The sitcom Community faired much better. The show focuses on community college students in Colorado. One of the students is Abed Nadir, a Palestinian American. Abed's social awkwardness and fixation with popular culture are central to his character, but, notably, his Muslim faith is not. He is an excellent example of a character that pushes beyond simplified complex representations and the practice of defining Muslim characters in relation to violence or terrorism.

DEFINE: Distinguishes Abed as moving 'beyond simplified complex representations' — a representational framework for evaluating Muslim characters in media. XREF: Connects to the broader argument about how minority characters are defined by identity markers versus being allowed full personhood.

Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Intro…, loc. 537