Why would the same not be true today? Television and movies occupy an important place in American culture, serving as dominant influences on the way people think and behave, determining the habitus. Even excluding the 1,300-year archive of Muslim monsters exposed on the pages of this book, when we focus only on contemporary representations, a bleak picture emerges. Since 9/11, Muslim men, a group historically maligned in American cinema, became even more vilified. Showtime's Homeland series, a critical and popular success that has garnered numerous accolades and awards, features Muslim characters so sinister and cruel that they are almost ridiculous.

Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imag…, loc. 749