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After September 11, 2001, a slew of terrorist-themed dramas were produced, such as 24 (Fox, 2001–14), Homeland (Showtime, 2011–20), and Quantico (ABC, 2015–17), that included a patriotic US Muslim character, seemingly to counteract accusations of stereotyping. Then in 2015, when Donald Trump first announced his idea for a Muslim ban while on the campaign trail, Hollywood expanded representations of Muslims to take in themes other than terrorism. Hulu's Ramy (2019–present) is the first TV series in the United States to focus on an Arab American Muslim family. NBC's Transplant is about Dr. Bashir Hamed, a Syrian refugee doctor (2020–present). In 2021, NBC Universal's streaming platform, Peacock, premiered the UK Channel 4's music comedy We Are Lady Parts, focusing on five UK Muslim women members of a punk rock band. Why did 9/11 produce patriotic Muslims in the context of terrorism, and why did the Muslim ban (signed in 2017) incite Hollywood to finally expand representations of Muslims?
It is not unusual for media executives to capitalize on social and political events. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, led to more stories about terrorism.1 Trump's explicit propagation of racism, sexism, anti-immigrant hostility, and white supremacist logics created a sense of social and political crisis and inspired some writers and producers to diversify representations in a gesture of social responsibility. I reflect on how media representations of Muslims changed in response to 9/11 and the Muslim ban by focusing on two key responses: the logic of exception and crisis diversity.
Crisis as Exception
Giorgio Agamben's logic of exception provides crucial insight into how crises such as 9/11 are used by the state to justify abuses of power.2 The state of emergency justified repressive and deadly measures against Muslims domestically and abroad; the USA PATRIOT Act; Special Registration; the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq; the Abu Ghraib prison scandal; the opening of Guantánamo Bay prison, where hundreds of Muslim men have been imprisoned indefinitely and without due process; the practice of extraordinary rendition; the legalizing of torture; the Countering Violent Extremism program, surveilling mosques and Muslim students; the "Muslim ban," and so forth. The government's operating logic was that the US is a democratic and free...