Muslim men have often been portrayed as 'terrorists' or 'fanatics' on TV shows, but Muslim-led storytelling is trying to change that narrative

"For over a century, Hollywood has tended to portray Muslim men through a remarkably narrow lens: as terrorists, villains or dangerous outsiders. From shows such as "24" and " Homeland" to procedural dramas such as " Law and Order," this portrayal has seldom allowed for complexity or relatability. Such depictions reinforce Orientalist stereotypes - a colonial worldview that treats cultures in the East as exotic, irrational or even dangerous."

"Scholar of media and race Jack Shaheen has documented the systematic vilification of Arabs and Muslims in Western media. In his 2001 book " Reel Bad Arabs," he analyzed over a thousand films and found that the vast majority depicted Arab and Muslim men almost exclusively as fanatics, oil-rich villains and misogynists. More recently, a 2021 study from the University of Southern California's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative looked at 200 popular movies and found that Muslim characters were either completely missing or shown as violent."

Hollywood has historically depicted Muslim men in narrow, negative roles such as terrorists, villains or dangerous outsiders, limiting complexity and relatability. Such portrayals reproduce Orientalist stereotypes that frame Eastern cultures as exotic, irrational or dangerous. Research by Jack Shaheen and a 2021 USC Annenberg study document systematic vilification and frequent absence of Muslim characters in popular films. The post-9/11 era introduced some law-abiding or patriotic Muslim characters, yet stereotyping persisted alongside rising Islamophobia. Recent years show an increase in Muslim-led storytelling in the U.S. and U.K., with new shows centering Muslim characters and offering more diverse portrayals.

Read at The Conversation