ROLAND SHIRK: MUSLIM CAST MEMBER IN BATMAN BETRAYS THE SPIRIT OF THE MASKED MANHUNTER

Roland Shirk, a fairly new contributor to Jihad Watch, writes about DC's recent PC-capitulation in Batman Inc, and makes some good points about how this is a casualty of leftism:

Whenever a pop culture institution makes a concession to the cultural Left, it is invariably and shamelessly trumpeted in the media as a sign of "progress" toward "inclusiveness" and "tolerance." The creation of The 99, a team of Muslim superheroes embodying attributes of the 99 names of Allah, by Dutch comic publisher Endemol, was lauded by no less than the Times of London for "counter[ing] the effects of jihadist agitprop on Muslim minds." (If a comic book series could indeed cancel out the Qur'anic injunctions to oppress unbelievers, I would be lauding it myself--indeed, I'd happily be passing out copies in Arab neighborhoods.)

So it's acceptable to take seriously comic books, or plush animals on children's TV, as long as they are fostering multiculturalist goals. At such moments, there is no question that pop culture is important. But let someone on the other side agree, "Yes, pop culture matters--which is why I deplore this development," and he comes off as a kook. It's a tactic, and a fairly effective one.

I'm not one to lose much sleep over comic books, but I do find Nightrunner disquieting-- as I found the Christian imagery in the Spiderman movies uplifting. Most of the time, in American popular culture, religion is ignored, or used as backstory (for instance, when Mafia dons meet at the Feast of San Gennaro). When mass culture treats my religion as something important, real, and worthy of respect, I take it as an affirmation that I have a place in the mainstream. And that is why producers of comic books like Nightrunner are including Muslim characters, to foster the mainstreaming of Islam.

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What's worse is that Nightrunner betrays the spirit of Batman. Bruce Wayne is a millionaire whose parents were murdered by bandits, who devotes his wealth to fighting crime and injustice--while keeping his identity utterly secret, averse as he is to public adulation. Could there be a figure more opposite to Muhammad?

Well said. The characterization of "Nightrunner" as an Islamist is a betrayal of the values and beliefs many superhero protagonists of yore stood for, Batman included. If Bilal Asselah, the real name of the alleged vigilante, were characterized as Christian, or even an apostate who tried to defend other apostates from Islam, this whole discussion wouldn't need to take place. Come to think of it, DC would've been getting a lot of praise from society concerned about Islamofascism, and even 9-11 Families for a Safe America would likely be very proud. Instead, they throw all that away for the sake of brainless PC-whitewashing while at the same time demonizing the French as the aggressors under the guise of moral equations.