To save Muslim lives, let Muslims tell their own stories

Violent tropes are rampant in Western culture, while nuanced and authentic representations of Muslims are rare. If this is all that is portrayed on mass media, why would Muslims be viewed as anything but vectors of intolerance, violence and oppression? Research by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative reveals that Muslims hold just 1.6 percent of speaking roles in popular Western films. In those, 53.7 percent were targets of violence and 32.8 percent were perpetrators of violence. Nearly 90 percent of Muslims on screen spoke no English, or did so with an accent, and almost 60 percent were immigrants or refugees.