• Muslim superhero comics meet resistance in U.S.
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[video=youtube;_b19h6q_EpE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b19h6q_EpE&feature=player_embedded[/video] [URL="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/05/muslim-superhero-comic-series-meets-resistance-in-u-s"]CNN[/URL] [release] [B]Washington (CNN) - [/B]Naif Al-Mutawa anticipated a struggle when he launched an Islam-inspired comic book series that he hoped would become a symbol of toleration. He worried about the comics being banned in Saudi Arabia - which wound up happening, briefly – and he expected to be challenged by conservatives in Islam, since Al-Mutawa wanted to buck the trend of Islamic culture being directly tied to the Koran. But it wasn’t an Islamic cleric that stalled the series, called “The 99,” after the 99 attributes of Allah, which the superheroes are supposed to embody. It is the American market, and the voices of Islam’s Western critics, that have caused the most problems for “The 99,” says Al-Mutawa, who is the focus of a PBS documentary airing next week. In 2010, President Barack Obama called the comic books, which debuted in 2006, “the most innovative response” to America’s expanding dialogue with the Muslim world, which Obama has encouraged. The series features 99 superheroes from across the globe who team up to combat villains and who embody what Al-Mutawa calls basic human values like trust and generosity. But Al-Mutawa, a Kuwaiti-born clinical psychologist and graduate of Columbia Business School, says a vocal minority have raised surprising questions about American tolerance of Islam. [B]Meeting resistance[/B] The idea for “The 99” started during a conversation in a London cab between Al-Mutawa and his sister. It took off, although slowly, after Al-Mutawa raised $7 million from 54 investors across four continents. The first issue was released during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in 2006. The comic book was quickly banned in Saudi Arabia and Al-Mutawa received threats of fatwas against him and his project from clerics. But Saudi Arabia eventually lifted the ban and the television adaptation of “The 99” will be aired there this year. Al-Mutawa and his team have now raised more than $40 million in venture capital for the project. But when word leaked that The Hub, a Discovery Channel cable and satellite television venture, purchased the series and planned to air it in the United States, the response from conservative bloggers and authors was swift. [B]A burqa-wearing superhero?[/B] Pamela Geller, founder of the Atlas Shrugs blog, called the series, part of the “ongoing onslaught of cultural jihad,” and created a counter-comic strip that made the 19 hijackers behind the September 11, 2001 attacks the superheroes. New York Post columnist Andrea Peyser, meanwhile, urged readers to “Hide your face and grab the kids. Coming soon to a TV in your child’s bedroom is a posse of righteous, Sharia-compliant Muslim superheroes - including one who fights crime hidden head-to-toe by a burqa.” According to Al-Mutawa, the criticism spooked The Hub. “All of a sudden we couldn't get an airdate and I was asked to be patient and we have been,” Al-Mutawa said. “But it has been a year and the actual push-back died down.” Mark Kern, Senior Vice President of Communication for The Hub, told CNN that “‘The 99’ is one of the many shows we have on the possible schedule, but at this time, no decisions have been made about scheduling.” Al-Mutawa isn’t shy about responding to the criticism his comics have received in the U.S. “There is nothing different from them and the extremists in my country,” he says. “They are just as bad. They are just intellectual terrorists.” Geller, author of the book “Stop the Islamization of America,” called Al-Mutawa’s statement “ridiculous victimhood rhetoric.” “He is the one mainstreaming oppression and discrimination,” Geller says. “I work for equality of rights for all people. So which one of us is the intellectual terrorist?” Geller also takes issue with Al-Mutawa’s assertion that “The 99” exemplifies “moderation” and “toleration,” pointing to a “burqa-wearing superhero.” But Al-Mutawa says criticisms of burqas are evidence that, “for some people anything to do with Islam is bad.” “How cliché is it that characters created to promote tolerance are getting shot down by extremists,” he says. [B]Chronicling the ordeal[/B] Al-Mutawa’s frustrations are chronicled in the new documentary “Wham! Bam! Islam!,” which will air on PBS on October 13 as part of the Independent Lens series. The film’s director, Isaac Solotaroff, began shooting before the comic was released. He said that one of the most surprising aspects of the story is how “a very small group of people who scream very loud, have a disproportionate share of the public discourse when it comes to culture.” Echoing Al-Mutawa, Solotaroff calls it a case of the tail wagging the dog. He says that initial concerns of censorship in the Middle East began to change as the project progressed. “We were waiting for a fatwa from a cleric in Saudi Arabia, Solotaroff says,” when it ended up being the U.S. market that has been resistant to “The 99.” “Realizing that The 99 will not survive if focused solely on the Middle East, Al-Mutawa must now target an international and predominantly non-Muslim market,” reads the website for “Wham! Bam! Islam!” Citing The Hub holdup, Solotaroff says the project is now stuck in the most important market” for “The 99.” Al-Mutawa is also trying to gain distribution for his TV series in France and other countries, but his main focus remains the United States. “One way or the other,” he says, “‘The 99’ will get on air in the U.S.”[/release] Seems like a really fresh new idea to me, I hope they get into the united states proper.
So does he like save the day by blowing himself up? Cool concept though, has a good art style.
[QUOTE=dark soul;32664056]So does he like save the day by blowing himself up?[/QUOTE] That's extremely insensitive and really stereotypical. [editline]a[/editline] Quoting so people know how much of a cunt you're before you snip. [editline]a[/editline] I love how the only response you guys seem to have is "You wouldn't say that if it were X religion!" Fuck you, you wouldn't know what I would do. Even so, that doesn't make it right.
You know not all Muslim are radical terrorist. And not all radical terrorist are Muslim. There is something wrong with the western media nowadays. A Muslim superhero is not a new idea. There's a lot of cartoon super hero who are Muslim and they can all be seen and heard here in Malaysia. But this one is supposedly teach people to learn tolerance and live in harmony.
[QUOTE=dark soul;32664056]So does he like save the day by blowing himself up?[/QUOTE] ok we got the muslim flame debate jumpstarted, whats left on the checklist in muslim threads? anyways, who cares if the hero is muslim, who cares what religion a hero believes in, it's a super hero and as far as im concerned super heroes are awesome
[QUOTE=BCell;32664151]You know not all muslim are radical terrorist. And not all radical terrorist are muslim. There is something wrong with the western media nowadays. A muslim superhero is not a new idea. There's a lot of cartoon super hero who are muslims and they can all be seen and heard here in Malaysia. But this one is supposedly teach people to learn tolerance and live in harmony.[/QUOTE] In american media it is rather rare though. There was a big brouhaha over the french muslim batman a while ago.
It seems to me that this guy is trying his best to inspire children in his country not to go down the terrorizing route, instead go down what the islamic faith route of peace by kicking ass. Faith is a thing that should bring peace even though it has brought so much war in the past
[QUOTE=dark soul;32664056]So does he like save the day by blowing himself up? Cool concept though, has a good art style.[/QUOTE] He can blow himself up more than once. I am now a douche. This does however seem new and fresh.
[QUOTE=Jelly;32664139]That's extremely insensitive and really stereotypical. [editline]a[/editline] Quoting so people know how much of a cunt you're before you snip.[/QUOTE] Don't worry I wont snip it, I have no need to. I find it funny that if this was some other X religion hero and I made a joke about,people would just turn a blind eye to it.
[QUOTE=dark soul;32664450]Don't worry I wont snip it, I have no need to. I find it funny that if this was some other X religion hero and I made a joke about,people would just turn a blind eye to it.[/QUOTE] Well if it's something like this [IMG]http://s3-ak.buzzfed.com/static/imagebuzz/web05/2011/10/5/4/spiderman-saves-jesus-31946-1317802863-0.jpg[/IMG] I think it deserves it
Stay classy America
What about Alladin and Ali-Baba? [editline]7th October 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Seriousshakey;32664369]It seems to me that this guy is trying his best to inspire children in his country not to go down the terrorizing route, instead go down what the islamic faith route of peace by kicking ass. Faith is a thing that should bring peace even though it has brought so much war in the past[/QUOTE] No such thing as a "terrorizing route". You sound like you think 1 in 10 Muslims is a terrorist.
[QUOTE=dark soul;32664056]So does he like save the day by blowing himself up? Cool concept though, has a good art style.[/QUOTE] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsClCKVcofM&list=FLDxyT0XsuVJ5ExEQVKbfSKw&index=1[/media]
[QUOTE=dark soul;32664056]So does he like save the day by blowing himself up? Cool concept though, has a good art style.[/QUOTE] eat a horse dildo
[QUOTE=Altrien;32664807]eat a horse dildo[/QUOTE]What would a horse do with a Dildo? They don't have hands!
[QUOTE=Mingebox;32664855]What would a horse do with a Dildo? They don't have hands![/QUOTE] a dildo shaped like a horse dick
[QUOTE=Wii60;32664152]ok we got the muslim flame debate jumpstarted, whats left on the checklist in muslim threads? anyways, who cares if the hero is muslim, who cares what religion a hero believes in, it's a super hero and as far as im concerned super heroes are awesome[/QUOTE]I guess it's just that for example they represent some things that lots Americans in general don't agree with such as the wearing of burkas, and having a superhero wearing a burka (if I read correctly) isn't exactly something most would love.
I want a Muslim superhero that looks like he literally fell out of the 13th century and decided to fight crime in modern day society. He has a scimitar of justice and obligatory hawk/osprey as all Middle-Easterners have in every fucking movie ever. (The Mummy, Hidalgo, you get my drift)
[QUOTE=Altrien;32664807]eat a horse dildo[/QUOTE] Pff, dragon dildos are where it's at.
[QUOTE=JumpinJackFlash;32664985]I want a Muslim superhero that looks like he literally fell out of the 13th century and decided to fight crime in modern day society. He has a scimitar of justice and obligatory hawk/osprey as all Middle-Easterners have in every fucking movie ever. (The Mummy, Hidalgo, you get my drift)[/QUOTE] Would his arch-nemesis be a crusader? :dance:
[QUOTE=Bombardier.;32665265]Would his arch-nemesis be a crusader? :dance:[/QUOTE]No, his arch-nemesis would be... Well this is comic books we're talking about. His arch-nemesis comes from space. Spreading space-Islam. Oh and wants to enslave humanity. Also kills kittens. Muslim kittens. Sounds like a legit plot to me.
[QUOTE=JumpinJackFlash;32665288]No, his arch-nemesis would be... Well this is comic books we're talking about. His arch-nemesis comes from space. Spreading space-Islam. Oh and wants to enslave humanity. Also kills kittens. Muslim kittens. Sounds like a legit plot to me.[/QUOTE] Muslim Kittens, oh god that's rich :v:
If someone was resisting a Christian superhero comic, everyone here would be praising them. Just saying. Besides it sounds like it's just some small group, not the general public here and there's always going to be some group of douchebags like this everywhere.
[QUOTE=dark soul;32664056]So does he like save the day by blowing himself up? Cool concept though, has a good art style.[/QUOTE] Get out.
[QUOTE=Meller Yeller;32668707]If someone was resisting a Christian superhero comic, everyone here would be praising them. Just saying.[/QUOTE] and so what?
Why does Islam have to be different? i mean comic books nowadays adapt and take things from many different religious backgrounds to which you don't see any offended body, so why does Islam have a problem with it? it pisses me off so much because i completely understand and agree with what this man is trying to do. my message to the people who disagree with what the man's doing is simple, "get with the modern times you back dated jerkoff!"
Wow, a burqa wearing superhero is causing an uproar? Well, shit, have they heard of [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_%28comics%29"]Dust[/URL]? I don't get why this is such a big issue for those other people. This is a good way for Islam to be portrayed in a good light against the radicals that are so popular to the world. It sounds like this has the potential to be just as good as any other comic franchise. Not to mention, it shows future generations (of the US and Middle-East alike) that Islam is not all about Jihads and terrorist as the media draws you to believe. You have a team of superheroes with a strict code of conduct based on Islamist values as opposed to the themes of every comic book hero (but not dissimilar). Not to mention, if the creators were to work with other comic book makers they could have interesting cross-overs expanding the super-hero world beyond the US and into a region like the Middle-East. Personally, I am very interested in this idea simply because it is all new. We've got the brand-spanking-fresh new ideas and people are trying to quell it because of political paranoia and ignorant presumtions. I also await the animated series if it were to ever come about.
Negative attitudes towards islam are leftovers from when people stil thought fox news was credible and totally not spewing propaganda to fuel the beginning middle-eastern conflict.
[QUOTE=thisispain;32668747]and so what?[/QUOTE] So I'm just pointing out how hypocritical FP is If the religion is Christianity then most of FP is all for bashing it but if it's any other religion they go off about any intolerance towards it.
well I don't know about you but I've seen much more discrimination against Muslims in america than Christians in america
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