'Homeland' debuted in 2011 and raised the dramatic bar considerably. 'So every time we go onstage, we say, 'OK, here's our 15 minutes to really tell the people we're talking to who we are and what we're about.'' 'There's a part of us that does comedy because we're angry at several things, not only some of the policies of our government, but the way we're portrayed in the world,' Ahmed Ahmed, an Egyptian-American comedian, said in a 2007 Sun interview. More daring in its assault on stereotypes, but less widely known, was Comedy Central's 'Axis of Evil' show and tour featuring Arab and Muslim-American comedians. 'Sleeper Cell' lasted for 18 episodes in two seasons, which is not a bad run in premium cable. Al-Hakim was a multi-layered, complex character, and the series included Muslim writers on staff. And it ran for 192 episodes in eight seasons.īut by 2005, Showtime was offering America's first Muslim hero in 'Sleeper Cell' with Darwyn Al-Hakim (Michael Ealy), a blue-eyed African-American Muslim who was a federal undercover agent. Some weeks, it seemed to be only about avenging that 2001 act of terrorism, as it reveled in the violence and torture Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) inflicted on Arabs, Muslims and anyone else identified with terrorism. It was by far the most one-dimensional and anti-Arab of the major TV productions. The post-9/11 history of Muslim and Arabs in entertainment television is mixed.įox's '24' debuted in November 2001, and spoke directly to the anger many Americans were feeling in the raw aftermath of 9/11. But the big question is: What kind of impact is it having?' They've made an effort to avoid the blatant stereotypes.

'They have white characters as terrorists instead of always Arab and Muslim. 'There are other things writers and producers have done to make their characters more complex,' Alsultany said. Sherazi, whose Muslim garb initially triggered hostility in Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin), embodies both. The other character type often added 'is an innocent Arab-American who's been victimized by post-9/11 hate.'

Broken by Evelyn Alsultany