Tag Archives: islamophobia

controversy, cultural

Muslim Superheroism and the New Green Lantern

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The mainstream media (i.e. news sources outside the comics journalism sites) has taken a sharp interest in the naming of a new Green Lantern for DC Comics, the Arab-American Muslim car thief Simon Baz, granted a cosmic GL ring in Green Lantern #0. Some media sources missed the point of Baz being another member of the Green Lantern Corps rather than the sole Green Lantern, similar to the error made a few months ago when Alan Scott, who is gay, was anointed as a Green Lantern as well.

More tellingly, several media channels reported Baz as the first Muslim superhero; Baz is the first Muslim Green Lantern, but not the first Muslim superhero nor the first Arab-American superhero. An extensive (though by no means exhaustive) list of Muslim superheroes can be found at Adherents.com. This group of protagonists has also been the subject of talks held by comics scholar A. David Lewis, as found at the Harvard University Center for Middle East Studies’ Outreach Center website.

In fact, Baz has lead to peculiar discussions and inquiries being made all across the political spectrum. As an example of the two poles, Jihad Watch‘s Robert Spencer claims that he was misquoted and misapplied when Washington Post writer Omar Sacribey attributed Spencer as having said that DC Comics was playing the “victimhood game” in making young Baz the target of islamophobia. Separately, in odd support of DC Comics’s efforts, The Pasedena Sun asked a panel of clergy and experts, “Can a Muslim Be a Superhero?” to which many of the respondants replied in the affirmative. Levent Arkbarut of the Islamic Congregation of La Cañada Flintridge offered what might be the most insightful response: “The fact that we are asking this question means some fringe elements in our society have still not accepted the average American citizen of the Islamic faith.”

Limited discussion has taken place thus far on the frequent mentions of writer Geoff Johns’s Lebanese background and how/why/if that should play a part in a character’s authenticity. Can a Arab-American superhero only be properly portrayed by an Arab American? Moreover, should one only write of characters in his/her own demographic, faith, or sexual orientation?

articles and essays, controversy, interviews

Muslim Superheroes

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Recent weeks have produced a bevy of commotion regarding Muslim superheroes, to whit:

In May, A. David Lewis was interviewed by WBUR’s  “Here and Now” host Robin Young about the depiction of Muslim protagonists in superhero comics, particularly in the wake of Osama Bin Laden’s assassination. Lewis had recently given a talk on the subject at Harvard University as part of a one-day event about Muslim identities in comics. That, in turn, seems to have led to an article by BU Today report Rich Barlow focusing on Lewis and his interest in characters like Dust, Nightrunner, the Janissary, the Arabian Knight, and others.

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.”

The BU Today article was accompanied by a slideshow of such characters set to music:

Barlow’s article was picked up by Madinat Al-Muslimeen, Professor Hussein Rashid’s Islamicate.com, and The Houston Chronicle‘s “Believe It Or Not” column, among others. It also received comment of an altogether different sort from Avi Green of The Infidel Bloggers Aliance and The Astute Bloggers:

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.

Superman #712
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.