STRUCTURAL DISCRIMINATION, MEDIA REPRESENTATION, AND LEGAL REMEDIES IN SECULAR AND ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENTIAL FRAMEWORKS

Abstract

This article examines the structural intersection of institutional discrimination, mass media representation, and legal enforcement within both secular legal systems and Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh). While secular constitutional frameworks promise formal equality (De Jure neutrality), systemic biases frequently persist through structural channels (De Facto inequality). Mass media serves both as an engine of structural discrimination—through symbolic annihilation, framing, and algorithmic bias—and as a primary site for rights enforcement. Analyzing comparative legal approaches alongside Islamic socio-legal mechanisms, this paper evaluates how traditional tort actions and civil rights doctrines fail to remedy group-based harms or algorithmic discrimination. By integrating the objectives of Islamic law (Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah), the principle of epistemic verification (Tabayyun), and systemic accountability (Ḥisbah), this study proposes structural remedies. These include mandatory algorithmic impact assessments, state-supported media pluralism, and representative litigation to secure substantive justice (Al-‘Adl al-Ḥaqīqī).