Professional wrestling: “Muslim” wrestlers get smackdown in wake of bombings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There's nothing like an Arab villain to rile up the crowds at professional wrestling matches. But the stereotypes of two particular wrestlers went too far.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/07\/muslim_wrestlers_get_smackdown_in_wake_of_bombings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Professional wrestling: “Muslim” wrestlers get smackdown in wake of bombings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There's nothing like an Arab villain to rile up the crowds at professional wrestling matches. But the stereotypes of two particular wrestlers went too far.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/07\/muslim_wrestlers_get_smackdown_in_wake_of_bombings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"altmuslim\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2005-07-29T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.altmuslim.com\/ee_images\/muhammad_hassan.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shahed Amanullah\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shahed Amanullah\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/07\/muslim_wrestlers_get_smackdown_in_wake_of_bombings\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/07\/muslim_wrestlers_get_smackdown_in_wake_of_bombings\/\",\"name\":\"Professional wrestling: “Muslim” wrestlers get smackdown in wake of bombings\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2005-07-29T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2005-07-29T00:00:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/0e0efbb645cc461c721083358f82f945\"},\"description\":\"There's nothing like an Arab villain to rile up the crowds at professional wrestling matches. But the stereotypes of two particular wrestlers went too far.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/07\/muslim_wrestlers_get_smackdown_in_wake_of_bombings\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/07\/muslim_wrestlers_get_smackdown_in_wake_of_bombings\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/07\/muslim_wrestlers_get_smackdown_in_wake_of_bombings\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Professional wrestling: “Muslim” wrestlers get smackdown in wake of bombings\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/\",\"name\":\"altmuslim\",\"description\":\"Global perspectives on Muslim life, politics & culture\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/0e0efbb645cc461c721083358f82f945\",\"name\":\"Shahed Amanullah\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6c9ebfb8c37dbc2e9865b291bbaeff08?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6c9ebfb8c37dbc2e9865b291bbaeff08?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Shahed Amanullah\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/author\/shahedamanullah\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Professional wrestling: “Muslim” wrestlers get smackdown in wake of bombings","description":"There's nothing like an Arab villain to rile up the crowds at professional wrestling matches. But the stereotypes of two particular wrestlers went too far.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/07\/muslim_wrestlers_get_smackdown_in_wake_of_bombings\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Professional wrestling: “Muslim” wrestlers get smackdown in wake of bombings","og_description":"There's nothing like an Arab villain to rile up the crowds at professional wrestling matches. But the stereotypes of two particular wrestlers went too far.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/07\/muslim_wrestlers_get_smackdown_in_wake_of_bombings\/","og_site_name":"altmuslim","article_published_time":"2005-07-29T00:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.altmuslim.com\/ee_images\/muhammad_hassan.jpg"}],"author":"Shahed Amanullah","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Shahed Amanullah","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/07\/muslim_wrestlers_get_smackdown_in_wake_of_bombings\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/07\/muslim_wrestlers_get_smackdown_in_wake_of_bombings\/","name":"Professional wrestling: “Muslim” wrestlers get smackdown in wake of bombings","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website"},"datePublished":"2005-07-29T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2005-07-29T00:00:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/0e0efbb645cc461c721083358f82f945"},"description":"There's nothing like an Arab villain to rile up the crowds at professional wrestling matches. But the stereotypes of two particular wrestlers went too far.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/07\/muslim_wrestlers_get_smackdown_in_wake_of_bombings\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/07\/muslim_wrestlers_get_smackdown_in_wake_of_bombings\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2005\/07\/muslim_wrestlers_get_smackdown_in_wake_of_bombings\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Professional wrestling: “Muslim” wrestlers get smackdown in wake of bombings"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/","name":"altmuslim","description":"Global perspectives on Muslim life, politics & culture","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/0e0efbb645cc461c721083358f82f945","name":"Shahed Amanullah","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6c9ebfb8c37dbc2e9865b291bbaeff08?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6c9ebfb8c37dbc2e9865b291bbaeff08?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Shahed Amanullah"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/author\/shahedamanullah\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/530"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1998\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Profile this!<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

The world of professional wrestling, which in the US ceased being a \u201csport\u201d long ago in favor of entertaining the masses with soap opera-like story lines and theatrical fake violence, has long depended on \u201cheels\u201d (i.e. villains) to rile up the crowds. And there\u2019s nothing like a Muslim or Arab villain to stoke nationalistic fervor in times of trouble. Like the Iron Sheik<\/a>, Abdullah the Butcher<\/a>, and the Original Sheik<\/a> before, wrestling giant WWE<\/a> couldn\u2019t resist bringing two Muslim wrestlers to the SmackDown!<\/a> arena, just as things in Iraq were getting depressing. <\/p>\n

The official story line surrounding Muhammad Hassan<\/a> (real name: Mark Copani, born in Jordan to an Arab mother and Italian father) and Shawn Daivari<\/a> (born in Tehran; yells in Farsi at the crowd) sounded promising: they were upset<\/a> at anti-Muslim prejudice and racial profiling following the attacks of 9\/11 and wanted to get even with the bigots. <\/p>\n

However, WWE pushed the stereotypes too far, adding<\/a> a Muslim fanatic\/terrorist angle at the last minute (including references to suicide bombing, beheading, etc.) that unfortunately coincided with the London terror attacks. \u201cThe character deals with a very sensitive issue,\u201d said<\/a> Siwar Bandar, a spokeswoman for the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. \u201cHowever, he does so in a context that is violent, that is turning his back on America.\u201d With Arab and Muslim groups complaining<\/a> about the stereotypes, as well as others who chafed at the terrorist imagery, the characters were pulled<\/a> last week. <\/p>\n

Along with the stereotypes, however, went<\/a> highly visible Arab\/Muslim characters that made their case to a segment of the American populace that desperately needed to hear it. \u201cBecause we are of Arab descent, we are singled out, we are humiliated and often we are strip-searched because my name is Muhammad,\u201d growls<\/a> Hassan. \u201cWe are Arab-Americans\u2026 and we demand the same rights that any American has!\u201d Hassan<\/a> and Daivari<\/a> constantly used their microphones to decry racial profiling, tout the loyalty of Arab-Americans, and challenge racists, and judging by the reaction<\/a> of fans to their demise, at least some got the message. \u201cI am not a Muslim, but I agree with every point they made,\u201d writes<\/a> a disgruntled fan. \u201cI want to see them provoking the ill-educated American public and more than anything else, entertaining me\u2026 They will be sadly missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/p>\n

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"