The Simpsons get thanks from Islamic group
Bart and Homer Simpson have done their part to promote religious tolerance and bring awareness to the harmful stereotyping of Muslims and the father-son duo are being lauded for their efforts.
Actually Fox television network and Matt Groening, the creator of “The Simpsons,” have been applauded for Sunday’s episode of the long-running cartoon.
The Greater Los Angeles area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) sent a letter to Groening on Wednesday, thanking him and the network for the episode titled “Mypods and Boomsticks.”
In the episode, a young Muslim character named Bashir and his family face bigotry when they move to Springfield. Homer Simpson characteristically wrongly suspects that the family is involved in a terrorist plot. Bart Simpson, however, befriends Bashir and defends him from bullies.
The letter from CAIR, posted on the organization’s Web site, said the episode “brought to light how Americans can work toward mutual respect and inclusion by getting to know their neighbors.”
CAIR applauded Groening’s use of humor to shed light on the distrust and stereotyping of Muslims many call “Islamophobia.”
“Because of its acceptance in popular culture, comedy is often one of the best vehicles for challenging stereotypes and intolerance. Fox and Matt Groening are to be congratulated for tackling the disturbing phenomenon of Islamophobia,” Nihad Awad, CAIR executive director, said.
Watch the episode by clicking here: “Mypods and Boomsticks” Simpsons episode
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Nice. Thanks for this. Is there an easy way to subscribe to comments here?