US Muslims Decry "24" Nuke Plot

"The program's repeated association of acts of terrorism with Islam will only serve to increase anti-Muslim prejudice in our society," said the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in a statement obtained by IslamOnline.net Friday, January19 .

The new thriller of the award-winning series portrays a nuclear plot by Muslim extremists.

The pulse-pounding drama begins with Muslim "terrorists" waging an11 -week campaign of suicide bombings across the United States.

The series culminates with the detonation of a suitcase-sized nuclear bomb in Valencia, Calif., about 26 miles north of Los Angeles, leaving12 , 000people dead.

"The overwhelming impression you get is fear and hatred for Muslims," said CAIR spokeswoman Rabiah Ahmed.

"When people don't have access at work or have neighbors who are Muslim, they rely on the images they see on television to shape their perceptions."

"They won't be able to distinguish peaceful, law-abiding American Muslims and the minority who act against our faith and commit acts of terror," she added.

Future episode of the thriller drama will depict American officials rounding up Muslims and putting them in internment camps.

The drama is produced by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of billionaire Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.

Shocking

The '24' premier season has sparked furor among ordinary American Muslims.

"I was shocked," Sohail Mohammed, a New Jersey immigration lawyer, told the Associated Press (AP).

"Somewhere, some lunatic out there watching this will do something to an innocent American Muslim because he believes what he saw on TV," added Mohammed, who represented scores of detainees caught up in the post9 / 11dragnet.

Rabiah Ahmed, a CAIR spokeswoman in Washington, agreed


"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.

She warned that the '24' drama risks to have a negative impact on the national debate over civil liberties

"The raw emotional impact of fictional scenes that include widespread death and destruction in America may adversely affect the public's attitude toward civil liberties, religious freedom and interfaith relations."

CAIR has raised similar concerns about "24" storylines in the past.

In response to the complaint two years ago, Fox aired a public service announcement featuring "24" star Kiefer Sutherland, urging viewers to avoid stereotyping Muslims.

Fox television network has also decided to remove some stereotypical aspects about American Muslims from its action drama thanks to immediate action from Muslim community leaders.

Campaign

Responding to the stereotyped image of Muslims, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has launched a campaign to encourage Muslims offended by the series to complain to Fox.

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