'Sleeper Cell' Should Open Its Eyes

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These guys are Muslims? Hardly. Even Darwyn, who considers himself a practicing, mainstream Muslim, begins a sexual relationship, even though he knows he shouldn't. In another sub-story, a young, hijab-wearing girl is seen ditching her scarf and donning a short skirt to meet up with a frat boy for a good time.

And so you've got to wonder what is being said about Muslims in America. Can Muslims live in the U.S. but not give in to standard Western actions? Do none successfully blend their morals and religious beliefs with mainstream American culture? More importantly, will the radical, hate-spewing, violence-loving sleeper cell depicted in the show be revealed as the utter un-Islamic fraud that it is? As the story plays out over the next two weeks, the series' executive producers, Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, promise it will expose radical Islam and shed light on mainstream Islam. "We also looked at this project as a way to examine the two faces of Islam--a spiritual, peace-loving religion, the Islam of mainstream, and the brutal, jihad-driven Islam of the radical fundamentalists," Voris said in a press release.

This debate is being played out in the media, in mosques, community centers, universities and homes across the United States: Who speaks for Islam? Radical extremists engaged in terrorist activities around the world, or the billions of Muslims denouncing them and desperately proclaiming the peaceful nature of Islam?

In "Sleeper Cell," the weighty answer to that question sits on the shoulders of Darwyn. This one key character holds the huge responsibility of representing the millions of Muslims who are struggling to stamp out (or distance themselves from) extremists in their communities. "Sleeper Cell" holds immense promise because of Darwyn's fight. And though the premiere episode only exposed viewers to the beliefs of the sleeper cell members, mainstream Islam can't be counted out yet.

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