USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative released a study on Muslim portrayals in the media Sept. 1, and the results argued for a resounding need for improving the inclusion and diversity of Muslim representation, the study’s author said.
The global think tank, which studies issues of inequality in entertainment, found that across 200 popular TV series from 2018-2019, Muslims account for 98 of 8,885 speaking characters on TV, a mere 1.1%, the study found. Muslims make up 24.9% of the world population. The data set is from 2018 and 2019, long before Disney released “Ms. Marvel,” which received wide acclaim for its depiction of Muslim characters in a positive light.
“Growing up Muslim in America, especially around the time where my family and I came very close to what happened around 9/11, it really made me understand more about the importance of storytelling and the responsibility and the influence it has to shape a lot of our perceptions of each other and the way we interact with the world,” said Al-Baab Kahn, who is one of the lead researchers for the Inclusion Initiative.
The study, titled “Erased or Extremists: The Stereotypical View Of Muslims in Popular Episodic Series,” provided extensive research on 200 of the top television series that were popular in four countries from 2018-2019, which were the United States, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand.
“There’s just no excuse for it. It’s the idea that our voices are already so small in these industries. There’s just one narrative that’s constantly being pushed about Muslim women or Muslims in general that it’s getting so frustrating,” said Shania Jafri, a senior neuroscience major and Muslim Student Union member.
The repercussions of portraying a group in this way on screen are fatal, the study argues.
“By presenting Muslims as villains, including as victims of justified violence, real-world aggression against this community, especially from government entities, can become sanctioned,” the paper states.
In 2020 alone, the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights reported that 126 instances of hate crimes in the U.S. were motivated by anti-Muslim ideology or sentiment.
But Khan says there are solutions to these problems.
“Advocate for the people that can be behind the camera, that can really drive that change…But also audiences, you guys, can help drive that change as well. So honestly, it’s just keep fighting, keep working hard,” she said.
Khan also says that audiences should think critically about what they’re watching, as well as the kind of stories they’re telling.
“What does it mean to be inclusive on screen? What does it mean to have stories that can transcend across different communities or even be focused on one?”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story did not include information about more recent representation of Muslims beyond the report’s data set, which was from 2018 to 2019.