Muslim Stars Are Rising On American Stages and Screens

“I don’t want to provide answers. I just want the show to be thought-provoking.”

by: Share America

(GOOD MEN PROJECT) Muslim actors, singers, directors and comedians are representing their experiences more authentically in the entertainment industry, from Broadway to Hollywood.

In the United States, Islam is the third largest religious demographic and, according to the Pew Research Center, making it important that Muslim Americans see themselves reflected in movies, television and on stage.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council and Muslims On Screen and Television are two groups helping the entertainment world create accurate and balanced portrayals of Muslims and encouraging diversity and inclusion.

Shereen Ahmed 

In 2019, she became the first actress of Arab Muslim descent to play the famous My Fair Lady character in a major American production.

Ahmed also starred as Maria in The Sound of Music and Christine in Phantom of the Opera in regional productions across the United States.

After a career in stand-up comedy, Ramy Youssef created the hit Ramy, for which he won a Golden Globe Award. The television show — about a first-generation American Muslim caught between his faith and his nonreligious millennial peers, portrays the challenges experienced by first-generation Muslims in the United States.

The show also features fellow Muslim American actor Mahershala Ali, who, in 2017, became the first Muslim to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Moonlight.

Director Lena Khan is known for her work on this year’s breakout Disney+ film, Flora & Ulysses, about a young girl and her superhero squirrel. Born in Canada to Indian parents, Khan partially based her first film, The Tiger Hunter, on the life of her grandfather.

Riz Ahmed has starred in films such as Nightcrawler and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The Oxford graduate was the first Muslim and South Asian man to win an Emmy for acting. This year, for Sound of Metal, Ahmed became the first Muslim nominated for an Oscar in the Best Actor category.