My name is Nabeel Arshad and I wrote "The Eid Mystery" episode of Mira, Royal Detective that premiered on Disney Junior last week!  

[link removed]
Dear John,

As-salamu Alaykum. My name is Nabeel Arshad and I’m a screenwriter. This past week my first professional TV credit, "The Eid Mystery" episode of Mira, Royal Detective aired on Disney Junior! It’s incredibly meaningful for me to have my first TV credit come from such a personal place and help bring positive portrayals of Muslims on screen. This is also the first time Disney has done something centered on Eid, helping make Eid celebrations part of mainstream American culture. The episode wouldn’t have happened without the help and support of MPAC’s Hollywood Bureau.

[link removed]

It's the Eid al-Fitr holiday and Sadia teaches Mira, Mikku and Chikku what the holiday is all about!


** Donate $165 now to support Muslim screenwriters like me through MPAC’s screenwriting programs. ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Donate Now ([link removed])
Television has the ability to empower us, to help us understand one another, and to connect. It’s the reason why I love television and why I decided to pursue screenwriting. Unfortunately, as many of us know, it’s very rare to see empowering portrayals of Muslims on TV. From 6th grade to the end of high school I was relentlessly bullied because I was a Muslim. Like most prejudice, it came from a place of ignorance. It’s sadly a fairly common experience for Muslim/South Asian American kids and it continues to be an issue they face.

As I was pursuing my career as a screenwriter, I also worked as an elementary school teacher for a while. From that experience, I know firsthand how much representation matters for kids and how it impacts them. It’s so important to see ourselves in the media we consume. We need our culture to be represented in a nuanced, accurate, and diverse way. We also need to see Muslim characters that are happy and having fun!

When I read the series announcement for Mira, Royal Detective I was overjoyed that a show like this was being made. It was the type of show I always wanted growing up. I’m so thankful to the Series Developer, Co-Producer, and Story Editor Becca Topol and Executive Producer Sascha Paladino for inviting me to be part of the show and for realizing how important it is to have authentic Muslim representation on screen.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to present Mira, Royal Detective: “The Eid Mystery.” I’ve produced a lot of holiday episodes of a lot of kids’ shows, but this is the first I’ve worked on that celebrates a Muslim holiday, Eid al-Fitr. It’s long overdue. Nabeel Arshad did a wonderful job writing the episode and weaving in personal details. MPAC’s Hollywood Bureau gave me invaluable support and invited me to an Iftar dinner that had a big impact on me. I’ve long felt that Representation Matters, but I’ve never felt it as acutely as I did during the making of this episode. I hope that a lot of people see it, and that a lot of people feel seen.”

- Sascha Paladino, Executive Producer
As a television writer, my career was propelled forward through my participation in the Hollywood Bureau’s TV Comedy Screenwriting Lab with Disney/ABC Television. It was there that I first met Sue Obeidi. She reached out to Rizwan Manji who connected her to Sascha and the rest is history. The work MPAC does to help the Muslim community is immeasurable and incredibly important. “The Eid Mystery” episode of Mira wouldn’t have happened without their support.

This will be the second Eid al-Fitr during the pandemic, and although things are getting better, most of us won’t be able to have our usual celebrations. I hope this episode can help make up for it a little bit, and that it opens the floodgates for Eid episodes to become a regular feature on American TV.

Please support the incredible work of MPAC ([link removed]) , and please watch “The Eid Mystery” episode of Mira, Royal Detective on Disney Junior and the DisneyNOW App with your family this week on Eid, and know that together, we are making progress.
Donate $165 Now ([link removed])
Eid Mubarak!
[link removed]
Sincerely,

Nabeel Arshad
Screenwriter, Mira Royal Detective

============================================================
Follow us.
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
Founded in 1988, the ** Muslim Public Affairs Council ([link removed])
improves public understanding and policies that impact American Muslims by engaging our government, media, and communities.

** Update contact info ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe ([link removed])
.
** View online here. ([link removed])