Muslims for American Progress

Though Muslims on screen and television have come a long way thanks to the work of great Muslim creatives and their allies, we still have a long way to go to seeing more nuanced and diverse Muslim characters on screen. So, when one of our partners invited ISPU to come to Hollywood to share our research, we jumped at the chance to participate in a panel. The panel, speaking to 100 screenwriters and show runners at NBCUniversal was moderated by actress America Ferrera and included news commentator and author, Van Jones. Among the research we shared was our Muslims for American Progress (MAP) work, that you empowered us to conduct. In sharing MAP, we offered solutions, by providing a key source for inspiration for rich, humanizing characters that go beyond the "Bad Muslim Terrorist" or "Good FBI Informant." It was a thrill to see how our work could be applied in this critical sector to expand the conversation on Muslim images in popular media.  All thanks to you! Did someone in that room get inspired that day to create a character we can recognize as ourselves? We hope so. What we do know is that they now have an addition tool available to them to make that possible.

And, if that weren’t enough, we have 8 MAP exhibits scheduled for the first half of this year in Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Utah and New York. And the demand for the MAP traveling exhibits is only increasing, These exhibits are a great opportunity for audiences nationwide to interact with the stories and the data. What we love most about MAP is that it integrates research with the human experience and brings people together on a journey to understanding, compassion, and truth sharing.

 We have also held several dissemination events, during which project experts are joined with MAP project participants to share the research results as well as their own stories with the audience. These events enable us to dive deeper into the data and examine additional dimensions of the study. For example, through MAP, we honor Black History Month by taking a closer look at the contribution of Black Muslims in making of  Upper Manhattan.

Lastly, MAP has been cited in multiple media outlets, just recently our data was picked up in an article by New York Times. We are grateful to you, for enabling us to interject accurate data into conversations both in local communities and on national levels. Thank you.