The Essay Plan..

POINTS TO DISCUSS

* define what a "Moderate Muslim" is.

Point 1 - Introduction to the show and characters. Focusing on the lead character, a Black Sunni Muslim, discussing stereotypes linked to black Muslims, mentioning the Nation of Islam & Five Percenters - how this character subverts stereotypes of not only Muslims but black Muslims.
Mention other characters who conform to the stereotyping such as Farik, and those that do not such as Zayd Abdal Malik.

Discuss a scene and how it relates to my thesis and is proving my point - (Zayd Abdal Malik preaching).

Point 2 - Social & Political Issues of the time - early 90s and the political issues - Mujahedeen - 9/11 etc. Could mention Nation of Islam etc., why Muslims have been subjected to such stereotyping, mention shows such as "24" and "Oz".

Point 3 - mention historical texts and how "Sleeper Cell" is different from them as well as how stereotyping has progressed. "A Son Of The Sahara", "Black Sunday". Why has stereotyping changed? Why were the stereotypes a certain way in the historical texts? Political & Social Issues.

Point 4 - Are stereotypes changing? Discuss controversy and backlash. "In The Name Of God" can be considered as a backlash at stereotyping as well as social attitudes towards Muslims in general, it is a joint production between America & Pakistani producers. Mention the lead character and the issues surrounding him etc. How does this film subvert stereotypes of Muslims? Lead character, his brother who rejects an extremist approach to Islam, main female character who eventually makes a school in Afghanistan.

Point 5 - Muslim Women stereotypes are subverted within this film - political/social issues.

Point 6 - channel 4 show "Britz" can be considered to enforce stereotypes further. Either an extremist or a "modern" Muslim provides an ultimatum for young British Muslims. Political/Social issues, Muslim youth turning more to Islam, surveys which show that Muslim youth believe they are being targeted/stereotyped etc.

Point 7 - Stereotypes are changing. Mention Darywn and Alim from the "Sleeper Cell". Moderate Muslims. "Sands of Passion" - how stereotypes of Muslims are now being mocked - shows a changing attitude towards Muslims.

Point 8 - "A Little Mosque on the Prairie" - Made by a Muslim woman. Proves my theory that Muslim stereotypes are changing, slowly. Overview of the show.
Characters such as Rayan - hijab wearing, feminist doctor, Babar - strict and religious but clearly the show is mocking the stereotype and it’s used for humour.

Conclusion - how Muslim roles within TV and film have progressed from the early 1920's till now. Sum up the reasons for the change in stereotyping.









PLAN

- Original stereotypes rooted from ignorance. People were unaware of Islam and its followers and the Middle East in general. Historical texts – “A Son of the Sahara” etc.

- Developments in the Middle East and the world in general lead to more knowledge of Islam; however the stereotype of terrorists began due to on going crises. Historical texts – “Back to the Future” etc.

- 9/11 occurred at which point pretty much all Muslims within the media where made to seem as terrorists. Actions of a few led to a harsh stereotype, once again ignorance led to people believing this to be a part of religion. Texts – “24” etc.

- Some texts began getting produced which showed terrorists yet introduced the “moderate Muslim”. It also provided the audience with reasons for the terrorist acts taking place as well as showing that it is only a few that support it and the majority of the followers of Islam condone such acts. Texts – “Sleeper Cell”, “Britz”, "In The Name of God" etc.

- The stereotypical Muslim is slowing beginning to change. A Muslim is no longer a “terrorist” or a religious fanatic. As more Muslims come into the media they are using there position to change the stereotype and some are completely subverting it and mocking the stereotypes associated with Islam and making a joke out of it for example Zarqa Nawaz who wrote “A Little Mosque on the Prairie”.

Historical Texts

Black Sunday (1977)

PLOT:

Michael Lander (Dern) is an American blimp pilot deranged by years of torture as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, a failed marriage, and a bitter court martial. He longs to commit suicide and take as many people as possible with him, so he conspires with an operative (Keller) from a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September to launch a massive suicide bombing on American soil. Lander plans to detonate a flechette-based bomb, housed on the underside of a blimp, over a football stadium during the Super Bowl. American and Israeli intelligence agencies, led by Mossad agent David Kabakov (Shaw) and FBI agent Sam Corley (Weaver), race to prevent the catastrophe. To add further intrigue and a pall of doom, the President of the United States attends the Super Bowl despite the pleas of Kabakov and Corley.

A Son of the Sahara (1924)

PLOT:

By 1924, sheik pictures were old hat, but director Edwin Carewe tried to add a little spice to this one by filming it on-location in the Sahara Desert. When Cassim's father is killed during an attack on a French fort, the boy (George Chebat) swears vengeance on Colonel Barbier (Montagu Love). He grows up to become known as Pierre Lamont (played by Bert Lytell), a polished young man with European manners. He falls in love with Barbara (Claire Windsor), who rejects him when she learns he is an Arab. Cassim discovers that Barbara is Barbier's daughter, so he carries out his oath by kidnapping the two of them, and their friend, Captain Duval (Walter McGrail). He sells Barbara as a slave, but then bids on her himself. When she refuses to marry him, he swears he will take her anyway. Duval escapes and fetches the French troops while Cassim finally admits that he loves Barbara too much to harm her. In the ensuing battle, Duval is mortally wounded, but before he dies, he hands Barbara a letter from Cassim's mother, explaining that he is not an Arab at all -- both of his parents were French. Cassim is pardoned, and he and Barbara are united.

"Instead of letting Islam transform us some Muslims are trying to transform Islam to serve their political agenda. They are using "Islam" to kill murder, innocent people"

Zayd Abdal Malik - Sleeper Cell

How has the role of the stereotypical Muslim changed especially after the events of 9/11?

Focusing on "The Sleeper Cell"

The media has always been a powerful device in providing media organisations with a source to filter their ideas through to the audiences, especially in times of crisis. A section of society which has felt this is Muslims and Arabs. This is visible in early texts such as A Son Of The Sahara (1924) which was described as "the strongest subconscious attack on the Arab culture of all the Arab movies of the 1920s."[1] , a time when there was a lack of understanding of the middle east and the Muslim faith that dominated the region. These types of attacks progressed into later decades and other films such as "Back To The Future (1985)" which made a reference to "Libyan terrorists" during a period where, the North African Muslim country, Libya was distancing itself from the West and was accused of state sponsored terrorist acts. This type of attack was not only in movies but also in the news, for example in 1995 the front cover of a British newspaper displayed a picture of a fireman carrying a dead baby with the headline reading "In the Name of Islam" following the Oklahoma bombings which were infact carried out by a Christian militant, Timothy Mc Veigh. This type of stereotyping was further fuelled by the attacks of September 11th, 2001, which lead to an increase in programming against the Muslim faith as well as Middle Easterns who were highly associated with the faith, for example the American TV series "24" which many times has feautured Muslims and Arabs as the main villians. This trend of Muslim stereotyping has caused much controversy within society as audiences have began to accept that all Muslims are terrorists sympathisers through such shows and Muslims believe they are being incorrectly targetted because of the actions of a few.

Not many programs show Muslims who are not associated with terrorism and when they are shown as terrorists there is no attempt to try and explain the reasons behind the terrorism instead they present the audience with the "bad guy" whose actions are supposedly a reflection of the faith he follows.

The American TV series "The Sleeper Cell" provides an insight in to a working terrorist sleeper cell also presenting reasons for such extreme behaviour and providing alternative moderate Muslims who are rarely shown within the media, with a lead Black Sunni Muslim, a moderate Muslim who is the head of intelligence in the government as well as Muslim women, who are often associated with stereotypes of there own, who are moderate and follow the true principles of the faith.

الله أكبر NATi0NAL GE0GRAPHiC ARTiCLE "ISLAM'S FAULTLiNE: PAKiSTAN"الله أكبر

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

This article discusses Pakistan and its current state of affairs. I thought this article could be helpful in my independent study as a section of it examines the rising extremism and the reasons behind it. The news constantly portrays Pakistan as a place where extremists come to train and learn in madrassas ( which is simply a religious school not an extremist school as often claimed to be), however this article reveals that it is not just Pakistani's behind all this but people from neighbouring countries who cross the border to spread their political agenda by using the label of Islam to attract innocent, and majority poor, Muslims to fight for their own cause by claiming it is for their religion. As well as the backlash at the puppet regime lead by Musharraf.

There are some interesting quotes within the article which could be useful as Pakistani politics is discussed within my main text. "Sleeper Cell", and is held as a reason behind some of these terrorists.




"Sixty years after its founding as a homeland for India's Muslims, Pakistan straddles the fault line between moderate and militant Islam. Its dilema is a cautionary tale for the post- 9/11 world."


"This is also where two conflicting forms of Islam meet: the relatively relaxed and tolerant Islam of India, versus the rigid fundamentalism of the Afghan frontier. .. The clash between moderates, and extremists in Pakistan today reflects this rift.. So when the earth trembles in Pakistan, the world pays attention."


"Meanwhile, six years after 9/11, the forces of Islamic radicalism are gaining strength and challenging Pakistan's moderate majority for the soul of the country."

"Pakistan's first leader, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and his brain trust of secular intellectuals... Their Pakistan was to be a model of how Islam, merged with democratic ideals, could embrace the modern world."

"He explains (Javed Ibrahim Paracha) what emboldens these young women to risk their lifes for Islam: "This government has lost all credibility," he says. "People look at Musharraf and they see a U.S puppet who's willing to delcare war on fellow Muslims to satisfy America. They also see his generals getting rich, while they're getting poorer every day. People are losing hope. Pakistan and its government are becoming two different things."

"A large majority of Pakistanis were, and remain, moderates."

"That all changed in December 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded neighboring Afghanistan, driving hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees - mainly conservative Pahtun tribesmen - across the border of Pakistan.. During the 1980s, as the mujahideen prevailed against the Soviets in Afghanistan, the winds of extremism blowing from the north-west began to chill all of Pakistan."

"Not all Pakistan madrassas today are fundamentalist or radical. Some are shoestring operations run by moderate clerics to meet the educational needs of the poor."

"Osama Bin Laden and other leaders of the Afghan jihad now moved freely in and out of northwestern Pakistan and its Federally Administered Tribal Areas."

"When the government fails them, people get angry, he says 'They lose faith in the system and look for alternatives. Think how easy it would be for the Islamists - or Taliban or Al Qaeda - to go to the brothers of this girl now and say, "What happened to you family is not justice. This man dishonoured your sister, he dishonoured your father and your family name. Join us and we will help you get justice. We will maek him pay." When citizens are denied their basic human rights, they become radicalised. When people are powerless, they are easily manipulated. This is what worries me the most."

"But they believe, as many here do, that Islam is under attack. By America, by the West, by India, by their own government."

الله أكبر BRiiTZ الله أكبر

"You are not innocent, OK? As long as you keep electing this government . . . as long as you sit on your hands while they pass these laws which you know are wrong, you are not innocent!"

الله أكبر self directed research الله أكبر

WEBSITES:

articles which will be useful:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/05/24/nxeno24.xml

http://www.al-bab.com/media/articles/poole0005.htm

http://www.lailalalami.com/blog/condor.html

www.islamaphobia-watch.com/islamaphobia-watch/2006/2/10/media-a-platform-for-riscrsk.html

http://www.islamiska.org/e/abub1.htm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=news/2006/09/10/nterr10.xml


Related to my texts:
http://www.cbc.ca/littlemosque/index.html

http://www.sho.com/site/sleepercell/home.do

EVALUATi0N

Attainment: 3
Theres definetly room for improvement.

Effort: 2
I think i have put effort into the independent blog study and have put relevent stuff up and researched other texts to study, generally i do think i put effort into my work.

Punctuality: 3
I've missed a few lessons this term and need to catch up on the work missed.

Submission and quality of homework: 2
I think i've handed in all homework on time and i do put effort into it for it to be quality work.

Ability to work independently: 2
I can work independently i just need to stop myself from getting distracted.

Quality of writing:2

Organisation of media folder:1
I have all my sheets from both teachers in order and organised.

Oral contributions to class: 3
I could contribute more.

Standard of module 5 blog: 1
I do put effort into the blog and complete all the work.

Standard of module 6 blog: 1
i have kept up to date with all the tasks set.


WWW:
1) independent study work, which i enjoy.
2) generally understanding and enjoying the course this year.
3)


EBI:
1) more media terminology in work.
2) more contribution in lessons.
3) more independent study.