I'd like Muslims to look at their religion as a set of beliefs that they can appraise critically and pick and choose from.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
In order to change the conversation about Muslims in American media, we need a diverse, unified movement of people who are willing to take a stand against anti-Muslim bias.
The values of Islam are expressed by Muslims clearly. September 11 changed the world, and put Muslims on the spotlight.
My characters are not role-model Muslims, but they struggle to make choices using Muslim logic.
Look at Islam in a rational manner and without demagoguery or emotion. It is the leading religion of the world with 1.5 billion followers.
Most Muslims do not 'choose' Islam in the way that they choose to become doctors or lawyers, nor even in the way that they choose to become fans of Coldplay or Radiohead. Most Muslims, like people of any faith, are born into their religion.
I think lot of Muslims have gotten fatigued by the way Muslim characters, even 'positive' ones, are portrayed in the media.
My films often have a spiritual dimension which comes from my Muslim background, and I'm happy to tackle that in cinema.
To know a person's religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance.
Establishing an equilibrium between the Islam of truth and Islam as an identity is one of the most difficult tasks of religious intellectuals.
We have convinced over one billion members of the Islamic faith that we are prejudiced against their religion, that we would deny them freedom of religion, that we want suppress their culture and invade their governments.