Fox Network Meets With Muslim Leaders Over Fictional Show's Stereotypes

The FOX television network has agreed to distribute public service announcements against stereotyping American Muslims following a meeting in which Muslim groups objected to the depiction of an American Muslim family on the fictional program "24."

The one-hour show, about a counterterrorism unit, is in its fourth season. Each 24-show season chronicles the event of one day, with each show depicting a single hour in that day.

This season, which began on Jan. 9, features an upper-middle class Muslim family, made up of parents and a teenage son. But the family, hiding behind the facade of an upscale home and the son's attendance at a public school, is a terrorist sleeper cell.

After the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) urged its members to write letters to the program objecting to the depiction, representatives of the group and the Washington-based Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) met with producers of the show, members of the show's production company and representatives from the Fox Broadcasting Company to discuss their concerns.

Calling the hourlong meeting, which took place Wednesday (Jan. 12), "constructive" and very encouraging," CAIR reported afterward that FOX had agreed to distribute public service announcements, produced by CAIR, that discourage common stereotypes about American Muslims, to FOX affiliate stations.

FOX also agreed to consider CAIR's recommendations for ways to "balance the portrayal of American Muslims and to mitigate the damage of stereotypical depictions," said Rabiah Ahmed, a national spokeswoman for CAIR.

Salam Al-Marayati, the executive director of MPAC, called FOX officials "receptive" to suggestions.

FOX spokesman Scott Grogin confirmed that the meeting was "very productive and educational."

"I think both sides feel like we've opened a dialogue," Grogin said, adding that the network plans to maintain contact with the Muslim groups.