OH NOES! RELIGIOUS CHARACTERS IN MAH COMICS! We'd never see mainstream religious comic book characters! *coughNightcrawlercough* *coughKittyPrydecough* *coughMagnetocough*
Personally, I can't wait until the Black Panther movie comes out, so we can all hear about how T'Challa is really a stand-in for Obama. Oh, the hilarity that will ensue from the wingnut bloggers, then.
Probably not. But one conservative think tank is sounding the alarm.
Adrian Morgan, the editor of Family Security Matters, wrote a long post last week about "The 99" -- a popular comic book series featuring Muslims superheroes who embody the 99 attributes of Allah, like mercy and generosity.
The comic books have been widely praised. As their creator, Naif Al-Mutawa, describes, the books are meant to teach a moderate, peaceful, loving Islam.
"It is finally time that all of us became more accountable for that which our children will be hearing; tiny differences setting us apart rather than celebrating those positive things that bind all good people together," he wrote in August. "If we allow small-minded men to spout fear and hate in the name of our religion, we will enable them to brainwash another generation as they did our own. And soon, the next generation will fall into a pit of dissonance. To sit by silently makes us all complicit."
The comics have become so popular that President Obama, speaking at a summit for Muslim entrepreneurs in April, lauded the work, saying "His comic books have captured the imagination of so many young people, with superheroes who embody the teachings and tolerance of Islam." He joked that, after his Cairo speech in 2009, American superheroes like Superman reached out to The 99. "I hear they're making progress," Obama said. From the audience, Al-Mutawa gave a big thumbs up.
That's a bit nefarious for the taste of Family Security Matters -- one of whose contributors, you may recall, called for a "backlash against the Muslim community." Morgan wrote while the comics are "well-intentioned" and may be "edifying" for "Muslim families," the president's interest in the comics is much darker.
Read more at tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com
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