Actors Paula Patton and Kiefer Sutherland are investigators in the television drama 24, one of the programmes that receives guidance from the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Actors Paula Patton and Kiefer Sutherland are investigators in the television drama 24, one of the programmes that receives guidance from the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Actors Paula Patton and Kiefer Sutherland are investigators in the television drama 24, one of the programmes that receives guidance from the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Actors Paula Patton and Kiefer Sutherland are investigators in the television drama 24, one of the programmes that receives guidance from the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

Why Muslims on American television are the real deal


  • English
  • Arabic

LOS ANGELES // When agent Jack Bauer hunts terrorists in the American TV drama 24, not all the Muslims he encounters are positive role models - but at least their characters are accurate. The credit for that goes to the Hollywood bureau of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), a non-profit group that works to shape public opinion about American Muslims. "Before we met the showrunner [who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a TV series], the show was not necessarily anti-Muslim, but it was not as accurate as it could be," said Suhad Obeidi, who runs MPAC's Hollywood bureau in Los Angeles. "By the end of the series' run, and after we had spoken with them, it had a recurring Muslim character."

Omar Hassan, played by the Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor, was president of the fictional Islamic Republic of Kamistan in 13 episodes of the show's eighth and final series, which has just been broadcast in the UAE. "What we want is accuracy, not necessarily a positive portrayal, although we would love it if all Muslim characters were positive," Ms Obeidi said. She said Hollywood has become better when it comes to avoiding stereotypes, although producers still made mistakes.

A common one, she said, is to depict Muslim characters who might be positive in some aspects but otherwise are "sell-out" playboys who drink alcohol. "Audiences then think there's a divide between being a good guy and a good Muslim," Ms Obeidi said. "This is not a normal situation for most Muslims." The Hollywood bureau has been consulted on a number of films and television series, from the 1999 movie The Three Kings, starring George Clooney, to the recent Prince of Persia: Sands of Time with Jake Gyllenhaal.

It does not try to interfere in the artistic process, but it will advise, for example, on how Muslims pray, or how different traditions exist in Muslim countries in the Middle East, South Asia or North Africa. Ms Obeidi, 46, was born in Jerusalem and lived in Amman before moving to the United States as a child with her parents. "America is my home, I was educated here, I was brought up here, I make my livelihood here," she said.

The Hollywood Bureau is just one of MPAC's many projects, all of which have the same goal: to ensure that American Muslims are fully integrated into US life both culturally and politically, Salam al Marayati, the organisation's president, said. Since he helped to found MPAC 24 years ago, staff from the organisation have become a regular fixture as commentators and analysts on US television news and in newspapers. It has built inter-faith partnerships, engaged with policymakers from its Washington office and helped to develop future leaders through such activities as its internship programme.

Mr al Marayati rejected accusations that he was promoting an "Americanised" form of Islam. The onus was on American Muslims to participate fully in civic life or risk remaining marginalised at best, or viewed as a threat by a growing number of non-Muslim Americans, he said. "Talk of halal meat is trivia. American Muslims spend more on mosques and cemeteries than on institutions designed to secure policies for our future," he said.

MPAC's annual budget is only around $1.3 million (Dh4.8m) compared with the multimillion-dollar resources commanded by groups such as the Christian Coalition or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, he pointed out. "If we look to communities who are influential in this country, they do allocate resources to secure their rights," he said. "We are now part of this great American civilisation and how we contribute to it is a major question for Muslims today."

Mr al Marayati, 49, moved from Iraq with his family when he was three. He originally trained as an engineer before realising he did not want to work in that profession, preferring instead to work in civil society. A devout Muslim, he quotes extensively from the Quran in his conversation and he described his mosque, which serves both Sunni and Shiite Muslims as "sushi". "To us, the Sunni/Shia divide happened after the death of the Prophet and came from a historical and political context that's irrelevant to our aspirations and challenges as Muslims today."

Soon after the Fort Hood shooting in November, in which a Muslim is accused of killing 13 people, Mr al Marayati wrote an opinion piece for TheWall Street Journal saying the US army major should repent his actions and needed "religious consultation that could help him see the enormity of his situation when he meets his Creator". Mr al Marayati's denunciation of terrorism and his call to fight extremism in mosques, community centres and youth associations across the United States was subsequently praised in evidence given to the Senate homeland security committee.

Mr al Marayati said he was driven by the Islamic obligation to contribute to civilisation and to oppose anything harmful to society. "I would like to see the point in America when Jewish and Christian extremists are seen the same as Muslim extremists," he said. "To do good, that's the message of Islam in essence." @Email:sdevi@thenational.ae

Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters

The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.

 Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.

A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.

The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.

The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.

Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.

Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment

But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.

The BIO

Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.

Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.

Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.

Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.

Final round

25 under -  Antoine Rozner (FRA)

23 - Francesco Laporta (ITA), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG)

21 - Grant Forrest (SCO)

20 - Ross Fisher (ENG)

19 - Steven Brown (ENG), Joakim Lagergren (SWE), Niklas Lemke (SWE), Marc Warren (SCO), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKinetic%207%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rick%20Parish%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clean%20cooking%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%20Supercharged%203.5-litre%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20400hp%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20430Nm%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh450%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY

Starting at 10am:

Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang

Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)

Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)

Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera 

Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
57%20Seconds
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rusty%20Cundieff%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJosh%20Hutcherson%2C%20Morgan%20Freeman%2C%20Greg%20Germann%2C%20Lovie%20Simone%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Fixtures and results:

Wed, Aug 29:

  • Malaysia bt Hong Kong by 3 wickets
  • Oman bt Nepal by 7 wickets
  • UAE bt Singapore by 215 runs

Thu, Aug 30: 

  • UAE bt Nepal by 78 runs
  • Hong Kong bt Singapore by 5 wickets
  • Oman bt Malaysia by 2 wickets

Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal

Sun, Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman; Malaysia v UAE; Nepal v Singapore

Tue, Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore; UAE v Oman; Nepal v Hong Kong

Thu, Sep 6: Final

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

WITHIN%20SAND
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Moe%20Alatawi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Ra%E2%80%99ed%20Alshammari%2C%20Adwa%20Fahd%2C%20Muhand%20Alsaleh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

The specs

Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder

Power: 70bhp

Torque: 66Nm

Transmission: four-speed manual

Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000

On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970