Journalist and Social Activist Jack Shaheen dies at 81

CAIRO – 12 July 2017: Author, academic, journalist and social activist Jack Shaheen passed away on Monday, July 10, at age 81. The news was confirmed by his family members with no reference to the cause of death announced.

Shaheen was a former CBS news consultant on Middle East affairs and a Professor of Communications at Southern Illionis University. Shaheen bravely carried the torch of enlightening the west of the truth beyond the stereotypes of “violent” Arabs long shown in media. Reluctant to stay silent as he was, the prominent scholar devoted his life to tackling anti-Arab stereotyping in western culture, and wrote a book titled "Reel Bad Arabs."

At a first glance, the title would give the impression of an anti-Arab review, but a deeper look at its content would enlighten a reader's mind to the countless prejudices committed against Muslims and Arabs. It is the outcome of a history of many Hollywood movies that depicted Arabs and Muslims as “savages, and terrorists” who are not worthy of compassion or sympathy.

In 2006, the book was turned into a documentary, where Shaheen successfully showed "how Holloywood vilifies a people." In this documentary, he shows how image makers project, over thirty years, a dangerously consistent pattern of hateful Arabs.

"Islam is the religion that teaches the violent subjugation of non Muslims and promises paradise to terrorists, violence a thing of beauty in the eye of Allah" said a religious program presenter in the documentary.

The documentary is a review of Hollywood movies that depicted Arabs as "worthy of torture and killing and not worthy of any compassion," Shaheen said. He tried to remind viewers of "the Muslim Arabs as simple normal human beings, of the 200 million Christians who live in harmony side by side with the Muslims in the region."

Shaheen added, "once we began to humanize Arabs and Muslims, to project them as we project other people, no better, no worse, then the stereotype gradually diminishes"

Shaheen also presented positive types of Arabs such as the Arab American detective friend of the heroine in the movie "Perfect Murder." He also showed mutual respect and friendship between Arab and American heros in the movie "Three Kings".

Shaheen's documentary showed a further deeper shot from a Hollywood movie "Kingdom of Heaven" The breathtaking shot showed Salah el Din, the leader of Muslims during the crusades, "take over Jerusalem with peace between Muslims and Christians, he enters a church and he saw an icon on the floor, respectfully picks it up and places it back on the alter", "when audiences of Beirut saw that, they rose on their feet and applauded, we are talking about Muslims as well as Christians applaud for the act of a Muslim who embraces religious tolerance."

"There is this need of Arab audiences to embrace American films that show them in a respectful honest fair matter," said Shaheen.

Shaheen concluded his passionate documentary, "I am an optimist and I believe in the future and particularly in the young film makers. The stereotypes will change, it will change because young men and women who are entering the profession will see that there has been a grave injustice committed and they will make attempts to correct it. It’s a matter of time when this will happen but this will take place when we have learned many of our prejudices against Blacks, Native Americans, Jews, and other groups. Why can't we unlearn our prejudices against Arabs and Muslims? What matters is not to remain silent. I think whenever we see anyone vilified on a regular basis we have to speak out weather we are image makers or not.

We have to take a stand to say this is morally and ethically wrong to demonize a people."