Humanising Arabs And Muslims

Joanne Lockwood is joined by professor and author Evelyn Alsultany to examine why “humanising” Arabs and Muslims is still necessary, and how dehumanising portrayals in media have shaped public attitudes and political decisions for decades.

Evelyn shares research on the long history of Hollywood and news narratives that conflate Arab and Muslim identities and repeatedly frame them through threat and terrorism. They discuss how these portrayals can create collective blame, reinforce bias, and help legitimise discriminatory practices and policies, from surveillance and profiling through to the broader “national security” framing.

The conversation also looks at what progress can look like: a wider range of stories, more nuanced representation created by people telling their own stories, and the limits of “feel good” diversity efforts that become performative or detached from restorative justice. Together, they reflect on crisis-driven cycles of attention, the backlash to inclusion work, and the long-term cultural shift needed to make inclusion stick across institutions, media, and everyday life.

One-sentence summary

Evelyn Alsultany believes that when people are repeatedly portrayed as threats, it becomes easier to deny their dignity — and her life’s work is about restoring the ordinary humanity that should never have been taken away.

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Synopsis

Evelyn Alsultany is a scholar who has spent more than twenty years studying how Arabs and Muslims are represented — and misrepresented — in American media. When asked to name her superpower, a friend told her it was “Humanising Arabs and Muslims”. That word, humanising, carries weight for her, because it exists only as a response to something painfully real: a long history of dehumanisation. She has traced how, for over a century, film, news and political rhetoric have chipped away at complexity until entire communities are reduced to threats, villains or caricatures. What drives her is not academic curiosity alone, but a refusal to accept that people should be flattened into fear.

She is trying to change the story — literally. Not by denying that conflict exists, but by challenging repetition. Because when the same narrative is told over and over — terrorist, fanatic, security risk — it settles into common sense. And once a group is imagined as less fully human, extraordinary harm becomes easier to justify: surveillance, detention, war, indifference. Evelyn wants more stories, not perfect stories. Enough stories that one narrative can no longer carry the weight of an entire global community. Enough representation that Muslim children see themselves as ordinary participants in society, not permanent suspects in someone else’s plot.

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10 Small, digestible concepts for easy learning

1. Dehumanisation makes harm easier.

When people are framed as threats or animals, denying them dignity starts to feel justified.

2. Repetition builds belief.

One stereotype might offend; a thousand reinforce what people come to see as “truth”.

3. Complex villains are still villains.

Giving a character a tragic backstory doesn’t undo a pattern if the pattern never changes.

4. Collective blame is a quiet violence.

When one person’s actions define an entire community, fairness disappears.

5. Representation shapes imagination.

If you never see yourself as a hero, it’s harder to imagine you belong.

6. Inclusion without justice can feel hollow.

Diversity that ‘feels good’ isn’t the same as repairing harm.

7. Crisis creates attention — but not always commitment.

People respond when injustice is visible, then often drift once the headlines fade.

8. Policy speaks louder than symbolism.

However warm the messaging, laws that treat people as threats send a deeper signal.

9. Privilege is often invisible to those who have it.

Equality can feel like loss when you’ve mistaken advantage for normality.

10. No community can be summed up in five stories.

Two billion Muslims cannot be represented by a handful of characters.

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The “why” in the story

What she believes is true about people

That most people are not stereotypes; they are layered, contradictory, ordinary and capable of goodness. And that seeing each other clearly expands what feels possible.

What she cannot unsee

The link between media narratives and real-world harm — from public support for war to the quiet acceptance of indefinite detention.

What she is no longer willing to tolerate

The assumption that Muslims must always prove loyalty, innocence or gratitude just to be regarded as fully human.

What she is trying to build instead

A cultural landscape where Muslims appear as firefighters, comedians, lovers, failures, heroes, flawed parents — simply as people.

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Narrative structure

1. The trigger:

The persistent pattern. Film after film, headline after headline, reinforcing the same image. The question that stayed with her: How does this become normal?

2. The tension:

Even when representation improves, it is fragile. Crisis moments bring invitations, panels, statements. Then attention fades. Meanwhile, policies continue to signal that Muslims are security risks.

3. The insight:

It isn’t just about “bad characters”. It’s about volume and repetition. One story among many doesn’t define a group. One story repeated for a century does.

4. The pivot:

Rather than only critiquing stereotypes, she began examining the processes behind them — and working to influence storytelling itself, including creating guidance for better representation in Hollywood.

5. The destination:

A future where a Muslim character on screen is unremarkable. Where a child doesn’t feel the need to call someone into the room because diversity is simply normal.

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Five key takeaways and learning points

1. Stories are never “just entertainment”.

What we watch shapes what feels believable — and what feels acceptable.

2. Emergency logic can excuse injustice.

When fear is amplified, policies that once seemed extreme start to appear necessary.

3. Visibility matters — but volume matters more.

A few inclusive examples cannot offset decades of distortion.

4. Opposition thrives on imagined loss.

When equality is framed as taking something away, fear grows.

5. Culture and policy are intertwined.

Changing images without changing systems leaves people exposed to harm disguised as protection.

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Ten distinct ideas explained

1. Constructed threat

Muslims have often been framed as inherent security risks; this framing lingers beneath everyday assumptions and justifies exclusion.

2. Historical layering

Islamophobia did not begin with one event; it sits atop centuries of religious and racial othering.

3. Collective suspicion

When reporting implies shared responsibility, individuals carry blame for actions they did not commit.

4. Conditional patriotism

Muslim characters are often deemed “good” only if they defend state power — narrowing what acceptance looks like.

5. Performative inclusion

Organisations respond visibly during crises, then retreat when scrutiny fades.

6. Generational normalisation

Younger audiences exposed to diverse representation may grow up expecting inclusion as standard.

7. Symbol versus substance

Changing a logo or issuing a statement is easier than dismantling harmful policy.

8. Power anxiety

Dominant groups may experience the sharing of influence as personal diminishment.

9. Intersectional invisibility

Muslim identities intersect with race, gender, disability and sexuality, shaping experiences in layered ways.

10. Ordinary humanity as resistance

Portraying everyday life — humour, friendship, struggle, ambition — counters narratives of perpetual danger.

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How people should change as a result

1. Think

• Move from “Is this offensive?” to “What story does this repetition reinforce?”
• Recognise that neutrality in the face of stereotype sustains it.
• Understand that representation is not cosmetic — it signals who belongs.
• Separate individual behaviour from collective identity.
• Notice how fear-based framing influences your opinions on policy.

2. Feel

• Shift from defensiveness to curiosity when bias is named.
• Feel discomfort without retreating into denial.
• Replace suspicion with empathy when encountering difference.
• Move from fatigue to steadiness — change is slow but cumulative.
• Allow hope when you see progress, however incremental.

3. Act

• Diversify the media you consume — intentionally seek stories written by those represented.
• Challenge generalisations in conversation, gently but clearly.
• Support creators and institutions that centre authentic voices.
• Advocate for policies that protect civil liberties consistently.
• Notice whose stories are missing in your workplace or community — and ask why.
• Encourage children to question stereotypes rather than absorb them.
• Build relationships across faith and cultural difference in everyday life.

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One thing to remember

When a single story defines millions, humanity shrinks — and harm grows.