South Park's 200th and 201st episodes and its controversy surrounding the depiction of Mohammed and its censor bleeps bring into light the complex nature of Islam and the representation of Muslims in the mainstream media. It is complex because Islam is perhaps one of the most misunderstood major religions and have often been perceived in an negative light by the mainstream media.

But the simple truth of the matter is that things that are often misunderstood have a very bad habit of being portrayed negatively and if anything, this is a very human reaction. What we don't know quite often scares the living crap out of us and from this fear, we are at our most irrational. When Mohammed was portrayed as a bear mascot on South Park's 200th episode, a radical Islam faction not so subtly declared that the creators of the show should watch out or else they would end up like Theo Van Gogh. The mainstream media immediately picked this up and people saw this as a confirmation in their minds that whoever criticizes or makes fun of Islam will surely receive a cruel fate. We see Muslims often portrayed as violent angry mobs who tear up the streets and as terrorists who want nothing but to shed American blood. But rarely, do we ever see Muslims in a positive light that portray them as normal everyday human beings. 

Hmm. This sounds a lot like the case with Asian Americans.

It is unfortunate that most people think Muslims are the type that immediately resort to violence when an insensitive portrayal of Mohammed or Islam is shown, because that is not the case. The ones who do such destructive things are only a fraction of the Muslim population and does not represent ALL of Islam. There are many moderate Muslims who completely disagree with what the radical factions are doing. Not ALL Muslims are inherently violent and incapable of love. Yet within those who disagree, there are only a few that actually vocalize this and the silence within the community only makes the rest of the non-Muslim population believe that Muslims are a group of people that needs to be monitored. The silence to speak out against the radical factions hurt the Muslim community.

Huh. This also sounds a lot like the case with Asian Americans.

Blogger Bilal El-Houri noted that his advice to Muslims is to “appreciate free speech”. He urges that Muslims must use its tools to debunk the misconceptions that exist around the world about Islam and showcase the peaceful side of their religion instead of reacting to what others publish or broadcast. That when radical factions make death threats, the Muslims who aren't radicals (which is a good majority) should speak out and show what Islam truly is all about.

When the world defines who we are in ways that do not represent us truthfully, it is our responsibility to speak up and have our voices heard. In this situation, unlike the movie theaters, silence is NOT golden.