Thanks for the link!
Posted on 01/19/2007 6:48:21 AM PST by Dark Skies
Two years ago, Muslim groups protested when the plot of the hit Fox drama '24' cast Islamic terrorists as the villains who launched a stolen nuclear missile in an attack on America.
Now, after a one-year respite during which Russian separatists played the bad guys on the critically acclaimed series, Muslims are back in the evil spotlight. Unlike last time, when agent Jack Bauer saved the day, the terrorists this time have already succeeded in detonating a nuclear bomb in a Los Angeles suburb.
Being portrayed again as the heartless wrongdoers has drawn renewed protests from Muslim groups, including one that had a meeting with Fox executives two years ago over the issue.
"The overwhelming impression you get is fear and hatred for Muslims," said Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. She said Thursday she was distressed by this season's premiere. "After watching that show, I was afraid to go to the grocery store because I wasn't sure the person next to me would be able to differentiate between fiction and reality."
She said the group had a conference call Wednesday with Fox executives to protest the current plot line and request more positive portrayals of Muslims on the show, but was not promised anything.
After a January 2005 meeting with CAIR, Fox aired a commercial in which the show's star, Kiefer Sutherland, urged viewers to keep in mind that the show's villains are not representative of all Muslims.
In a written statement issued late Wednesday night, the network said it has not singled out any ethnic or religious group for blame in creating its characters.
"24 is a heightened drama about anti-terrorism," the statement read. "After five seasons, the audience clearly understands this, and realizes that any individual, family, or group (ethnic or otherwise) that engages in violence is not meant to be typical.
"Over the past several seasons, the villains have included shadowy Anglo businessmen, Baltic Europeans, Germans, Russians, Islamic fundamentalists, and even the (Anglo-American) president of the United States," the network said. "The show has made a concerted effort to show ethnic, religious and political groups as multidimensional, and political issues are debated from multiple viewpoints."
The current season began with Muslim terrorists waging an 11-week campaign of suicide bombings across America, culminating in the detonation of a suitcase-sized nuclear bomb in Valencia, Calif., about 26 miles north of Los Angeles. Estimated death toll: 12,000.
Watching the show's characters talk about detonating a nuclear weapon a few blocks from where she works unnerved Sireen Sawaf, an official with the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council, and a self-described "huge '24' fan."
"It's a great show, and I do realize it's a multidimensional show that portrays extreme situations," she said. "They have gone out of their way to have non-Muslim terror cells.
"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."
Sohail Mohammed, a New Jersey immigration lawyer who represented scores of detainees caught up in the post Sept. 11, 2001 dragnet, watched the episode depicting the nuclear attack with an Associated Press reporter.
"I was shocked," he said. "Somewhere, some lunatic out there watching this will do something to an innocent American Muslim because he believes what he saw on TV."
Engy Abdelkader, a member of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee from Howell, N.J., launched a campaign Wednesday to encourage Muslims offended by the program to complain to Fox.
"I found the portrayal of American Muslims to be pretty horrendous," she said. "It was denigrating from beginning to end. This is one of the most popular programs on television today. It's pretty distressing."
Concerns about Muslims' civil rights, detention of terror suspects in Guantanamo-like holding centers, and stereotyping are given vastly expanded treatment on '24' this year. In one exchange, the show depicts the president's national security adviser challenging the White House chief of staff over the detention of Muslims without criminal charges.
"Right now the American Muslim community is our greatest asset," the security adviser says. "They have provided law enforcement with hundreds of tips, and not a single member of that community has been implicated in these attacks."
"So far," the chief of staff responds.
The term "lunatics" is probably more appropriate for Muslims than anyone else, as Allah is a moon-god.
Thanks for the link!
"24" jumps the shark about 6 times in every episode.
Just remember, the bad guys can change. Remember those Bluetooth guys who were controlling the President during last season? What ever happened to them? We never found out who they really were.
Exactly. I watched an hour or more and remember no mentuon of religion.
No home-grown terrorists??
Lemmie see, now.
That wealthy "limo driver" assassanating at the El Al check-in at LAX last year.
The two snipers terrorizing in the D.C. area a few years ago, plus LOTS of $ for "humanitarian aid" in the Mideast for many years now.
For starters.
They're always upset about something. I don't understand: they clearly hate this country. Why do they stay here, even hiring "immigration lawyers" like the one in the story to make sure they can remain? Is it that they believe they can do America more harm from within than from without?
My husband freaked out when Michelle died.
I have come to think of "24" as a comic book more than a realistic show.
I watched a few episodes of "Sleeper Cell." It was pretty good for a while, but iterrupted by stupid and unnecessary sex scenes.
As Ahmed said to his neighbor accross the street, It's not Ah med.....it's ACKKKK Muuud.
I'm sure they were out there saying "We are very concerned about a backlash against Muslims. All muslims are not carrying out these attacks. Anyone who attacks a muslim is a racist...".
Yep, that's red shirt material all right.
I've seen previews of Jack beating up on the bald guy (he used to be the a$$-clown doctor on "ER" that had a helicopter fall on him), so I take that to mean that they'll be back, along with (now ex-)President Logan.
I'm still betting that Logan's gonna have something to do with this latest plot.
If you're conscious it's only because Jack Bauer wants you that way. (that's my favorite).
I freak out when Tony died too!
I yelled and screamed that it would be my last episode.
Right.
That's what Richard Reid said.
The fact is that the vast majority of terrorist attacks in the second half of the 20th century, and not a few before then as well, have been by Muslims. There was an outburst of Irish Republican Army attacks for a couple of decades, and the odd left wing wacko (Red Army Faction, Bader-Mienhoff, etc) in the 1970s, but for the Most part the big attacks have been by Muslims. Shift to the '90s and '00s and about the only non-Muslim terror attacks would be the Japanese Cult that put the Sarin into the Subway system. Oh and of course the single attack by a few Neo Nazi weirdos in Oklahoma City, and even that one *may* have a Muzzie connection, as did some of the IRA's operations. So '24' just reflects reality.
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