>> hi, you're in the stream. is laughter the cure for intolerance? a group of young muslims think so. [♪ music ] >> we're here bringing all the feedback, waj, the entertainment industry has a way of drawing in people influencing their views and our community gets that. >> where are the stories of american muslims. 40% of americans have an unfavorable view of muslims.

how can pop culture be used to change their opinions? how can we write our muslim narratives when the media is the one holding the pen. the media's portrayal of muslim keeps me holding my breath. and we've been doing a show on muslims, and here is the muslim agenda, no amount of economy can distract from it jihad, and which has the world on edge for world war iii. so you know the drill. you're the third host of the show. all your online comments drive the discussion. >> it's all about timing, and young muslims feel the time to change stereotypes is now. take a listen. >> claiming responsibility for things they could never have done.

the eclipse. we did it for allah. >> the goal is to go out to middle america using comedy. >> and give america this bigamous limb hug. come on, america, bring it in, yeah, yeah, that feels good. >> the mormons asked me if i wanted to be a missionary when i turned 19. look, to an arab a mission is who different deal. >> it might make you laugh. it might make you feel uncomfortable at times but it's to make you think and using comedy and pop culture they're hoping to combat that. one survey, i mentioned thi in s number ago, many have unfavorable view of muslims. but can pop culture be used to change public perception in a positive way? we're joined by isn't of media

at george washington university. on skype, from hofstra university researching muslims in media. and preacher allah made me funny and dean obedella. negin. thank you for being with us. why use humor rather than fact and tug at your heartstrings kind of stories? >> i think the answer is pretty clear because comedy is just more fun. it's just disarming. it melts people's guards in a way that education alecture or even a dramatic film that might make you cry, it might not do that. comedy makes you feel like

you're in a safe place. i think it just tends to be more effective. we've seen that in shows. people really respond to it. >> dean? >> i agree with negin on that. when you do a comedy show, even a free one, you get 300 people, 400 people. you do a lecture and you see 50. when people are laughing together it's a great experience. people from all different states laughing, and it builds commonality. we're comedians. this is our skill set. if i was a poet, i would be doing a poet tour. i'm using comedy like richard pryor, and others using it to raise issues and change opinions. >> before we ask if media is an effective way to reset the narrative we should talk a little bit about how media has shaped and influence the current view of muslims in the united

states. >> sure. one of the most dominant frames that muslims have been represe represented is largely through the view of national security that muslims are a foreign threat. this existed long before the september 11th attacks. it has a long history going back to 1970s in movies, television shows and then after september september 11th we see more complicated perspectives, like the show "24" had a lot of this ticking time bomb situation where the muslim is hidden and the muslim could explode at any time. so the largest frame since september 11th attack is good muslim to bad muslim which is not fair fought muslim community. what people like dean and negin are showing muslims are a whole variety of things outside of this good muslim and bad muslim context. >> normal people with normal lives to fight such a large

lucrative muslim industry an. after 9/11 we witnessed a creative explosion, using that term lightly of american-muslim artists. are we experiencing a muslim renaissance and why after 9/11. >> i don't know if so much of it is a renaissance but finally people are realizing they're not hearing muslim stories. i think we've always had artists, creators in our community, and now the time has come when people are ready to hear our stories. i think it's a market moment and culture moment but not so much of a shift in the muslim community in the broader american context.

>> people often point to the bill cosby show from the 1980s about sitcom about life in new york. that show viewed the images of african-americans. and now mosque on the prairie. >> the show came out after '9, it was a touchy subject. when i would say i'm doing "little mosque on the prairie," and it's a comedy. >> when we look at what we have in common regardless of where you're coming from or where your religious beliefs are. that's what makes it funny. >> fox it is declared the rights to this series. it has aire not aired in the und states. we're talking about african-americans an, overcoming

racism and stereotypes but they have not viewed as threats. how has that equation changed now. >> i think there is a huge expectation that arts can really change the world. i think it's important for a positive portrayal and the larger narrative. muslims have been here for hundreds of years, most notably with the african-americans community and when the slaves were brought over. but "little mosque on the prairie." it's been airing in canada for several years. it's not a curia cure all for everything. i think the art is important in changing the dynamic, rewriting the story. but it's not going to be an easy process. >> you know there, is some criticism of the cross by show. what it did change perception of the white community it didn't represent the reality of a large

percentage of african-americans in this country. i've watched the series" little mosque in the prairie." it's a funny show. there is a hate radio who gives voice to stereotypes of muslims and let's other characters engage in that. i think "little mosque on the prairie" is better for dealing with the realities that are out there. and to what extent can it face the the realities. >> speaking of religion and race. take a listen. >> i am a muslim. you might not believe me because i'm black. after 9/11 you haven't seen any black muslims on tv since they took "oz" off hbo. i have fun with it. some people are ignorant about

the religion of islam. but i have fun trying to educate them. >> muslim, african-american, lucky to be you. very popular. talk about being a planning and muslim. >> i think that goes to inspiration being funny, which was two-fold. dealing with the aspect of the image of muslims outside of muslim communities, but also looking at the image of muslims in the muslim community. to think back the issue is difficult for a lot of people. we talk about telling our stories and understanding our stories. a lot of people didn't want to hear that story. but it was very clear that historically, you know, there were a lot of things that needed to be addressed and they just weren't addressed. it challenged a lot of people in an islamic context because you have a blueprint for how we're

supposed to treat one another, and maybe now it takes people to task over that type of idea. >> all right, so when we come back we want to talk about how these messages are shaped. let's take a quick listen to matthew stiffler. >> in our current client muslims are seen as the highest threat to the nation. every culturally or economically or politically they tend to be stereotyped in hollywood. unfortunately right now it looks as if the muslims are bearing the brunt to this perking. >> how important is it for muslims to own their image and authentically represent who they are in a way that makes them and their communities proud. tweet us your thoughts. we'll show them to you after the break.

antonio mora brings you smart conversation that challenges the status quo with unexpected opinions and a fresh outlook. including yours.

>> struggling to do it with integrity there is a way we can have entertainment. but when there are so many definitions o. maybe i want to make a film in prison, and how do we look at all those settings, i don't know but hour community needs to give us room to figure it out. we figure it out or we get left out of film entertainment. >> we're talking about muslim americans using pop culture to change perceptions, and our commenter who is a filmmaker is talking about representing the community no matter what kind of artist or entertaining you are, with integrity. >> do you have to be religious

to speak for american muslims? who has the authenticity to represent. nadim said no one does. the collective voice becomes the communities. mustafa says to be true to your own voice. and jessica said there is no such thing as a perfect person and so many religious people are hypocrites. >> how important is authenticity and commitment to the faith for muslims when they're using art and entertainment to create understanding and ease tensions? >> you're never going to separate the muslim from the artist. the muslim-artist, those things go hand in hand. your behavior and conduct is

going to reflect those things. in the early days, we used to ask when we brought shows we knew we had people, listen, we'll bring a muslim. this is a muslim event. we don't want alcohol. clubs are liker okay, no alcohol. they understood that it was business but it was goodbyes. and you have to be in a situation where folks respect you. same thing with african-americans. i wouldn't go to a place where it said no blacks allowed. eat in the back. you're talking about my identity and how i feel about myself. i don't care if it's 2013 or 1953, you have to be true to what you feel. and i think that in the muslim community now it does weigh a lot. you have people raising children who are looking at whose talking about us, who is speaking out for us, and it does go a long way in terms of authenticity.

particularly for what we do. >> i have to ask you in dean and negin's piece, the muslims are coming. how do you feel about them speaking for you in the muslim community? >> they don't speak for me. we speak for ourselves. my religious experience is a huge one. we started in 2003, and we carried that for a very long time. we did films. we carry the idea of building communities and not just comedy as comedy, but we were trying to build institutions. allowing me to be funny still stands after 15 years. we can go into any neighborhood. we have a saying on our four wherever we go we don't have fans, we have family. which means that we're connected to our identity, muslim community and muslim heritage. that's the way it is.

>> do you fear that in some ways you're reinforcing negative stereotypes? >> negin, do you want to go? >> go for it. >> first of all, the movie is a parody of a movie from the 60s that says "the russians are coming." i think it's a ludicrous question. although i would like to say we speak for ourselves. we tonight pretend to speak for anyone else. we do the best that we can with our comedy, we do the best we can for our faith. and its countering the haters with comedy. i want people to laugh at haters. don't get angry with them, laugh at them. that's their greatest fear.

the articles that have been written, everyone is laughing at the haters. so join us, laugh at the bigot, and it destroys their credibility. >> i have to jump in on this notion of authenticity. what we're trying to do is kind of get to the point i think where lots of jews and christians already are, when you think of jew, you might think jerry sign field or woody allen. you think of these cultural products of judaism. and everyone in the jewish community seems to be okay with that. i'm sure there are conservative jews who are not okay with that, but that's going to happen in every community. but what is admirable oh with what they've done they've normalized themselves in mainstream pop culture. having this signed of secular presence. one of the things that we wanted to do with this movie was show,

look, muslims come in all shapes and sizes. you're going to find woody allen type muslim. you're going to find a more seriously practicing muslim and all types in between. and because nobody can define it. the definition rests with no one. and so i think that's kind of like where we're heading. >> negin speaking of authenticity real quick, our community has chimed in about the nature of assimilating or integrating. rebecca said pop culture needs to be able t. and ali said, i was born in america. speaking of authenticity. is it towards integration or

asystemalation. what are the consequences of that? >> thanks. i think when i think about authenticity and that question that you asked about belonging to the community when the cameras are off. that's a huge part for me. i'm going to agree with all the other folks. i don't want them to speak for me. but unless they're attacking me i want to celebrate their voice because that's authentically muslim as well. it lifts me up at the same time. it challenges the idea, we don't want to assimilate. we want to integrate. we want to shape the american story as we have shaped the american story. you know, so people can think, i'm in new york, right? wake up for breakfast i'm going to have a bagel. for lunch i'm going to have tacos, and for dinner i'm going to have kebabs. that's the american story. we're shaped through food, culture, language, dress, what it means to be american.

>> this is a question for all the performers. how do you move from the margin in terms of the mainstream. is this a consideration because you're up against shows like "24" that had millions and millions of viewers, and so self media reputation is important, but are we making an impact without getting to those kinds of numbers? >> negin, do you want to pick that up. >> there are two things that i feel responsible for as a comedian and filmmaker. one is to have mainstream jobs. every on this panel has worked mainstream culture, writing and directing for nickelodeon or comedy central. it's important-to-have a presence at that table. because when you see subtle bigotry creep into monday logan jokes, for example, on late

night talk shows, you can be the guy. and that's true for women. there are not enough women in these jobs and ethic minorities in these jobs. the more we have these jobs the more the general media is why to reflect a representation of minorities. the second thing we should do as media makers is just make more stuff because we can be the next girl, the next breaking bad, whatever. not to say that we should be making shows about that. but we can do that. that's within our power. there's no reason to think that we're not going to get those numbers. we will. >> preacher moss, dean, negin, you've been on the road using pop culture to change perceptions of muslims. has your experience changed the way you see non-muslims. think about that and we'll be right back.

>> i'm the co-edtier of "love and shah." the secret love lives of american muslim women. >> before we left i asked how touring might have change the

misconceptions they might have held about non-muslims. preacher moss, we'll start with you. >> first of all, get your factors right. i used to be a non-muslim. i wasn't born muslim. you know, the interesting part is i knew where i was coming from. i knew where i was going. i think that's the story that is missed, and overlooked a lot of times. and it's really about understanding value in the united states. we're talking about the african-americans experience. it was always related to me the more valuable you are, the more opportunities you have. in the muslim community understands that if you're increasing your value, and you feel that you have a valuable brand other people will take notice. again, we're giving people an audience to do what they want to do. value yourself, build your own institutions and then it becomes a whole different story. >> dean and negin, any

perception shifts of non-muslims. >> i don't view american as muslim and non-muslims. i few everyone as americans and there are haters. >> you're saying like it's muslim or non-muslim. we went down to the south. did i not ask people their faith when i met them. my perception before going down there, that people can be more bigoted and close minded, and they weren't. there were a few who yelled go back to your country, which is new jersey, and for some that is another country. but for others it's part of america. i think we feed into the narrative that people are out there and they hate muslims all the time. it's not that. in a country this big there is always going to be a clan,

neo-ineo-nazi. our jobs is to marginalize them more and more. there are so many people who came out to the shows. >> did you want to jump in? >> i'm just amazed by that story. you have to be careful, dean, not to take southern hospitality as tolerance of muslim faith. the level of hate crimes in this country indicate that islam phobia. >> i think it's harder to be gay and black in america. i think there are challenges to our communities, don't get me wrong, but domestic violence. there are three women murdered every day. we're a minority, and there are inherent challenges to that. i know our community is rising to th the challenge because thoe born here its easier for us to

make a case as fellow americans not having an accent, knowing everything about challenge. i think it's more of a challenge for people from my father's generation. >> we have another comment: so maybe a step forward is the sitcom starring muslim characters. >> i agree. >> thanks, all of you, for joining us tonight. until next time. waj and i will see you online.

>> good evening, everyone, welcome to al jazeera. investors push markets to record highs after the federal reserve makes a surprise move and keeps the economic stimulus program in place. >> obama: what i would not do is create a habit, a pattern whereby the full faith and credit of the united states ends up being a bargaining chip. >> setting the stage for a possible government shutdown. house republicans want to defund the president's healthcare law. >> i am so very, very sorry that this has happened. my heart is broken.