There are more hints of Zoroastrianism in U.S. culture than one might initially recognize. Brands such as Jaguar, Tetley Tea, and LandRover are all owned by a company long run by a Zoroastrian family. The haunting, familiar music from 2001: A Space Odyssey is named for the Zoroastrian prophet (as is Nietzche’s book that inspired the title); so is the music of Queen, with Zoroastrian front man Freddy Mercury (formerly Farrokh Bulsara).
I’m quite amazed that the comic book world, known for its propensity to create stories based on any religion or myth has not yet plunged into the world of Zoroastrianism to add some texture to its characters.
While Indian comics may fare better at addressing the religion, St-Louis can offer a scant few examples in comics for American markets. “Zoroastrianism does not seem to have been explored in comic books to the same extent as other religions in character origins and mythologies.”
What is clear is that Muslims on the comics pages confront the conundrum of their flesh-and-blood counterparts: their community views them with suspicion. Lewis says non-Muslim heroes wonder, “Can they truly represent the American way? Could they really be on our side? When Dust joins the X-Men, these persecuted American mutants don’t really know if they can trust her. The comic book creators can have it both ways. They can present an altruistic Muslim hero, but also reflect the Islamophobia.”
Wow! So in Lewis’s narrow vision, the Copts of Egypt aren’t victimized, nor are the French, the Israelis, the Sudanese Christians, or even the Armenians during WW1, when the Islamic-led Ottoman Empire of Turkey slaughtered at least a million Armenians. Nor, I suppose, was Lara Logan when she was gang raped in Egypt back in February. What a most utter ignoramus. I guess he hasn’t ever read the Koran either.
Green suggests The 99 as one example of Muslim superheroes Lewis may have been trying to sidestep: “Lewis chose to put his head in the sand.” Meanwhile, that series was being featured elsewhere online, as part of The National‘s coverage of DC Comics’ recent publishing shift. Shot in February, the video focuses on The 99‘s creator Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa discussing the multi-national and inter-religious basis for the series in addition to its Islamic roots.
New cover but old solicitation.
Coincidentally, DC’s position on Muslim characters was challenged in a different way this month with the resolicitation of Superman #712. ComicBookResources.com reports that the issue was originally supposed to feature Superman teaming up with the Muslim hero Sharif (formerly Sinbad), but it had been replaced with a story of Krypto the Super-dog. ComicBook.com notes that “the change was apparently so last minute by DC Comics that the DC Comics website still shows the old content description for Superman #712 with the new Krytpo the Superdog cover image for Superman #712.” ComicBookMovie.com has opened a poll to ask readers whether the decision was a wise move or not.
Lastly, in separate but not unrelated news, PR Newswire announced the new series Buraaq from Split Moon Arts. The title character is “a practicing Muslim, a regular guy who is turned into a superhero by traumatic events in his youth. According to SplitMoonArts, the mission is not to preach, but to provide wholesome family entertainment. The underlying message, they say, would help foster better relations between the West and the Islamic World.” Whether this is, as the PR Newswire headline reports, the first Muslim superhero is doubtful, but that claim does not seem to originate with SplitMoonArts itself.
“It’s maddening and sickening at the same time. Given these themes behind the movement, despite my conviction that male genital mutilation is a violation of human freedom, I’d vote against it now. The contempt for religious freedom and the use of this kind of anti-Semitic dreck – Monster Mohel anyone? – have pushed me over the edge. One day, a rational, calm and tolerant campaign to prevent the routine mutilation of male infants will emerge. But not this one. It’s despicable.”
It’s sad when you see a beloved medium used to spread a hateful message (even when it’s weirdly ineffective), but we would all be poorer without free speech. Because free speech also allows us to mock others.
The site’s coverage has led to over two dozen comments on the comic, the ADL, and free speech. The Mary Sue is part of the Abrams Media Network.
The Hindu, the online edition of India’s national newspaper, reported on May 25 that 8 more English-language titles from the Wilco Picture Library (WPL) are going into production. They join a growing number of WPL’s other titles exploring “subjects ranging from mythology and ancient history to religion.” The works are targeted to all age groups and, according to WPL’s official website, is “slated to be a 500+ title series.”
This is an advocacy campaign taken to a new low. This is a sensitive, serious issue where good people can disagree and which the Jewish community feels is an assault on its values and traditions going back thousands of years and centered in the Hebrew Bible. It is one thing to debate it, is another thing to degrade it. “Foreskin Man,” with its grotesque anti-Semitic imagery and themes, reaches a new low and is disrespectful and deeply offensive.
The ADL’s complete statement on Foreskin Man can be found here.
@ the intersection of religion and comics: Graphic Religion
