According to CNN, Muslims are outraged at their portrayal in Fox’s hit TV series, ‘24′.
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.
I don’t watch 24 so I can’t speak to how Muslim’s are actually portrayed on the show, but I can say this… we live in a day and age where, unfortunately, extremist Muslims represent the largest threat that exists against the Western world.
If anything, Muslims should be upset over the extremists that have hijacked their religion and made themselves mouthpieces for the entire religion. Every religion has its kooks. God know Christianity has more than its fair share. But seriously… when are Muslims going to take a stand against the extremists? I don’t blame Fox for taking this direction in the story. Al-Qaeda is out there… they hate America… they hate the Western World… they’ve gone to great lengths to destroy our civiliations in any way they can muster… They are a vocal minority… and their shouting has silenced the majority of Muslims who insist their religion is one of peace…
The other side of this, is that there are fears that people will have a hard time discerning reality from fiction. Not all Muslims are terrorists. 24 is just a TV show. If people are stupid enough to retaliate against other ethnic groups because of fictional TV dramas, I don’t care what race that person is… they deserve to punished to the fullest extent of the law.
I watch 24. I live in a diverse area of the country. I have known people of Muslim and Islamic descent. I live in an area that was directly affected by 9/11. I knew people who were in the pentagon. I hold no religion responsible for that day. I do hold a group that leans on a religion responsible. I believe that the media (both professional and amateur) have blurred the lines between this group and their chosen religion. The media has created a world where there is no longer a line between ethnicity and religion. We have been trained to see an Arabic looking individual and directly tie them to the Islamic or Muslim faith. At the same we have been trained to recognize the Islamic or Muslim faith as being directly tied to Al-Qaeda and terrorism. The media has thus created a world where stereotypes rain supreme over the actualities of individuals and religious beliefs.
As a global society we must realize that certain groups throughout history have used all religions as a launching point for campaigns of violence towards others who did not want to give up control of their way of life. We must also realize that all religions are ones of peace. The global population needs to recognize that we are all the same, made of one God, but choose to worship that God in different ways. It is not until this point when we stop using our religion to condone our sins against others, that the ideology will be reported as it should: a more or less systematic set of ideas, values, and beliefs, which underlies the practices of a society, a class, or some other socially significant group of people (http://www.engelska.uu.se/a.lit.terms.html) It is this ideology or agenda that is the evil at work, not religion.
Therefore, I do not believe that it is only the responsibility of the Muslim and Islamic people to stand up against an ideology that uses their faith as a crutch, but one of the global population to recognize the true problem and speak out against it as a whole. Al-Qaeda ultimately affects everyone and until we as a global people take a stand they will NOT be defeated.
Fox’s 24 is entertainment. Entertainment that will easily offend anyone who is portrayed, however I think next season they should write a plot around an American who is angry at their country and not tie it to religion (think Oklahoma City). Or create a character who goes to church. Terrorism can come from anyone, from any walk of life, who is any race and who, most importantly, is any religion.
I watch 24. I live in a diverse area of the country. I have known people of Muslim and Islamic descent. I live in an area that was directly affected by 9/11. I knew people who were in the pentagon. I hold no religion responsible for that day. I do hold a group that leans on a religion responsible. I believe that the media (both professional and amateur) have blurred the lines between this group and their chosen religion. The media has created a world where there is no longer a line between ethnicity and religion. We have been trained to see an Arabic looking individual and directly tie them to the Islamic or Muslim faith. At the same we have been trained to recognize the Islamic or Muslim faith as being directly tied to Al-Qaeda and terrorism. The media has thus created a world where stereotypes rain supreme over the actualities of individuals and religious beliefs.
As a global society we must realize that certain groups throughout history have used all religions as a launching point for campaigns of violence towards others who did not want to give up control of their way of life. We must also realize that all religions are ones of peace. The global population needs to recognize that we are all the same, made of one God, but choose to worship that God in different ways. It is not until this point when we stop using our religion to condone our sins against others, that the ideology will be reported as it should: a more or less systematic set of ideas, values, and beliefs, which underlies the practices of a society, a class, or some other socially significant group of people (www.engelska.uu.se/a.lit.terms.html) It is this ideology or agenda that is the evil at work, not religion.
Therefore, I do not believe that it is only the responsibility of the Muslim and Islamic people to stand up against an ideology that uses their faith as a crutch, but one of the global population to recognize the true problem and speak out against it as a whole. Al-Qaeda ultimately affects everyone and until we as a global people take a stand they will NOT be defeated.
Fox’s 24 is entertainment. Entertainment that will easily offend anyone who is portrayed, however I think next season they should write a plot around an American who is angry at their country and not tie it to religion (think Oklahoma City). Or create a character who goes to church. Terrorism can come from anyone, from any walk of life, who is any race and who, most importantly, is any religion.