Progress toward telling our own stories 

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Dear John,

Ramadan Mubarak and I hope you and your families are safe and healthy. During this pandemic, many of us have found television and movies to be a soothing escape. Whether in isolation alone or with our families, we find comfort in stories that bring us to a different time or another world and give us a feeling of things being “normal”.

MPAC’s Hollywood Bureau has been working hard to make sure that content includes more authentic Muslim characters. We believe that changing hearts and minds about Islam and Muslims happens one story at a time, through talented writers telling insightful and entertaining stories.

The creators of the new Netflix series Glitch Techs reached out to us for guidance and so we jumped in and helped them create a strong female Muslim character named Zahra. Since then, the executive producers have shared their experience of working with us, emphasizing the importance of working together to create truly nuanced multicultural stories.
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Our partners in entertainment & policy wish you a joyful Ramadan!
In February, we collaborated with youth media company Practice Wonder on a Children’s Media Lab for Muslim screenwriters. Eight talented writers refined their craft with the guidance of executives from PBS, Disney Junior, and YouTube Kids. They have already made strides forward in their careers, and Variety published our write-up about the power of inclusive children’s television.

Toward the goal of Muslims telling our own stories, we work to connect Muslim writers with industry decision-makers to advance their careers. We were instrumental in placing Nida Chowdhry in a writers room at Warner Bros. and Nabeel Arshad as a writer at Disney Junior. These opportunities are the direct result of our networking in the industry, and the word is spreading about Muslim talent.

In January, MPAC’s Hollywood Bureau was inducted into the Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors, alongside honorees such as ADCOLOR and Walt Disney Television. We were honored to be recognized for our work in creating opportunities for Muslim inclusion in entertainment and for changing perceptions of Islam and Muslims in the media.

That work continues even in a pandemic because it is more important than ever to build a future free from fear and bigotry. With so many people watching TV and movies right now, this is a huge opportunity for them to see us reflected accurately on screen. TIt is only because of you that we are able to do this critical work. This Ramadan, consider making MPAC part of your annual zakat giving by making a $150 gift.
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We wish you a blessed, hopeful Ramadan, and are so grateful for your support of this vital work.

In peace,

Sue Obeidi

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