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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT "THE SIEGE"
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What are your concerns about this movie?
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We are not protesting the movie. Members of the Muslim community who have screened the movieexpressed concerns that it unfairly links ordinary Islamic religious practices to Islam.
Our concerns: 1) This film links Islamic religious practices such as prayer, the ritual washing prior to prayer, the call to prayer, and Quranic recitation with terrorism. Muslims requested months ago that these references be removed. This request was refused. 2) Stereotypes are introduced and reinforced, but left almost completely unchallenged. The film's real challenge is to the army's unconstitutional overreaction to acts of violence. 3) The trustworthiness and peaceful intentions of the American Muslim and Arab-American communities are made suspect by the film's plot line. Despite some positive content in this film, many of those who see it will view the next Muslim or Arab they meet with increased suspicion and hostility. This informational leafleting is designed to raise public awareness of the negative impact stereotyping has on ordinary Muslims.
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Has 20th Century Fox responded to your concerns? |
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Leaders of a national Islamic organization met with the film's producers to discuss their concerns. Several Muslim and Arab-American organizations also attended a prerelease screening of the film Minor changes were made to certain scenes and to the trailer, but the plot line linking the faith of Islam to terrorism remained the same.
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Have Muslims and Arabs been stereotyped in the past? |
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Movie and television producers have historically portrayed Muslims and Arabs as one of the three Be"" - billionaires, bombers or belly dancers. The seductive Arab/Muslim "Sheik" of Rudolph Valentino's day became the greedy, oil-rich "Sheik" of the '70s and '80s. Today's "Sheik" has been transformed into a wild-eyed "fundamentalist" terrorist leader. None of these portrayals comes close m describing the rich mosaic of Islamic and Arab culture. (See Dr. Jack Shaheen's book, "Arab and Muslim stereotyping in American Popular Culture," available by calling 202-687-8375.)
Americans have not been subjected to movie images of Serbs holding the Bible in one hand as they massacre women and children in Kosovo. We are not shown, and should not be shown, caricatures of Jewish settlers holding the Torah as they gun down Muslim worshipers in the Occupied Territories. Why are Muslims the only religious group that must suffer this type of stereotypical generalization ?
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How does stereotyping affect the Muslim and Arab-American community?
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Muslims and Arabs are routinely discriminated against in American society. Co- workers, comedians and radio talk show hosts tell jokes about "camel jockeys" and "towel heads." Muslim and Arab children are forced to read schoolbooks denigrating their culture and religion. Newspapers use pejorative terms such as "fundamentalist" and "extremist" to describe practicing Muslims. Scarves are pulled off Muslim schoolgirls and many "Muhammeds" and "Nabils" are forced by societal pressure to become "Mo" and "Bill." Muslim women who wear a head scarf are routinely discriminated against in the workplace.
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