However, the “background and expert sources” they claim to provide prove sadly lacking; though lengthy and exhaustive-looking, it reads as the result of Google searching and Amazon browsing rather than an actual, knowledgeable resource. Their list of recommended books leaves out any title that isn’t Judeo-Christian, and, similarly, their article list includes one mention of Islam in regards to coverage of The 99; likewise, their manifest of three dozen experts seems to only include one focusing on Arabs (the esteemed Fedwa Malti-Douglas) and one on occult practices (the weirdly unattributed Christopher Knowles). They even get Professor Malti-Douglas’s URL wrong!
But it’s easy to criticize. What else should have been there? Well… Continue reading
What is clear is that Muslims on the comics pages confront the conundrum of their flesh-and-blood counterparts: their community views them with suspicion. Lewis says non-Muslim heroes wonder, “Can they truly represent the American way? Could they really be on our side? When Dust joins the X-Men, these persecuted American mutants don’t really know if they can trust her. The comic book creators can have it both ways. They can present an altruistic Muslim hero, but also reflect the Islamophobia.”
Wow! So in Lewis’s narrow vision, the Copts of Egypt aren’t victimized, nor are the French, the Israelis, the Sudanese Christians, or even the Armenians during WW1, when the Islamic-led Ottoman Empire of Turkey slaughtered at least a million Armenians. Nor, I suppose, was Lara Logan when she was gang raped in Egypt back in February. What a most utter ignoramus. I guess he hasn’t ever read the Koran either.
Green suggests The 99 as one example of Muslim superheroes Lewis may have been trying to sidestep: “Lewis chose to put his head in the sand.” Meanwhile, that series was being featured elsewhere online, as part of The National‘s coverage of DC Comics’ recent publishing shift. Shot in February, the video focuses on The 99‘s creator Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa discussing the multi-national and inter-religious basis for the series in addition to its Islamic roots.
New cover but old solicitation.
Coincidentally, DC’s position on Muslim characters was challenged in a different way this month with the resolicitation of Superman #712. ComicBookResources.com reports that the issue was originally supposed to feature Superman teaming up with the Muslim hero Sharif (formerly Sinbad), but it had been replaced with a story of Krypto the Super-dog. ComicBook.com notes that “the change was apparently so last minute by DC Comics that the DC Comics website still shows the old content description for Superman #712 with the new Krytpo the Superdog cover image for Superman #712.” ComicBookMovie.com has opened a poll to ask readers whether the decision was a wise move or not.
Lastly, in separate but not unrelated news, PR Newswire announced the new series Buraaq from Split Moon Arts. The title character is “a practicing Muslim, a regular guy who is turned into a superhero by traumatic events in his youth. According to SplitMoonArts, the mission is not to preach, but to provide wholesome family entertainment. The underlying message, they say, would help foster better relations between the West and the Islamic World.” Whether this is, as the PR Newswire headline reports, the first Muslim superhero is doubtful, but that claim does not seem to originate with SplitMoonArts itself.