Applying Critical Discourse Analysis on a news report Essay

Applying Critical Discourse Analysis on a news report - Essay Example Quoting Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, and referring to the concept of jihad or holy war, the Pontiff challenged, â€Å"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached† (Pope Benedict XVI, â€Å"Pope’s Speech at University of Regensburg,† para. 8). The Pope later indicated the remarks were taken out of context and that he was merely quoting statements made by the medieval emperor, for which he later apologized. The textual excerpts below gleaned from Reuters news reports are particularly interesting in terms of discourse analysis. The first section of the paper analyses both texts using methods of analysis including Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) methodology of Norman Fairclough and those suggested by Jan Blommaert. A second section applies other approaches that are useful and relevant, such as member categorization analysis (MCA). Indians set fire to an effigy of the Pope as a wave of protests ripples through the Muslim world. Words written more than 600 years ago still cause offence when taken out of context. The Pontiff’s care to point out that he was quoting someone else doesn’t seem to have prevented an angry reaction in some quarters. The statements are ugly and unfortunate. The Pope needs to take a step back, and should apologize to the Islamic world. Further north police had to restrain protestors in Jammu and Kashmir. Churches in the West Bank and in the Iraqi city of Basra were attacked, although the damage was minor. The church in Basra is Christian Orthodox and not aligned with the views of the Pope. Extra security outside the Pope’s summer residence on a very unsummery day. The Pontiff made a further apology, this time in person, to try to quell the anger in the Muslim world over his quote of a medieval philosopher. Pilgrims outside the Castel Gandolfo residence