“I would love to see a Muslim character who saves the day,” says Maz Jobrani, an actor and comedian and the author of I’m Not a Terrorist, but I’ve Played One on TV. Shows like 24 and Homeland, as well as films like True Lies and Iron Man, all feature Islamic terrorist characters. In an industry that tends to write Muslim characters as villains, Jobrani’s seemingly simple request hasn’t been granted very often.
Dear Hollywood: stop portraying Muslims as terrorists
“Muslims are always terrorists!” says comedian Omar Regan.
The cast of The Secret Life of Muslims would even be happy to see the bare minimum — a Muslim protagonist not as an action star but as a regular old human being. As long as the character isn’t a radical terrorist, persecuted woman, or religious radical, these Muslim Americans will be happy.
Comedian Negin Farsad imagines someone who’s “binge-watching television, who really loves doughnuts, who’s very bad at bowling,” while Wajahat Ali sees a Muslim character who is “eating chicken biryani and watching Game of Thrones.”
Is that so much to ask?
Religious scholar Reza Aslan says, “What we as Muslims have to do is learn to harness the power of pop culture as a means of reframing perceptions toward Muslims.”
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