CNN and the Muslim Women Next Door

March 29, 2011 By diana

Coming on the heels of a seemingly endless surge of anti-Muslim bigotry in the U.S., CNN picked the most opportune moment to air its special on Muslims, titled “Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door” with reporter Soledad O’Brien.

After having been glued to the news in the last couple of weeks, following Rep. Peter King’s hearings on Muslim extremism in the United States and the recent display of anti-Muslim bigotry to hit the community of Southern California, I cringed at the title of this documentary.

The commercials, accompanied by what can be described as the soundtrack to a thriller, seemed to employ fear-mongering tactics to get viewers to tune in. Ready for the onslaught of virulent stereotypes that usually accompanies stories about Muslims, I was armed with an arsenal of curses to churn out at the television screen.

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Filed Under: Television Tagged With: , , ,

Maintaining a Narrative: ABC’s Monolithic Muslim Experience

October 18, 2010 By sana

Spearheading the healing of a slowly crippling nation, ABC News has decided to take it upon itself to play the role of facilitator between American Muslims and the generally more acceptable genre of Americans. ABC has broadcasted an assemblage of insightful (see: inciteful) shows aimed at answering those hard-hitting questions that no one else seems to be asking, as indicated by the aptly-entitled “Holy War: Should Americans be afraid of Islam?“, hosted by the ever identity-complex-laden Christiane Amanpour. Three additional shows/pieces were broadcasted under the guise of Good Morning America as a part of a series, equally objectively titled Faith and Fear: Islam in America.

ABC’s efforts predicate a discussion meant to shed some sort of light and foster an idealistically productive debate on the recent backlash against American Muslims, as indicated by the Park51 fiasco and the subsequent Islamophobiclicious campaign ads. However, these programs fulfill the narrative of Islam as a hateful ideology encroaching on the “American way of life” rather than illustrate how a hateful, homegrown ideology has taken over the minds of millions of Americans. ABC doesn’t examine how this ideology negatively affects and dangerously marginalizes a large group of American citizens with a deep and rich history spanning hundreds of years within the very country that is now continuously restricting their physical and social space.

Amanpour’s Town Hall panelists have included 9/11 victims’ family members, Reverend Franklin Graham, author Irshad Manji, Muslim comedian Aman Ali, a Black-American Muslim environmentalist Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, Daisy Khan and the eternally-dreamy Reza Aslan.

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Filed Under: News, Television Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Rima Fakih and the Issue of Muslim Heritage

June 16, 2010 By Guest Contributor

This post was written by Margari Aziza Hill and originally published at her website.

It’s taken me a while to make a statement on the Rima Fakih’s win. Out of the many reasons why, the one that stands out the most is that American Muslims tend to condemn non-practicing Muslims. Although the numbers of practicing Muslims is lower than we’d like to admit, many American Muslims are not willing to admit that a woman without hijab also has a place in our community. And often, they can represent our community in different ways, then say a practicing Muslim women who wear full hijab and doesn’t mix with men.

From Mis-Represented to Miss USA: Muslims Applaud Rima Fakih, 2010 Pageant Winner

Muslims in America woke up to some happy news today – the new Miss USA is Muslim! Rima Fakih of Dearborn, Michigan, is a Lebanese immigrant whose family celebrates both Muslim and Christian faiths, according to the Associated Press. Last night, she made history by winning the Miss USA 2010 crown.

“What a breath of fresh air for the Arab American community, to have Rima Fakih named Miss USA 2010,” said Linda Sarsour, Director of the Arab American Association of New York, to elan. “This is only a testament that Arab and Muslim American women too are strong, intelligent, beautiful and competitive.”

“This is historic,” said Imad Hamad, regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee to the Detroit Free Press. “This shows the greatness of America, how everyone can have a chance to make it.”

So many people were obsessed about Rima as a new Muslim celebrity who could open up discussions about Islam. But I wonder why the Arab community never backed some prominent women in the media who also have Muslim heritage.

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Filed Under: Culture/Society Tagged With: ,
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