear of Islam). This means associating Muslims with terrorism and extremism. The study

assumed that the media could influence the linking of extremism with Islam. It found out that the print media reports of radical Islamists views lead to misconception that Islam is inherently violent.

Mamdani (2004) opinion that 9/11 attack has roots in the proxy war of Afghanistan by the American government against Russia in 1970s and 1980s. This is through the training and support that was given to the Talibans by both presidents Carter and Reagan. He therefore writes to counter the ‘cultural talk’ of the ‘clash of civilizations’ propagated by such people as Bernard Lewis (1990) and Samuel Huntington (1996) which demonstrated that Islam is the root of conflicts between radical Islamists and the West. He found a hypocritical generalization that all American Muslims supported the terrorism with the dichotomous division of Muslims into “good” and “bad”. These were words of President Bush after the attack a definition that was based on the perspective of Muslims participation on assisting the State on the war on terror. The “bad” Muslims according to him were the ones who could not help in catching the terrorists. The generalization that Islam is the root of terrorism by the Islamists was propagated through the American media. Similar scholarly views needed to be evaluated in order to explain the root of radicalism that is reported in Kenyan newspapers. It was essential to reveal the role of Islam in the growth of militancy in Somalia which had spilled into Kenya through the al Qaeda affiliated group al Shabaab. The study revealed that the al Shabaab members are not motivated by

Islam. On the other hand the claims which are reported by the print media make all Muslims look as if they support terrorism.