Oscar- nominee, Riz Ahmed calls out ‘toxic’ portrayal of Muslims in Hollywood films

Riz Ahmed, an Oscar nominee, has chastised Hollywood for its clichéd and "toxic" representation of the Muslim population in its films. Ahmed, the first Muslim to receive an Oscar nomination for best actor, has started the ‘Blueprint for Muslim Inclusion’ initiative to boost the community's presence in film.

In a video that he shared on his social media accounts, he wrote, “The problem with Muslim misrepresentation is one that can’t be ignored anymore."

When the 38-year-old British-Pakistani actor was nominated for an Oscar in 2021 for his portrayal in Sound of Metal, he described it as a "bittersweet" occasion.

He expressed how he felt grateful for the ‘slightly dubious accolade; whilst simultaneously feeling ‘tremendous sadness’. He questioned, “How was it that out of 1.6 billion people - a quarter of the world’s population - none of us had ever been in this position until now?”

The actor claimed that the negative image of Muslims in film can't be rectified by a "handful of prominent Muslims in the business".

Ahmed further explained that when the majority of depictions of Muslims on TV are either non-existent or stuck in stereotype, toxic, two-dimensional portrayals, the improvement made by a few of us does not present an overall view of improvement.

Oscar-winning films such as American Sniper, The Hurt Locker, and Argo were called out by Ahmed as "frankly racist".

Ahmed went on to say that these films ‘demumanise’ and ‘demonise’ Muslims, he added that these characters of Muslims are made to look as undeserving of empathy or incapable of empathy since they are the perpetrators or victims of violence.

The Brit went ahead to point out racism in the celebrated superhero film- ‘Black Panther’, he said, “Even a film like Black Panther, one of the most woke progressive mainstream moments in our culture in recent years. And Muslims turn up in the start of that film as terrorists to kidnap schoolgirls and then disappear."

The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, the Ford Foundation, and Pillars Fund collaborated to develop the initiative of the ‘Blueprint for Muslim inclusion’.

Here is the link to his you tube on the subject too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssuhvv0l3bk