Islam in Western Cinema, Part 4

I write this piece as French authorities have been forcing Muslim women at the beach to disrobe from their burkinis, in public. Already the French had banned women from wearing the hijab from government institutions and the face-veil niqab in any public space, and now French officers physically force Muslim women to remove their bathing suits. As we saw in the previous parts of this series, the vast majority of depictions of Islam and Muslims are of the exotic brute or the legions of warmongers, where violence is the default, not the anomaly. And, while some are well-intentioned depictions of soft, pious Muslims, they still fall into the trap of Western-centric framings, where Islam is a problem. Considering the scenario in France—which, to be fair, has had multiple terrorist attacks with scores of deaths—we see a vicious circle in which these stereotypes provide fuel for institutionalized subjugation which reinforce the stereotypes. Thus, the concern of this series is not merely to have good depictions of Muslims, but to put a wedge in that vicious circle to prevent subjugations and micro-aggressions against Muslims. Is it possible, then, to have a good depiction of Muslims in cinema with or without projecting stereotypes?

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