24 Receives Complaints from Muslim Groups Within Almost 24 Hours
Will Jack Have to "Convert" to Islam in Order to Mend Fences?
Sireen Sawaf, an official at the Muslim Public Affairs Council (based out of Los Angeles), is a big fan of 24. She liked how the show had previously gone out of their way to show non-Muslim terror cells. Now that season 6 is showing Muslim terrorists act as Palestinian-styled "suicide bombers", among other things, Sawaf has said "But I'm concerned about the image it ingrains in the minds of the American public and the American government, particularly when you have anti-Muslim statements spewing from the mouths of government officials." So according to Ms. Sawaf's statement, it was okay for the producers of 24 to portray Russians, Germans, a white President of the US, or even a blond man as being a terrorist, but once they begin to portray a Muslim as a terrorist it is not okay.
An immigration lawyer in New Jersey, Sohail Mohammed, actually watched the season premiere with a reporter from the Associated Press. Mohammed states "I was shocked. Somewhere, some lunatic out there watching this will do something to an innocent American Muslim because he believes what he saw on TV." Mohammed represents some of the detainees from the 9/11 "dragnet". It will be interesting to see how Mr. Mohammed handles the continuing season of 24.
The complaints from the Muslim community do not stop there. Yet another Muslim, Engy Abdelkader, from the American Arab Anti-discrimination Committee that is based out of New Jersey is up in arms over the show. Ms. Abdelkader stated "I found the portrayal of American Muslims to be pretty horrendous. It was denigrating from beginning to end. This is one of the most popular programs on television today. It's pretty distressing."
Muslims and Muslim organizations all of the country are fearful that the show is going to create a backlash against the Muslim communities, based solely on how the show is portraying them in as "sleeper-cells" and "terrorists". Apparently the upcoming episodes will also show more Muslims being detained and put into the "detention camps". This is becoming a soar spot for the Muslim community and they are beginning to fear that Americans country-wide may think this may be a good idea. According to the American-Islamic Council, a white man was arrested yesterday in Warren County Michigan for trying to vandalize a mosque and for making threats toward an Imam. Apparently they are trying to tie this one man's actions as a result of watching the season premiere of 24.
Imam Abu-Namous, of the Islamic Cultural Center in Manhattan, hopes that the fans and viewers of the show will be able to see that the only fantasy and not based on reality. "This allegation that there are dormant cells or terrorists in the United States, this is an idea of the imagination. I think that it is far-fetched," the Imam said. "At the same time, I don't rule out the possibility of the existence of some bad guys. Any community can have bad guys, so why not the Muslim community?" He also went on to say that the Muslim community loves the United States, just as they love any other community, and "we never wish that any harm be inflicted on this country."
So even though the producers of 24 tried to make the new season more "fair and balanced" by having a group of Muslims working to bring peace in the country via a converted ex-terrorist leader, it was still not enough. The Muslim community liked the idea that Fox showed a more positive side in the premiere, but did not agree with the nuclear explosion or showing other Muslims as terrorist and "suicide bombers". Fox is almost to the point of having their hands tied, just as the rest of the country does as well. It is okay if they want to continue with the show, but they should not portray Muslims in a negative fashion what-so-ever. Just as Muslims that board planes should never be detained or profiled, 24 should realize they should never show a Muslim as a terrorist. It's not like a Muslim has ever been a terrorist in real-life, right? Oh wait a minute, there was an incident a few years ago called September 11th and it was actually in real-life; imagine that. And perhaps the Muslim community should be focusing on more real-life cases such as the movie "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West" where the documentary shows actual footage of Arab countries stating how much they hate America and Americans. Perhaps they are not aware that Howard Gordan, an Executive Producer of 24, stated "Obsession is required viewing for everyone." Even after the documentary has been shown on the national news channels and they have supporters such as Mr. Gordan, we have not seen the amount of complaints and backlash as we have seen over the 2 night season premiere of a fictional TV show.
What can we look forward to with this season of 24, based on the complaints from the Muslim community? Well, if you recall the season of 24 in 2005, Fox actually had Kiefer Sutherland issue a statement on TV, in order to calm the waters between Fox and the Muslim communities. The Muslim organizations were afraid that Americans would retaliate against Muslims in America because it was too soon after 9/11 to see a Muslim as a potential terrorist on TV. So, should we be on the look-out for yet another politically correct statement for this season? Only time will tell and until then the drama on and off screen will continue.
*Sources*
-The Arizona Daily Sun Online, http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2007/01/19/news/world/20070119_world_58.txt, Associated Press Article, Wayne Parry, 2007 January 19.
-New York Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/490036p-412681c.html, Austin Fenner, 2007 January 19.
-Obsession the Movie, http://www.obsessionthemovie.com/index.html, 2007 January 19.
Published by Miss Faith
Miss Faith is a full time student and she is currently working with About.com as the Guide to Makeup. She has finished her Bachelor's Degree in Intelligence Studies, as well as an Associate's Degree in CIS/N... View profile
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- Sireen Sawaf is a fan of 24, but is concerned over this seasons use of Muslims as terrorists.
- Muslim groups fear that certain people in America may take the show seriously and cause a backlash against American Muslims.
- Muslim groups wasted no time at complaining about the new season of 24, but where were they when the movie "Obsession" debuted?
21 Comments
Post a CommentMiss Faith, no, not offended. We both love the show as I said. Many muslims are more open minded than some people give them credit for, note I say some, not all. No stereotypes allowed in my mind. Obviously, you can't please everyone and it is only a show. We do have an unusual marriage but it works for us thankfully.
Miss Faith, no, not offended. We both love the show as I said. Many muslims are more open minded than some people give them credit for, note I say some, not all. No stereotypes allowed in my mind. Obviously, you can't please everyone and it is only a show. We do have an unusual marriage but it works for us thankfully.
Nancy - I hope that comment didn't come off wrong because I meant nothing by it. It's pretty cool that you and your husband can have a great relationship and still be open on your opinions.
And Celin- honestly, we Americans are actually smarter than you give us credit for. We are not "meatheads" like the white guy on the show was. In all actuallity, any backlash from Americans would be from all of the complaining, lawsuits, and boycotts...along with what happened on 9/11. A fictional show is not going to make the average American want to go after Muslims.
Nancy-Great comment since you see things from another view point. Oddly enough I thought you may side with the protesting, only because your husband is Muslim. Most wives tend to do this, but it's refreshing to see that you still keep your point of view no matter what beliefs your husband follows. I would hope that he finds your views refreshing as well.
I think the show has just moved onto a new type of terrorist, and will eventually move onto another one in the future. Considering that Muslims have 'terrorized' the US before, as has other groups, and 24 is going for the whole realistic look, it only makes sense that eventually it has a plot-line with Muslim terrorists. Its not showing all Muslims as bad. I mean, Jack shot Curtis to save a good Muslim because Curtis was going to kill him. They're just going for realism, and in todays day in age, this is it.
I completely agree with all of the Muslims who are protesting the show. I am an American Muslim and appartently the way that they are trying to portray the Muslim community is that of terrorists. The American public gets enough propaganda because of the way that Islam is portrayed by the News media, now they want to scare everyone into thinking our religion is terriorist based on tv show? They need to start showing the world the true Islam and not this extremeist propoganda.
I watched some of both premiere nights, and wasn't impressed at all. I agree with Stephanie, it is just overblown (and way over acted) propaganda. Which of course anyone is free to watch. I choose not to. Jack doesn't need to convert to Islam, just make a show worth spending time watching.
Seems like a lot of people are watching '24'.
Frankly, "24" deserves all the flack they get. Once one of my favorite shows on television, it has become some kind of unwatchable and perverse propaganda.
OK, finally got the article to show up. Great article and I think that the show does its best to be fair. The fact that there are more Muslim terrorist than other types of terrorist should justify seeing more of them on the show. 24 brings forth the fears of alot of people. As I mentioned before, my husband is a muslim and I'm a white girl from Virginia. He's a great dad and husband and we are extremely differant. We accept each other how we are but as I tell him, if they don't want to be portrayed this way, they should stop blowing stuff up.