Shahrukh Khan’s newest Bollywood film, “My Name Is Khan” has been lauded by many as a cinematic gift to Muslims all over the world. The film follows the Asperger’s afflicted protagonist Rizwan Khan as he struggles to find his way through a pre and post 911 America. Many Islamic organizations have lavished the film with praise for breaking down barriers and showing Muslims in a positive light. For that reason, the movie is undoubtedly a Bollywood landmark as most Bollywood films revolve around couples trying to get married for three hours.

After the New York Observer‘s D.M. Levine wrote a story involving Mos Def sipping “a bottle of Rolling Rock” (a brand of beer), Mos Def valiantly defended the allegation in a letter to the editor, making proud Muslims all over these United States of America. Although the letter wasn’t posted on the Observer‘s website, the transcription from the print edition is below.

Western club-goers have been partying to Middle Eastern music for years. When you thought you were grooving to Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin,” you were really dancing to Abdel Halim Hafez’s “Khosara.” Listen to Aaliyah’s “More Than a Woman” and then compare it to Mayad El Hennawi’s “Aloly Ensi.” Sound familiar? Someone even made an entire YouTube clip about how producer Timbaland rips off Middle Eastern artists. But I personally dig that classical Arabic music is constantly being innovated and revamped in contemporary Western music. 

If you watched last week’s episode of Community you already know that Abed gets, for lack of a better cliched term, smashed. Which begs the question: What, if anything, does it mean for a mainstream Muslim character on network television to get hammered?

Four animated, Arab grandmothers are taking over the world, one TV screen at a time. The hit UAE show “Freej” is soon to become the first globally distributed Arab series, centering around the lives of four traditional women living in a secluded neighborhood on the outskirts of Dubai.

Ok fine. There aren’t very many examples of Muslims portrayed favorably in Hollywood movies. That we can all agree on. But I wanted to take some time out to remember the few Muslim characters that are, surprisingly, cool and somewhat accurate.

The Inner City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) hosted a jam(literally)-packed event this past Saturday night at the historic Apollo theater in Harlem, New York City. This year’s show, a follow-up to last year’s sold-out Community Cafe at the Shabazz Center, featured a slew of talented cultural performances all aimed at celebrating the arts and entertainment that the Muslim community has to offer. 

He has performed for Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, and Queen Elizabeth. He has collaborated with global, Grammy-award winning artists. His music combines East and West as never before, in an effort to hijack the world stage (and a considerable amount of teenage girl wallspace) as a musical response to terrorists who “hijack my religion.”

Long gone are the days of Not Without My Daughter and The Princess and the Marine, (thank goodness!) but has Hollywood changed their attitude toward Muslims? In an op-ed for USA Today, Souheila Al-Jadda argues that the “sinister Muslim” stereotype is fading in Hollywood by providing examples of characters that have stepped out of the Muslims-bent-on-destroying-the-world box that the media has inconveniently placed us all in. But do a few examples mean that the “sinister Muslim” stereotype is actually fading? And what about other Muslim stereotypes that remain in Hollywood?

Now that we know that it’s okay to laugh in the Middle East, let’s turn to some of the comedy available here in the good ol’ United States. Comedy Central is gearing up for a number of upcoming specials, including elan favorite Aziz Ansari’s first stand-up special alluringly entitled “Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening.” The show, recorded at Los Angeles’ Brentwood Theater, will feature Aziz seducing the audience with pillow talk on everything from Craigslist to thread counts to the provider of endless comedic fodder, R. Kelly.