Why Muslims Need To Break Into Popular Culture

Mary Sanchez explains the value of shows like “All-American Muslim” in her column, “Of Meatheads And Muslims:”

Where is Archie Bunker when you need him?

The reactionary, bigoted curmudgeon of the hit sitcom “All in the Family” was one of the key cultural touchstones of the 1970s. A buffoon, to be sure, Archie was also a readily identifiable American type, the self-pitying white man ill at ease with recent changes in the social order. But because Archie was also portrayed with depth and sympathy, the laughs at his expense helped the audience come to grips with the turmoil they felt wrestling with their own biases and those of family members.

Perhaps an updated version of that character could illuminate the trend of bashing American Muslims, most recently on view in the activism of the Florida Family Association. This evangelical Christian group is riled that a new television show, “All-American Muslim,” portrays its subjects a little too benignly. Where are jihadists? the association demands to know. Why hasn’t the program featured terrorists, bomb-throwers or violence against women?