North American Muslim Women Artists Talk Back: Assertions of Unintelligibility 2022007868, 2022007869, 9780367263669, 9781032284965, 9780429292927

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“Kenza Oumlil’s book is a compelling interdisciplinary analysis of gender and cultural representations of Muslim diasporic communities in North America. The text orchestrates an intellectual dialogue between U.S. black feminists and Muslim diasporic artists, providing a prescient intersectional framework with which to discuss issues of identity and self-​representation. Oumlil makes a perceptive intervention that exposes the hegemonic cultural apparatus while also highlighting alternative aesthetic practices that challenge and subvert it.” Ella Shohat, author of Taboo Memories, Diasporic Voices “Can Muslim women represent themselves? Kenza Oumlil’s North American Muslim Women Artists Talk Back: Assertions of Unintelligibility is the sustained record of her critical reflections on this vital question. The result is a pathbreaking momentum in rearticulatig the possibilities of constructing discourses of resistance to domination—​a focussed and deeply satisfying read.” Hamid Dabashi, author of Contemporary Art, World Cinema, and Visual Culture: Essays by Hamid Dabashi “North American Muslim Women Artists Talk Back describes an infiltration. Artists creep up on the mainstream, ambush and unsettle what they can, when they can. Oumlil shows us that the mainstream is no easy place for Muslim women artists to navigate. Riding with them through the currents of patriarchy and white supremacy will fill us with wonder. We will gasp and laugh and shake our heads in dismay and it will all be worth it.” Sherene H. Razack, author of Casting Out: The Eviction of Muslims from Western Law and Politics and Nothing Has to Make Sense, Anti-​Muslim Racism, White Supremacy and Law

North American Muslim Women Artists Talk Back

This book focuses on the ways in which North American Muslim women artists “talk back” to dominant discourses about Muslim identity and work to counter mainstream stereotypes and representations. It examines the possibilities of constructing discourses of resistance to domination. Against a backdrop of dominant media representations of oppressed and passive Muslim women, the media interventions of the exceptional women artists, whose voices are showcased in this book, demonstrate that Muslim women are diverse and autonomous agents who have, historically, and continue contemporarily, to fight against all forms of injustice including those that seek to circumscribe their realities and experiences. To explore expressions and articulations of alternative discourses, this book analyzes the media texts of exceptional women artists: the stand-​up comedy of Palestinian-​ American Maysoon Zayid, the cinematic interventions of Iranian-​American Shirin Neshat, and the television comedy of Pakistani-​ Canadian Zarqa Nawaz. Using a methodology consisting of a textual analysis grounded in the theoretical framework of postcolonial theory and informed by gender studies and alternative media research, the analysis is supplemented with semi-​structured interviews with the artists. This book is suitable for scholars and students in Gender Studies, Media Studies, Cultural Studies, Sociology, and Politics. Kenza Oumlil is an associate professor in Communication at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco. Oumlil holds a PhD in Communication from Concordia University in Montréal, Canada. She has published widely on representation, gender, and media, including articles in the Journal of North African Studies, Feminist Media Studies, Journal of Middle East Media, and Al-​Jazeera English.

Routledge Research in Gender, Sexuality, and Media Edited by Mary Celeste Kearney, University of Notre Dame

The Routledge Research in Gender, Sexuality, and Media series aims to publish original research in the areas of feminist and queer media studies, with a particular but not exclusive focus on gender and sexuality. In doing so, this series brings to the market cutting-​edge critical work that refreshes, reshapes, and redirects scholarship in these related fields while contributing to a better global understanding of how gender and sexual politics operate within historical and current mediascapes. Emergent Feminisms Complicating a Postfeminist Media Culture Edited by Jessalynn Keller and Maureen Ryan Producing Queer Youth The Paradox of Digital Media Empowerment Lauren S. Berliner Girls, Moral Panic, and News Media Troublesome Bodies Sharon R. Mazzarella Digital Media, Friendship and Cultures of Care Paul Byron LGBTQ Visibility, Media and Sexuality in Ireland Páraic Kerrigan North American Muslim Women Artists Talk Back Assertions of Unintelligibility Kenza Oumlil www.routledge.com/​Routledge-​Research-​in-​Gender-​Sexuality-​and-​Media/​ book-​series/​RRGSAM

North American Muslim Women Artists Talk Back Assertions of Unintelligibility Kenza Oumlil

First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Kenza Oumlil The right of Kenza Oumlil to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-​in-​Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-​in-​Publication Data Names: Oumlil, Kenza, author. Title: North American Muslim women artists talk back : assertions of unintelligibility / Kenza Oumill. Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2022. | Series: Routledge research in gender, sexuality and media | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2022007868 (print) | LCCN 2022007869 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367263669 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032284965 (paperback) | ISBN 9780429292927 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Muslim women–North America. | Women–Identity. | Muslim women in art. | Muslim women in literature. | Muslim women in motion pictures. Classification: LCC HQ1170.O96 2022 (print) | LCC HQ1170 (ebook) | DDC 305.48/697097–dc23/eng/20220223 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022007868 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022007869 ISBN: 978-​0-​367-​26366-​9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-28496-5 (pbk) ISBN: 978-​0-​429-​29292-​7 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/​9780429292927 Typeset in Sabon by Newgen Publishing UK

In memory of my mother, Zhor Medaghri Alaoui

Contents

List of Figures  Acknowledgments 

x xi

Introduction 

1

1 Talking Back to Power 

18

2 Assertions of Unintelligibility: Shirin Neshat’s Visual Innovations 

41

3 Using Humor to Talk Back: The Stand-​Up Comedy of Maysoon Zayid 

60

4 Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television: Zarqa Nawaz’s Film and Television Productions 

88



Conclusions 

115

Appendix: Resource Guide  Index 

130 144

Figures

.1 2 2.2 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2

Shirin Neshat  Scene from Women without Men  Maysoon Zayid  Maysoon Zayid during a comedy performance  Zarqa Nawaz  A still from Little Mosque on the Prairie 

42 47 62 63 89 94

Acknowledgments

This project would not have been possible without the contributions of Shirin Neshat, Maysoon Zayid, and Zarqa Nawaz, who have provided the inspiration for this writing. I thank each of them for her generosity and patience. I wish to acknowledge the support of my mentors and colleagues. I am forever grateful to Yasmin Jiwani for being an amazing source of inspiration and strength throughout the years, and for her support and encouragement. My ongoing conversations with Yasmin about the praxis of research have deeply informed this project. For the depth of our conversations, and her generosity of spirit, I will always owe the greatest debt of gratitude to Yasmin. John Downing has my eternal gratitude for his incredibly generous and instrumental support from the very early stages of this book project. I could not have written this book without the most dedicated support and encouragement from Yasmin and John. I would like to thank my home institution, Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco, for providing me with a university research grant to support this project. Thanks to it, I was able to benefit from the precious help, at different stages of this project, of my dedicated research assistants: Yasmine El Housni, Yasmine El Abdessalami, and Ayah Isbayene. Special thanks go to my colleagues at Al Akhawayn University: Nizar Messari, Abdelkrim Marzouk, Eric Ross, Paul Love, Zaynab El Bernoussi, Stefano Bigliardi, and Claris Harbon. I wish to acknowledge the Council on Middle East Studies at Yale University and Jonathan Wyrtzen particularly for inviting me to give a talk on the topic of my book project: the media interventions of North American Muslim women artists. I would also like to thank Merouan Mekouar, Leslie Jacobson, Jaafar Aksikas, and Nadia Guessous for their gestures of solidarity and support within and beyond the walls of academe. To my family, my most heartfelt thanks go to my husband Ahmed Khallaayoun for his love, kindness, and encouragement. Special thanks go to my father Ali Oumlil for his instrumental support and encouragement throughout my academic journey. I am also grateful for my other constant companions through this writing: my children Zhor and Amine; my

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xii Acknowledgments siblings Bahya, Tachfine, Samia, and Ilias; my stepmother Nouzha Amor; my brother-​in-​law Ghassan Murad; my niece Laila; and my cousin Nezha Alaoui. Lastly, everything that I have written was built upon the foundations of feminist thought and action that my mother, Zhor Medaghri Alaoui, instilled in me. May she be remembered as a woman who dedicated her life to gender justice.

Introduction

What is my impetus for continuing to research the discursive manifestations of race politics, which are of course gendered, after all these years? My interest in hegemonic and counter-​hegemonic discourses has continued to inspire my academic work for many years now, as sadly the current socio-​ political climate still indicates that these issues are not resolved; they are intensifying in the current conjuncture. When I was still living in the United States during the climate of 9/​11, I witnessed the implementation of measures like the USA PATRIOT Act and the war on Afghanistan. Having met and known Muslims who had been randomly detained, interrogated, and deported (all of this within a “legal” framework enabled by the USA PATRIOT Act), I was experiencing the very real consequences of hatred. During these times, what the media was presenting was surreal –​with phrases like “why do they hate us?” making headlines that were diluting the complexity of these issues, erasing Western and US responsibility, as well as framing Islam as the enemy. In this context, I actively sought out alternative discourses that counter hate speech. My attempt to heal some of the “spirit injury” (Wing, 1990) that I would experience with every encounter with racism and sexism led me to take interest in online videos, music, and blogs that propose realities beyond discursive dehumanization. This interest subsequently provided the foundation of my doctoral work conducted at Concordia University in Canada. Today, writing from Morocco where I live and teach communication and gender, we are witnessing another moment of intensified race politics that has a transnational impact, making the terrain of alternative media all the more critical. It seems imperative to study the ways in which targeted communities participate in the construction of their own identity and lift some of the burdens of representation –​which have real consequences on their everyday lives. The recent airport scrutiny procedures in the age of President Trump, the US laptop ban on flights departing from a list of eight Muslim countries, racial profiling, the rise of anti-​Muslim sentiment in the Canadian context, shown for example in the January 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting, among other innumerable incidents of racism and hate crimes have serious consequences on the affected communities. At the same DOI: 10.4324/9780429292927-1

2 Introduction time, Islamic State operates to construct a narrow, religiously distorted understanding of identity and to regulate “proper” enactments of Muslim identity. With the US departure from Afghanistan, withdrawing its last remaining troops in August 2021, and the Taliban’s resurgence to power, we are reliving 20 years later a long-​standing mediated war. In this and other ways, 9/​11 is still present as discourses of Islamohopia persist, as we have just addressed in a special issue of the Islamophobia Studies Journal (see Oumlil, 2021). By no means have we reached a post-​racial and post-​ Islamophobia world. 9/​11 was a defining moment and a turning point that still bears relevance today. As I argue in this book, the paradox of 9/​11 is that although it exacerbated discourses of fear and hatred that have real material consequences, including ongoing legislation that outcasts Muslims, it also opened up doors for Muslim voices and artists in response to a demand for their perspectives and voices in the public sphere. I argue in this book that a new genre of representations emerged in the 9/​11 context (e.g., in Chapters 3 and 4, I situate Zayid and Nawaz’s emergence in the public sphere as part of this 9/​11 genre of representations). Thus, the more current transnational context of Islamophobia (i.e., the fear and hatred of Muslims; Rana, 2007) carries the traces of a post-​9/​11 world. However, I note that anti-​Muslim sentiments preceded the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, based on previous studies that demonstrated that these representations existed even prior to 9/​11 (Karim, 2000; Said, 1978; Shaheen, 1984, 2001; Yeğenoğlu, 1998). Muslim women in particular occupy center stage as Western liberal discourse places them as the markers of Muslims’ place in the continuum of modernity (Razack, 2008). Indeed, wars, occupation, and indefinite detentions, to cite but a few implications, have been conducted by using the rhetoric of liberating Muslim women, a type of race thinking that Leila Ahmed has previously called “colonial feminism:” feminist discourse deployed strategically to serve imperial and colonial goals (quoted in Abu-​ Lughod, 2002, p. 784). Within this context, how do North American Muslim women “talk back” to dominant discourses about their identity? The term “talking back” is used in reference to bell hooks’ (1989) seminal work on race, gender, and representation, and is defined as acts of talking that move the speaker from an object to a subject position. In this book, I explore the creative works of three significant women artists. In searching for a niche that was meaningful and that spoke to my reality, I came across these three artists, among others. What struck me about these women was their position as charismatic artists whose work has gone beyond the borders of their physical and cultural nations. This appeal rests on what they are saying and the realities of those who are located in these other nations and in similar situations. This book, titled North American Muslim Women Artists Talk Back: Assertions of Unintelligibility, examines the expressions and articulations

Introduction  3 of counter-​hegemonic discourses on the part of Middle Eastern and South Asian women in the United States and Canada, with particular attention to race and gender. In order to look at processes of “talking back” (hooks, 1989) to dominant media discourses, I selected the following case studies for analysis: (1) the stand-​up comedy of Maysoon Zayid, (2) the visual art and films of Shirin Neshat, and (3) the films and the television comedy (Little Mosque on the Prairie 2007–​2012) created by Zarqa Nawaz. These case studies were selected because they constitute long-​term interventions to alter the dominant media sphere within the realm of popular culture, and benefit from a wide reach within particular “interpretive communities” (Fish, 1980).1 As well, they are widely disseminated in sites other than mainstream avenues and media. My central argument is that these works are constitutive of a discourse of resistance. Taking the lead from bell hooks (1989), these acts can be categorized as “talking back.” What I want to emphasize here is that these representations signify a re-​articulation of identity and a call for a redistribution of symbolic power. In the process of circulating their perspectives, the artists themselves have faced considerable backlash, pointing to the ways in which their discursive interventions function as assertions of unintelligibility –​one of the core concepts of this book. I have defined assertions of unintelligibility as the statements that marginalized people make in support of their rights, and which are typically met with hostile responses from the dominant social order. In the persistent endeavor to utter their voice and difference in a general climate of hostility, their assertions are difficult, but not impossible, to understand. For the “interpretive communities” (Fish, 1980) that share similar experiential realities, their speech finds resonance. Within a hegemonic setting, their defense of their point of view is often dismissed as sheer nonsense through one of three mechanisms: (a) silent speech, (b) speech constructed as insane, (c) and punishable speech.2 Therefore, through this concept I have attempted to bring to the fore the question of legitimacy of speech –​that is, how the social location from which one speaks, and the public to whom that declaration of self is communicated, allocate meaning to the very act of self-​representation. Drawing from the work of postcolonial and alternative media scholars, I have defined self-​representation as the storytelling and discursive productions of marginalized people whose voices have been historically evacuated from dominant narratives (Baltruschat, 2004; Juhasz, 1995; Loomba, 1998; Rodriguez, 2001; Shohat & Stam, 1994; Trinh, 1989). My interest in language stems from an understanding of words as legitimizing and underpinning actions. The constructed or real imminent dangers sustained in a climate of fear, like in the 9/​11 era and the more recent Trump years, lay the foundation for an enduring “state of exception” (Agamben, 1998). The systems created in the situation of crisis/​emergency/​exception (like the policies that legitimate surveillance and indefinite detentions on those grounds) have outlived temporality. This is not to deny the causality

4 Introduction of economic and geopolitical factors but to emphasize that wars and policies are justified via discursive means. Given that Muslim women are predominantly constructed as passive victims in need of saving and the prevalence of negative representations of Muslims, Arabs, Middle Easterners, and South Asians, it becomes imperative to think about how to respond and counter these portrayals, particularly because they have real material consequences. In this book, I examine how the selected mediated interventions “make do” from available stocks of materials from popular culture and the dominant media sphere. Sustaining discursive resistance involves reaching out to “interpretive communities” (Fish, 1980), as any given text has different meanings for different cultural groups. Ultimately though, I am interested in the power of the imagination to offer other worlds of possibility and incite visions of freedom, which might then materialize in collective action. My book conducts a textual analysis to unpack the meanings embedded in each media text, supplemented with individual interviews with the artists involved. The book additionally incorporates in the analysis of audience responses that have been posted in the public domain, such as blogs and reviews. It examines resistance in language as it occurs through the performance/​performativity of identity. It is through the performance and “(re) presentation” of identity that the selected artists circulate meaning. They are immersing themselves in the public domain and in a mediated discourse in order to gain visibility. Furthermore, the book locates moments of “talking back” in terms of the spatio-​temporality of the emergence of counter-​hegemonic discourses. Drawing from Gramsci, this work conceptualizes what I refer to as the conditions of emergence of alternative discourses. I examine the content and form of the selected interventions and theorize their tactical interventions by situating them within the wider context of the hegemonic/​counter-​hegemonic system. The purpose of my work is to derive from my case studies the constitutive “moments” of counter-​hegemonic emergence. The analysis I present details the ways in which the selected artistic productions emanate from the cultural margins, which while they are connected to the economic margins or works produced by those who are marginalized as a result of class, are not necessarily synonymous to it. Postcolonial theory indicates three stages to mental decolonization and taking voice, which do not always occur in a clear-​cut sequential manner. The first stage is a “counter-​sensibility” to one’s “own” representation in the mainstream media –​referred to as “aberrant” (Stam & Spence, 1985) and “oppositional readings” (Hall, 1981) of dominant media texts, and described as sense that is not part of common sense; the reader in this case generates an understanding of the media text that goes against the dominant perspective. The second phase is being able to articulate/​de-​construct the dominant construction: to identify and define it. This is where studies of dominant discourse are crucial. Postcolonial theory and critical feminist

Introduction  5 race studies have greatly contributed to this area. The development of a language starts here. The third stage is one of transformation –​making your own media, creating your own text. It consists of transforming the existing stock of material into an alternative discourse, into one’s own divergent language. It involves creating alternative media (Oumlil, 2016). In this light, this book posits the emergence of acts of “talking back” as supported by larger movements and forces that permit or enhance their visibility. Drawing from Gramsci’s work on hegemony, it argues that there are moments and sites of circulating disruptive discourses that contest and challenge power and that are therefore subject either to punitive measures or trivialized and dismissed as a way of neutralizing their power. This project thus involves tracing vulnerabilities of co-​optation, containment, and appropriation –​as vehicles for neutralizing counter-​hegemonic art.

Methodologies: Revealing Counter-​Hegemonic Terms As this book focuses on distinct case studies that reflect different media genres, I deploy a methodological bricolage as required by the specificities of the various cases I am analyzing. Since I am interested in how these case studies “talk back,” I conduct a textual analysis to scrutinize the use of language and imagery deployed in these sites and how they are mediated in the distinct genres of stand-​up comedy and performance, cinema, or television. The theoretical framework of postcolonial theory and gender studies are particularly useful for this part of the analysis as they offer a genealogy of dominant discourses of racialized and gendered “Others.” The concept of intersectionality is very useful here as it refers to the ways in which different axes of identity, such as gender, race, and religion, come together to create a sense of self (Crenshaw, 1991; Mohanty, 1991). This study will particularly focus on how the particular axes of identity of gender and race interact to form both perceived and experienced identification. Postcolonial theory and gender studies provide the dominant tropes against which alternative representations emerging from the selected media texts can be juxtaposed and assessed. I additionally draw on alternative media research, which refers to disruptions of dominant discourses in tactical and counter-​hegemonic terms. In Chapter 1, I detail various discursive tactics outlined in this body of work which can be broadly categorized under the rubric “literature on tactical interventions.” The case study chapters provide a mapping of tactics of resistance deployed by the selected Muslim women artists. Furthermore, I incorporate in my analysis a consideration of what is missing from the representation. I examine the unsaid and what is left to the reader’s imagination. Cultural studies’ theorist Stuart Hall (1997) argues that what is missing is as relevant, or even more relevant, as what is represented. I supplement my analysis of the content/​context of these interventions with individual interviews with the artists, as well as secondary background literature pertaining to each of these counter-​ cultural productions. The

6 Introduction individual interviews, with Neshat and Nawaz, were designed to be semi-​ structured and focus on the individual motivations, institutional barriers, access to distribution, and possibilities of co-​optation that these artists have experienced and encountered in the process of making their work. Given that it was not possible to interview Zayid, who declined the invitation for an interview due to her busy schedule, I relied on interviews with her available in the public domain to inform the analysis. The purpose of conducting interviews was to first elicit information that was not readily available in the public domain and through the available texts by asking precise questions pertaining to my research inquiry. The intent was also for the interviews to take the form of “guided conversations” in which the interviewer and the interviewee share information. I utilized what Kirby and McKenna (1989) call “conceptual baggage,” which consisted of drawing from my own research questions to design and conduct each interview. My questions were also informed by information and comments found in the public domain and in the background literature. I have used the individual interviewee’s artistic and professional experiences as a guide for the interviews. The analysis of the interviews consisted of extracting answers that spoke to processes of talking back and the conditions of counter-​hegemonic emergence. Moreover, the interviews provide an additional way of threading through the different chapters as they reveal connections between the case studies. Finally, since this research project revolves around the notion of talking back, it seemed imperative to include the artists’ perspectives and voices within the text of the book. The analysis furthermore acknowledges the distinctiveness of the media genre and stylistic features of each case study. Case study chapters incorporate secondary background information pertaining to the contexts of the production and distribution of the selected artistic interventions in order to shed light on the public domain within which these productions are shared, and thus inform the analysis of the conditions of emergence of these works. However, it is important to note that the methodology applied for this study does not offer an audience or reception analysis. For the sections on the conditions of emergence of alternative discourses, I draw on Gramsci’s work as well as other relevant literature that further clarified or extended his analysis. For Chapter 2, which examines Iranian-​American multimedia artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat’s work, the analysis is centered on her first feature film Women without Men (2009), which constitutes a crucial contemporary intervention that challenges the dominant sphere of mainstream cinema. The chapter provides an analysis of the content of the film by identifying the tactical interventions it deploys. Thereafter, I interrogate the conditions that make counter-​hegemonic emergence, in this situation, possible by synthesizing significant contextual elements. And here, while the analysis focuses on her first feature film, it also draws from Neshat’s early work, including her photographic series and video installations. The chapter overall analyzes her

Introduction  7 work’s alternative discourses in light of the proposed concept of “assertions of unintelligibility.” In my analysis of Maysoon Zayid’s stand-​up comedy (Chapter 3), I analyze the performative aspects of her work –​the embodied performance of an oppositional discourse. Drawing on the work of performance studies’ scholar Diana Taylor (2003), the analysis examines her performance at the Town Hall on Broadway in New York City on November 4, 2019, and the ways in which she performs her identity, through a “mise en scene,” by paying particular attention to her enactment of identity, and her attempts to denaturalize its defining features. Furthermore, the analysis incorporates as part of the corpus examples of her performances available through online videos, including her 2013 Ted talk “I got 99 problems … palsy is just one,” because the event marked a turning point in Zayid’s artistic journey, and propelled her, according to her own account, to a new level of popularity. The talk indeed accumulated so far 10,029,166 views (ted.com, January 17, 2019). The analysis also incorporates as part of the corpus Zayid’s stand-​up comedy contributions in the Arab-​American Comedy Tour, as documented in the film (Zayid et al., 2006) bearing the same title. This chapter hence takes interest in the subject of the performance of identity and explore the ways in which it exposes its performativity (as seen in dominant representations in mainstream media) and disrupts essentialized and naturalized perceptions. In Chapter 4, the object of analysis is primarily Zarqa Nawaz’s television series Little Mosque on the Prairie as the focus here is on analyzing processes of transitioning to mainstream media. The television series aired on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) for six seasons and in more than 90 countries, including France, Finland, the United Arab Emirates, and several countries in francophone Africa. My interest in this series is based on its duration –​as a long-​term intervention –​and its widespread popularity. However, the chapter also addresses the ways in which Nawaz’s early films are part of the renaissance of self-​produced Arab and Muslim cultural works that emerged within and in response to the 9/​11 context. Further insights are derived from her memoir Laughing All the Way to the Mosque, which was published in 2014, in order to analyze her evolution as an artist and the potential of her media interventions as constitutive of alternative discourses. The focus of this chapter is to examine the content and form of this mediated intervention and identify the various types of tactics included in her television series. My corpus consists of all 91 episodes (each lasting approximately 22 minutes) of the six seasons of the show (from January 9, 2007, to April 2, 2012). Using a textual and visual analysis, I examine the uses of language and imagery in Little Mosque on the Prairie. For this analysis, I turn to the various tactical interventions (in visual and textual language) identified in Chapter 1. Using them as working thematic categories, I endeavor to identify the discursive tactics of Little Mosque on the Prairie as

8 Introduction I am particularly interested in how it talks back to Islamophobic discourses. I look at whether, for example, playful tactics of resistance are used. I incorporate these notions as needed for this part of my analysis –​a methodological bricolage tactically deployed as required by the various strands of this analysis. Finally, the chapter offers a reflection on the potential of humor and comedy to generate alternative discourses.

Case Studies The analysis discusses how these counter-​discourses symbolize sustained, focused, and in-​ depth counter-​ hegemonic moments that are constitutive of an intervention. These case studies are relevant in terms of their location within the realm of popular culture, their dissemination in sites other than mainstream avenues and media, and their positioning as alternative interventions. The selected three groundbreaking women artists are working against a backdrop of colonialist, Orientalist, sexist, and Islamophobic discourses. I have used the category of North American Muslim women to distinguish them from Muslim women artists living in Muslim majority countries. The selected women artists self-​identify as Muslim women and are identified as such when invited to speak, perform, and in interviews. They have furthermore demonstrated a long-​term commitment to counter anti-​Muslim sentiments and stereotypes. The first case study examines the visual art and films of Shirin Neshat, paying particular attention to her first feature film Women without Men. Neshat is a celebrated visual artist based in New York City who moved out of Iran to receive her college education. She became known through her work in video and photography –​particularly her videos Turbulent (1998) and Rapture (1999), which won the International Award of the Venice Biennale. Her artistic debut via the photography series Women of Allah, depicting veiled women covered in Persian calligraphy with guns, had previously received considerable attention and acclaim. Women without Men is her first feature film and offers an adaptation of Shahrnush Parsipur’s magic realist novel, which was banned by the Iranian government in the mid-​ 1990s. The film follows the stories of four female protagonists as it responds to the media’s amnesia about Iranian-​US relations. It presents a view of Iran in 1953 when a British and American backed coup removed the democratically elected government. Neshat’s new film Looking for Oum Kulthum (Neshat & Azari, 2017), about the late Egyptian singer Oum Kulthum who is a popular figure and an icon of Arab culture, was one of the 12 selected films from all over the world in competition for the Official Awards in the 74th Venice International Film Festival. The second case study focuses on the stand-​up comedy of Palestinian-​ American Maysoon Zayid. Zayid is a celebrated comedian and actor and one of the first Muslim women comedians in the United States. Zayid contributed to the creation of the art collectives The Arab-​American Comedy

Introduction  9 Tour and The Muslims Are Coming (Farsad & Obeidallah, 2013). She is the co-​founder with comedian Dean Obeidallah of the New York Arab-​ American Comedy Festival. Zayid debuted with her one-​woman show Little American Whore in 2006 (Zayid et al., 2006). Her show’s screenplay was selected for Sundance Screenwriters Lab. She has used humor to denounce stereotypes about her ethnicity and to lift the taboos on disability. The third case study examines the films and the popular television comedy Little Mosque on the Prairie created by Zarqa Nawaz, a British-​Canadian Muslim woman of Pakistani origin. Nawaz founded a production company called FUNdamentalist films, which in her words, is aimed at “putting the ‘fun’ back into fundamentalism.” She became known for her use of humor to explore the experiential realities of being Muslim in a North American context. Her television comedy series, Little Mosque on the Prairie, aired on CBC for six seasons (from January 9, 2007, to April 2, 2012). In addition to being a filmmaker, Nawaz is also a freelance writer, journalist, and broadcaster. This case study is particularly interesting because it allows for an analysis of the movement of alternative discourses into mainstream media. In tracing this movement, I make reference to Nawaz’s work prior to Little Mosque on the Prairie. After Little Mosque on the Prairie, Nawaz wrote her memoir Laughing All the Way to the Mosque, published in 2014, and shortlisted as a nominee for the 2015 Stephen Leackock Award. These cases are selected because they are women embodying and performing identity and counter-​discursive moves. They were also selected on the basis of self-​representation –​they are defined by their actors as constitutive of counter-​cultural practices. Scholars have pointed to the importance of producing work in one’s own voice and being one’s own storyteller to recodify one’s identity (Baltruschat, 2004; Ginsburg, 1995; Juhasz, 1995; Oumlil, 2016; Rodriguez, 2001; Salaita, 2006). In response to the criticism that this call for self-​representation draws from identity politics, postcolonial studies’ researchers denounced the implications of speaking on behalf of another (Shohat & Stam, 1994), and argued that identity politics are typically mobilized in order to achieve collective goals (Spivak, 2005), and that the marginalized must maintain their existence and difference (Trinh, 1989). What should not be dismissed in this regard is the imperative of taking voice by those who have been historically silenced; a need undergirded by the necessity to circulate different and empowering narratives. These narratives are not only “personal,” they also reflect a position of shared marginality and can thus be mobilized for collective political goals. These case studies were also selected because they articulate different forms of “talking back:” from using humor, visual arts, performance, cinema, to television. In addition to how their messages are mediated through these different channels, there are many ways to respond to and challenge mainstream discourses –​one may use dissent, irony, humor, satire, appropriation, opposition, and so on. Thus, these various genres and forms offer conceptual

10 Introduction tools for examining different ways of talking back and assessing the evolution of these discursive attempts to exert socio-​political change. These creative interventions are further circulated through old and new media, which suggests that they are not only interesting in terms of their content but also because they are technologically mediated. The selected case studies constitute long-​term interventions defined in terms of sustained efforts to display work to counter mainstream stereotypes and representations. As Jiwani (2006) explains, interventions are momentary when viewed against the larger backdrop of the continuous and cumulative stock of knowledge being produced and reproduced by the media in their telling and retelling of stories. For such change to be long-​lasting, the interventions must be equally consistent and persistent in challenging dominant definitions. (p. 85) The selected case studies reflect long-​term engagements and involvements; they offer unique insights into processes of “talking back,” particularly as they point to some of the barriers, difficulties, and effective tactics that the individual artists have encountered. These case studies are also “popular”: they benefit from a wide reach to particular “interpretive communities” (1980). Media texts have different meanings for different socio-​cultural groups. How the readers who constitute a particular “interpretive community” assess cultural work varies. It is predicated on the collective experiences of particular communities –​in the sense that they bring to light structural, social, and political questions, problems, or barriers. The selected artists are thus also interesting because of their popularity –​they not only have the ear of marginalized communities, but they also have been able to infiltrate the mainstream.

A Note on Terminology: Assertions of Unintelligibility The selected case studies have inspired the development of the concept of “assertions of unintelligibility,” which I have defined as the statements that marginalized people make in support of their rights, in acts of self-​ representation, and against a backdrop of dominant discourses that have categorized them in dehumanizing and infantilizing terms. Dominant colonial, Orientalist, and gendered discourses, as well-​ established and institutionalized regimes of truth that widely circulate in mainstream media, have not only constructed the “Other” as inherently or culturally inferior, but they have also very importantly deprived the colonized and marginalized from their right to speak and represent their own interests. The phrase “assertions of unintelligibility” is modeled after the concept of “discourses of denial,” developed by communication and critical race and gender studies’ scholar Yasmin Jiwani. By “discourses of denial,”

Introduction  11 Jiwani (2006) means the refutation and dismissal of the very existence of race thinking and behavior in everyday life –​all the discursive mechanisms deployed to erase marginalization and the discrimination against racialized women and men. However, recognizing such discursive strategies as an act of denial that reinforces the status quo and maintains the hierarchies in place, empowers its victims, who then might find a language and conceptual tools to “talk back.” What I would like to argue here is that these types of talk-​back are not literally unintelligible, but constructing them as such is one of the mechanisms through which the dominant ideology is secured and the privileges of the dominant group are maintained. The assertions are only intelligible for particular (marginalized) “interpretive communities” (Fish, 1980) or subaltern counterpublics (Fraser, 1990).3 Here I draw as well on Foucault’s (1972) description of suppressed knowledge, which refers to knowledge that has been evacuated and locked up (in the clinic or the prison) by dominant disciplinary institutions that are endorsed and legitimized by the established regimes of truth. Foucault’s theory of discourse suggests that we examine the ways in which power is constituted through accepted forms of knowledge and discourse. According to Foucault, there is not an ideal and original discourse that subsequently becomes suppressed. Discourse analysis in this view would hence take interest in the discursive formations that sustain “regimes of truth,” which he defines as the “ensemble of rules according to which the true and false are separated and specific effects of power attached to the true” (Foucault, 1980, p. 132). It would furthermore reveal the conditions of emergence and transformation of discourse, as well as the role of contradictions within particular discourses. Contradiction, in its different forms, is suppressed, yet finally restored in the conflict in which it emerges. For Foucault, it is through the re-​emergence of this “suppressed” (i.e., disqualified) knowledge that social critique emerges. Rather than focusing on the “regimes of truth” that aim to govern and discipline bodies, my book takes interest in the expression of counter-​narratives that challenge the dominant social order, and which in that process may be relegated to operate as assertions of unintelligibility. The analysis that I have conducted for this research project revealed that the selected artists have been categorized as representatives of their own communities, or “ambassadors of culture,” and that the very function of representativity itself becomes burdensome. From that burdensome function of representativity emerges a need to emphatically assert their perspective, in the sense of needing to continually defend their position in a dehumanizing and infantilizing climate. Hence, they have immersed themselves in the difficult endeavor of uttering voice and difference. Whereas I have focused in this book on the mediated interventions of three groundbreaking women artists, and the examples which I offer here illustrate some of the manifestations and metaphors by which they are communicating assertions of unintelligibility, such statements are not exclusively within the domain of women’s

12 Introduction speech. They are statements that any marginalized people may make as an act of self-​representation in the pursuit of a social justice agenda, and as part of the effort to advocate for the legitimacy of one’s perspective. In discussing the selected case studies in this book, I have used the terminology of marginalization, rather than subalternity, in light of Spivak’s (2005) conceptualization of the subaltern as “removed from all lines of mobility” (p. 475), and in agreement with Dabashi’s (1997) restraint in categorizing artists like Neshat as marginal because they have had access to upward mobility. Because they have had access to the public sphere, but also faced considerable pressure to contain and silence their perspectives, I have situated their works as emanating from the cultural margins, which are not to be conflated with the economic margins. In this book, I argue that “assertions of unintelligibility” are routinely dismissed, evacuated, or in the worst case repressed, and can be divided into three types: (a) silent speech (the type of speech that can’t be heard, unless speaking it through one’s death), (b) speech constructed as effectively insane where the dominant ideology rushes to dismiss certain types of behavioral logic as nonsense), or (c) punishable speech (expressions of dissent which are punishable by imprisonment, censorship, or public shaming, in an attempt to eliminate, or at least neutralize, their effects in the public sphere). Silently speaking through death was the tragic resort of Mohamed Bouazzizi who set himself on fire in an act of protest in 2010, which became a catalyst for the Tunisian uprisings and marked the start of the Arab Spring. It was also the only resort for Moroccan Amina Filali, who committed suicide after being forced to marry her rapist due to a previous Moroccan law, which exonerated the rapist from his crime if he marries his victim (the law was subsequently abolished due to the public outcry triggered by Filali’s suicide). In her seminal article titled “Can the Subaltern Speak?” (1988) and in a follow-​up article published in 2005, Spivak articulates the idea of speaking through death. Spivak uses the figure of Bhuvaneswari Bhaduri, who killed herself, to illustrate how the only recourse available to her (and to subalterns who cannot speak) was to commit suicide in order to communicate a message. By using her body, she was able to have a voice, thereby transcending her subalternity. As some people are unable to express their perspective and have it exert an impact, the only way to assert change and push for their rights to be materially recognized is through self-​immolation or sacrificing their own life. What I have tried to emphasize here is the question of impact of speech for those whose words are not supported by official institutions of power. Because their status in society does not give them access to credibility and legitimacy of voice, they attempt to draw attention to their person, cause, or human rights demands through self-​immolation or giving up their own life. Assertions of unintelligibility can additionally take the form of speech constructed as insane, as the types of statements that marginalized people make in support of their rights, and which may be dismissed as illogical

Introduction  13 because they speak against the dominant grain and the “common sense” of those who hold more privileged positions in society. The notion of “common sense” that I deploy here relies on a Gramscian conceptualization of hegemony, which is achieved by winning popular consent (Gramsci & Forgacs, 1988). For Gramsci, the construction of “common sense” normalizes domination as the natural organization of society. As Keeling (2007) explains, common sense contains the seeds of good sense. For Gramsci, good sense is that part of common sense that might be elaborated into a conception of the world that is critical and coherent and thus capable of elevating to leadership the collective it consolidates. (p. 22) Hence, the “good sense” inherent within critical conceptions of the world inserts into and infuses “common sense.” However, common sense is contradictory and contains elements of truth within it. For example, a woman may speak of the difficulty of starting her second shift after 6:00 PM when she gets home from work, but that type of condemnation of injustice might not be sufficiently acknowledged by those who do not share a similar experiential reality. In other words, making different claims about various facets of gender inequality may often fail to find resonance for those who are not viscerally invested in effecting gender equality on the ground. Such assertions may be dismissed as irrelevant or illogical statements that “difficult” women make, whereas the perspectives they represent are not literally nonsensical, and those assertions certainly circulate within the public sphere. Assertions of unintelligibility can additionally take the form of punishable speech, a notion very close to Butler’s (1999) articulation of the punitive consequences that take place with disruptions of gender roles and expectations. For Butler, when gender is not performed correctly, punitive consequences often follow in an effort to maintain gender binaries and arrangements in place. Punishable speech can take the form of everyday remarks to silence difference, or more serious forms of intimidation, including censorship and imprisonment. Hence, assertions of unintelligibility are not impossible to make; they are difficult to articulate because of the threat of sanctions of some kind. For example, whereas many activists know that there is an imminent threat of imprisonment if they speak out against an authoritarian establishment, they may still choose to take the risk in the service of a greater cause, whereas others might experience a chilling effect and adopt a less confrontational modality to exert socio-​political change. The aim with using the phrase “assertions of unintelligibility” is not to signify that they are powerless, but rather to suggest that the dominant ideology reflexively strives to evacuate their potential from the public sphere. A useful analogy here is to reflect on the possibilities of alternative media, which I define as media content that challenges dominant assumptions and offers stylistic innovations for the purpose of promoting social justice (Oumlil,

14 Introduction 2016). Alternative media consist of temporary interventions that attempt to create social change by seizing a timely opportunity and “making do” (De Certeau, 1984) with the few available resources to deploy a tactic of the weak. They are regularly subjected to containment and co-​optation, and can even be transformed into exotic consumer products, thus neutralizing their effects (Newman, 2009). Yet if “assertions of unintelligibility” were utterly powerless and deprived of agency, attempts to dismiss them would not occur so regularly. If efforts are made to discredit discursive resistance, it could only signify that it constitutes a perceived threat worth neutralizing.

Organization of the Book Following this introduction, the book is divided into a first chapter, which lays out the theoretical ground for understanding processes of talking back as artistic interventions, three case chapters each focusing on a particular case study, and a concluding chapter. Chapter 1 situates the concept of “talking back,” as it relates to structures of domination. It additionally summarizes the existing literature on hegemonic representations. Based on my analysis of this literature and my reading of Gramsci, I outline the constituent elements of “moments” of counter-​hegemonic emergence. This chapter also defines key concepts that inform the inquiry such as sensibility, sites of emergence, and popular culture. Chapter 2 focuses on the visual art and films of Shirin Neshat, paying particular attention to her first feature film Women without Men. It begins with an introduction and contextualization of the artist’s cinematic interventions. Drawing from postcolonial theory and feminist studies, it examines how the films talk back to dominant discourses and offers the concept of “assertions of unintelligibility” to unpack the difficulties and backlash against discourses of resistance in the public domain. Chapter 3 offers a detailed analysis of Maysoon Zayid’s stand-​up comedy. It focuses on the role of comedy as a genre and of humor as a form for counter-​ hegemonic discourse. It discusses the oppositional stance of her comedy as well as its articulation of a suppressed knowledge, while interlacing insights with comments and observations drawn from interviews with her found on the Internet. The chapter examines the performative aspects of talking back to dominant discourses. It explores how Zayid enacts her identity on stage, paying attention to the milieu of the performance –​to both space and narrative. In Chapter 4, I examine the media texts produced and circulated by Zarqa Nawaz. I incorporate excerpts from an interview with Nawaz about her impetus for engaging in this work and the various issues she encountered in disseminating her perspective. In addition, I reflect on the process of transitioning to the mainstream and discuss the implications of the popularity of Little Mosque on the Prairie for counter-​hegemonic emergence. Finally, the conclusion summarizes how the case studies selected talk back to the hegemonic discourses concerning Muslim representations,

Introduction  15 with particular attention to gender. It brings together the various findings derived from the case studies in order to offer a synthesis of the overall process of talking back. As well, it traces vulnerabilities of co-​optation –​ how the very popularity of these works dilutes their intended oppositional messages, and how in circulating as they do within old and new media, they are subjected to containment and appropriation by the dominant society. In spite of attacks on the contents and forms of these interventions, including threats directed at the artists themselves, my analysis demonstrates that they have been able to sustain the perspectives of the marginalized, momentarily challenge common-​sensical understandings of their identity, and partially rewrite their narratives. The book ends with an alternative media resource guide, which provides a non-​exhaustive list of North American Muslim women artists who are creating alternative media and will identify some of their work. The resource guide is meant to serve as a media guide for artists, scholars, students, and curators.

Notes 1 Fish (1980) defines interpretive communities as members of the same community will necessarily agree because they will see (and by seeing, make) everything in relation to that community’s assumed purposes and goals; and conversely, members of different communities will disagree because from each of their positions the other “simply” cannot see what is obviously and inescapably there: This, then is the explanation for the stability of interpretation among different readers (they belong to the same community). It also explains why there are disagreements and why they can be debated in a principled way: not because of a stability in texts, but because of a stability in the makeup of interpretive communities and therefore in the opposing positions they make possible. (p. 15) 2 See the section A Note on Terminology: Assertions of Unintelligibility, in this Introduction, for a more detailed explanation of the concept and the three mechanisms of containing dissent that I have identified here. 3 Fraser (1990) defines subaltern counter-​publics as important alternative discursive spaces where subordinated social groups express oppositional understandings of their identity and points of view.

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16 Introduction Baltruschat, D. (2004). Television and Canada’s aboriginal communities: Seeking opportunities through traditional storytelling and digital technologies. Canadian Journal of Communication, 29(1), 47–​59. Butler, J. (1999). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity (2nd ed.). Routledge. Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–​1299. Dabashi, H. (1997). The gun and the gaze: Shirin Neshat’s photography. In S. Neshat (Ed.), Women of Allah (p. 55). Marco Noire. Darling, M., & Donnelly, C. (Executive Producers). (2007–​2012). Little mosque on the Prairie [TV series]. WestWind Pictures. De Certeau, M. (1984). Making do: Uses and tactics. In The practice of everyday life (S. F. Rendall, Trans., pp. 29–​42). University of California Press. Farsad, N., & Obeidallah, D. (Directors). (2013). The Muslims are coming [Documentary]. Vaguely Qualified Productions, p. 16 Fish, S. E. (1980). Is there a text in this class? The authority of interpretive communities. Harvard University Press. Foucault, M. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge. Tavistock. Foucault, M. (1980). Truth and power. In C. Gordon (Ed.), Power/​knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings. Pantheon Books. Fraser, N. (1990). Rethinking the public sphere: A contribution to the critique of actually existing democracy. Social Text, (25/​26), 56–​80. https://​doi.org/​10.2307/​ 466240 Ginsburg, F. (1995). Mediating culture: Indigenous media, ethnographic film and the production of identity. In L. Devereaux & R. Hillman (Eds.), Fields of vision: Essays in film studies, visual anthropology, and photography (pp. 256–​ 291). University of California Press. Gramsci, A., & Forgacs, D. (Eds.). (1988). An Antonio Gramsci reader: Selected writings, 1916-​1935. Schocken Books. Hall, S. (1981). Notes on deconstructing the “popular”. In R. Samuel (Ed.), People’s history and socialist theory (pp. 227–​239). Routledge & Kegan Paul. Hall, S. (1997). Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. Sage. hooks, b. (1989). Talking back: Thinking feminist, thinking black. South End Press. Jiwani, Y. (2006). Discourses of denial: Mediations of race, gender, and violence. UBC Press. Juhasz, A. (1995). A history of the alternative AIDS media. In AIDS TV: Identity, community, and alternative video (pp. 31–​74). Duke University Press. https://​doi. org/​10.1215/​9780822396079-​002 Karim, K. H. (2000). Islamic peril: Media and global violence. Black Rose Books. Keeling, K. (2007). The witch’s flight: The cinematic, the black femme, and the image of common sense. Duke University Press. Kirby, S. L., & McKenna, K. (Eds.). (1989). Experience research social change: Methods from the margins. Garamond Press. Loomba, A. (1998). Colonialism-​postcolonialism. Routledge. Mohanty, C. T. (1991). Cartographies of struggle: Third world women and the politics of feminism. In C. T. Mohanty, A. Russo, & L. Torres (Eds.), Third world women and the politics of feminism (pp. 1–​47). Indiana University Press. Nawaz, Z. (2014). Laughing all the way to the mosque: The misadventures of a Muslim woman. Virago.

Introduction  17 Neshat, S. (Director). (1999). Rapture [Short Film]. Neshat, S. (Director). (1998). Turbulent [Short Film]. Neshat, S. (Director). (2009). Women without Men [Film]. IndiePix Films. Neshat, S. & Azari, S. (Directors). (2017). Looking for Oum Kulthum [Film]. The Match Factory. Newman, M. Z. (2009). Indie culture: In pursuit of the authentic autonomous alternative. Cinema Journal, 48(3), 16–​34. https://​doi.org/​10.1353/​cj.0.0112 Oumlil, K. (2016). Alternative media, self-​ representation and Arab-​ American women. Journal of Alternative & Community Media, 1(1), 41–​55. https://​doi. org/​10.1386/​joacm_​00017_​1 Oumlil, K. (2021). The poetry of Suheir Hammad: Transnational interventions in the age of Islamophobia and digital media. Islamophobia Studies Journal, 6(1), 93–​110. https://​doi.org/​10.13169/​islastudj.6.1.0093 Rana, J. (2007). The story of Islamophobia. Souls, 9(2), 148–​61. https://​doi.org/​ 10.1080/​10999940701382607 Razack, S. (2008). Casting out: The eviction of Muslims from western law and politics. University of Toronto Press. Rodríguez, C. (2001). From alternative media to citizen’s media. In Fissures in the mediascape: An international study of citizens’ media (pp. 1–​23). Hampton Press. Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. Vintage Books. Salaita, S. (2006). Anti-​Arab racism in the USA: Where it comes from and what it means for politics today. Pluto Press. Shaheen, J. G. (1984). The TV Arab. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. Shaheen, J. G. (2001). Reel bad Arabs: How Hollywood vilifies a people. Olive Branch Press. Shohat, E., & Stam R. (1994). Unthinking eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the media. Routledge. Spivak, G. C. (1988). Can the Subaltern Speak? In C. Nelson & L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the interpretation of culture (pp. 271–​313). University of Illinois Press. Spivak, G. C. (2005). Scattered speculations on the subaltern and the popular. Postcolonial Studies, 8(4), 475–​486. https://​doi.org/​10.1080/​13688790500375132 Stam, R., & Spence, L. (1985). Colonialism, racism, and representation: An introduction. In B. Nichols (Ed.), Movies and methods: An anthology (Vol. 2, pp. 632–​ 648). University of California Press. Taylor, D. (2003). The archive and the repertoire: Performing cultural memory in the Americas. Duke University Press. Trinh, T. M. (1989). Grandma’s story. In Woman, native, other: Writing postcoloniality and feminism (pp. 119–​ 152). Indiana University Press. www.jstor.org/​stable/​ j.ctt16xwccc Wing, A. K. (1990). Brief reflections toward a multiplicative theory and praxis of being. Berkeley Women’s LJ, 6(1), 181. https://​doi.org/​10.15779/​Z38557J Yeğenoğlu, M. (1998). Colonial fantasies: Towards a feminist reading of orientalism. Cambridge University Press. Zayid, M., Ahmed, A., & Obeidallah, D. (Directors). (2006). The Arab-​American comedy tour: Featuring America’s most wanted comedians! [Film]. Arab Film Distribution.

1  Talking Back to Power

The focus of this book is to investigate the possibilities of constructing discourses of resistance to domination. My book focuses on the notion of “talking back” to power, and takes as a starting point bell hooks’ influential work on race, gender, and representations. hooks examines the politics of representation from a counter-​hegemonic perspective. While recognizing that one may occupy multiple subject-​positions, the position from which one speaks (or conversely, from which speaking is disabled) is important. Reflecting on “talk” that is unheard and simply not listened to, she says, Moving from silence into speech is for the oppressed, the colonized, the exploited and those who stand and struggle side by side a gesture of defiance that heals, that makes new life and growth possible. It is that act of speech, of “ ‘talking back’,” that is no mere gesture of empty words, that is the expression of our movement from object to subject –​ the liberated voice. (hooks 1989, p. 9) Thus, she defines these forms of responding to structures of domination that move the speaker from an object to a subject position as acts of “talking back.” For example, hooks (1998, 2003) discusses Black women filmmakers who work toward challenging dominant constructions by creating their own media texts. However, she criticizes some of this work that fails to present “counter” discourses because the filmmakers did not go through a process of decolonizing their minds: “concurrently, since so many black females have not decolonized their minds in ways that enable them to break free with internalized racism and/​or sexism, the representations they create may embody stereotypes” (hooks 1998, p. 73). Thus, “talking back” refers to an oppositional stance. Rather than an innate discourse emanating naturally from a position of marginality, it is a conscious and informed effort to contest, challenge, and respond to structures of domination. Other authors have used the notion of “talking back” differently. For example, Kapchan’s (1996) use of the concept of talking back somewhat differs from hooks’, DOI: 10.4324/9780429292927-2

Talking Back to Power  19 whom she does not cite in her book about women’s speech in the market in Beni Mellal, Morocco, and their use of sorcery and magic as a “counter-​ hegemonic discourse.” Kapchan focuses on a coercive and covert type of discursive strategy, which the women in the market could also formulate in patriarchal terms –​although Kapchan explains how their presence in the male-​dominated public sphere of the market is itself an act of transgression –​for the purpose of claiming some power in a patriarchal system. For hooks, talking back is a conscious act of taking voice and claiming full subjectivity. While they are powerful, acts of “talking back” can be punished, contained, and co-​opted. hooks indicates that decolonized acts of “talking back” seldom occur. The scarcity of acts of talking back has also applied historically to Arabs, Muslims, and South Asians, who have experienced a long history of silencing and censorship. However, more recently, North American Arab and Muslim artists emerged in the media sphere and reworked the genre of representations in the post-​9/​11 era, which not only led to a general climate of repression affecting these communities but also generated increased interest in Muslim indigenous cultural productions. For my book’s analysis, the idea of “talking back” implies that those engaged in such talking have been exposed to constructions and representations that do not correspond to their realities or that portray them in derogatory ways. “Talking back” then becomes a way to counter these representations. Moreover, these “talking back” discourses embody an articulated form of suppressed knowledge. Here I draw on the work of Razack (1993) vis-​à-​vis her analysis of storytelling, and Foucault’s (1972) description of suppressed knowledge, which refers to knowledge that has been evacuated and locked up (in the clinic or in the prison) by dominant disciplinary institutions that are endorsed and legitimized by the established history of ideas or regimes of truth (the history of thought, knowledge, or science, characterized by ruptures). Razack (1993) explains that “in the context of social change, storytelling refers to an opposition to established knowledge, to Foucault’s suppressed knowledge, to the experience of the world that is not admitted into dominant knowledge paradigms” (p. 100). While the oral tradition of storytelling, as in a courtroom testimony, is one form of articulating this suppressed knowledge, my book examines storytelling as it is mediated through different genres and forms of media.

The Context –​Structures of Domination and Alternative Discourses Dominant representations do not exist in a vacuum, and must be situated within a particular context of structures of domination and counter-​ hegemonic forces both of which struggle over the circulation of meaning. Dominant representations function as “packages of consciousness” and

20  Talking Back to Power disseminate particular kinds of knowledge that have often been strategically used to justify war, interventions, and occupations and to assert power. Hallin (1986) defines “packages of consciousness” as “frameworks for interpreting and cues for reacting to social and political reality” (p. 13). It is important to emphasize that dominant representations have clear material implications, as revealed in Edward Said’s seminal work on Orientalism, which is the Western discourse that concerns itself with the Orient. Said (1981) shows how “scientific” and “objective” knowledge was created prior to colonial times mainly to dominate, occupy, colonize, and subjugate the Orient. Orientalists claimed that objective truth was in fact attainable. Said describes how in defining the inferior “Other,” the West has been creating boundaries that help it define itself. Orientalism reveals more about the West and its own fantasies than it does about the actual peoples, cultures, and history of the East. The East becomes a container for the repressed qualities that Orientalist discourse denies for Westerners. The mass media play a major role in disseminating information and significantly shapes perceptions of other cultures. In his extensive research dealing with the analysis of over 900 Hollywood films, Shaheen (2001), found that negative representations of Arabs have worked their way so thoroughly into literature, media, language, and history that the resulting stereotypes dominate Americans’ views of Arabs. However, while dominant representations have real material consequences, they are constantly challenged by those who stand in opposition to preferred readings (Hall, 1997). One way to challenge dominant ideas includes exerting pressure on dominant cultural producers to alter their representations. On several occasions, Shaheen intervened to change representations in Hollywood productions. For example, he met Ed Zwick, the director of the film The Siege, to contest the film’s stereotypes and negative portrayals. Shaheen’s work is directed toward how contemporary dominant cultural producers can change the kinds of messages that they choose to encode in cultural products. His particular interventions, therefore, reflect an effort to influence Hollywood productions, given that these cultural producers have the will and power to change their images and use of language. The Media Action Network for Asian Americans undertakes similar interventions as it monitors mainstream media, stages protests, and negotiates with dominant cultural producers to influence their representations (Jiwani, 2005). Another way to challenge dominant ideas is to create alternative media, which is the focus of this book. The struggle over representations is complicated by the disjunctive nature of most stereotypes –​colonialist and Orientalist discourses construct the Other as both an object of desire and disavowal. The political harnessing of this split is evident in the distinction between “good” and “bad” Muslims. Mamdani (2005) references this construction as it occurred in the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001, and explains how easily the “good Muslim” can become “bad” and lose their acceptable status. Mamdani

Talking Back to Power  21 further explains that Muslims were under obligation of “proving their credentials,” an idea that can be tied to the notion of contingent or conditional acceptance. In other words, only those who will prove their allegiance and patriotic loyalty will be accepted. Jiwani (2006) shows how this kind of conditional acceptance, as a fiction, is used to obtain consent. In an article about Zinedine Zidane’s infamous head-​butt, Jiwani (2008) describes his “fall from grace” following the 2006 World Cup final match between Italy and France (p. 13). A French athlete of Algerian origin who had figuratively served as a public icon symbolizing the ideal citizen of color, Zidane fell out of public favor after his infamous head-​butt of Marco Materazi, an Italian soccer player who presumably grabbed Zidane’s shirt and insulted him during the final match. Jiwani describes the Orientalist and racialized references that were deployed to explain the incident. However, she reveals how Zidane was subsequently redeemed and exonerated in the news coverage; this in turn signified a benevolent and tolerant France plurielle. As evident from this and other examples, Muslims walk a fine line of acceptability –​between conditional acceptance (Jiwani, 2006) and eviction (Razack, 2008) from the West. Shortly before my arrival to Quebec to pursue graduate studies, I remember witnessing a televised provincial debate about what would constitute acceptability for Muslim immigrants. In 2006, the Bouchard-​Taylor Commission was established to formulate recommendations to the government regarding accommodation practices related to “cultural differences,” via consultations with the public. Muslim immigrants in particular were asked to “assimilate” or “integrate” into Quebec society if they were to be accepted. I would argue that the Commission literally illustrates how Western states (and provinces) can at any moment pose the question of whether particular populations deserve to be accepted within the borders of the nation. Mahrouse’s (2010) analysis of the citizens’ forums that were part of the debate and of the Commission’s final report demonstrates that they ended up reinforcing racialized hierarchies and exclusions, in a climate of crisis. Most relevantly, for the inquiry here, is how Muslims were stereotyped in the press and in testimonies presented at the hearings by other citizens.

Dominant Representations We can trace dominant representations of Muslims in the media to the enlightenment discourse of modernity. They of course precede the turning point events of September 11, 2001. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, there have been considerable studies mapping dominant representations of Arabs, South Asians, and Muslims in the Western media (e.g., Ayotte & Husain, 2005; Cloud, 2004; Gavrilos, 2002; Jiwani, 2006; Macdonald, 2006; Mahrouse, 2010; Parameswaran, 2006; Todd, 1998; Vivian, 1999; Wilkins & Downing, 2002). Yet, a review of this literature indicates that such representations existed even prior to 9/​11 (Karim,

22  Talking Back to Power 2000; Said, 1978; Shaheen, 1984, 2001; Yeğenoğlu, 1998). Previous studies that examined the construction of Arab and Muslim identities in the media reveal that their representations have been negative and limited. They also document the history of these constructions, which date prior to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The studies demonstrate that Islamophobia and anti-​ Arab sentiments in the Western media preceded September 11, 2001 (see, e.g., Said, 1978, 1981; Salaita, 2006; Shaheen, 2001; Wilkins & Downing, 2002). My point of departure is rooted in these earlier studies, especially those focusing on race, gender, and representation. Representations form a key element in the production of culture. The mainstream Western media contribute to shaping perceptions about the Muslim and Arab regions by constructing and defining the identity of Muslims and Arabs, both within those regions and outside of them. The Enlightenment discourse of modernity has been particularly prevalent in representations of Muslims, indefinitely locating them in the era and space of the pre-​modern. The construction of Muslim men as irrational has served to legitimize their eviction from modernity. Here, gender plays a crucial role in that it confines Muslims to this imaginary era and space. Several scholars (Abu-​Lughod, 2002; Ayotte & Husain, 2005; Butler, 2004; Razack, 2008; Vivian, 1999) discuss the appropriation of feminist rhetoric to seek imperial expansion, notably through the use of military force. Leila Ahmed boldly coins this “colonial feminism” arguing that such “feminism” has been “used against other cultures in the service of colonialism” (quoted in Abu-​Lughod, 2002, p. 784). Razack (2008) notes that women in particular are the markers of Muslims’ location in the continuum of modernity. A central figure of this dominant discourse is the veiled Muslim woman (Jiwani, 2010; Oumlil, 2010). The global mainstream media consistently dismiss the many meanings and symbols of veiling for Muslim women. Instead, the coverage links Muslim religious practices, symbolized by the veil, with women’s oppression. In analyzing the coverage of the French Education Minister Francois Bayrou’s attempt to ban the Muslim veil from public schools in the French press, Vivian (1999) explains that “the veil had to be removed, in Bayrou’s own words, because it is the symbol of Islam” (p. 116). While the French press linked wearing the veil to “fundamentalism” and “terrorism,” French-​Muslim girls were expelled from school because they refused to unveil, even though there has been no evidence of their practices of veiling as being linked to terrorist acts. This trend has also been documented in the United States (Butler, 2004; Macdonald, 2006) and in Quebec (Todd, 1998). It is important to note, however, that following the September 11, 2001, attacks, the circulation of images of veiled Muslim women increased considerably, repeatedly signifying women’s oppression (Ayotte & Husain, 2005). Thus, images of joyful complete or partial unveiling were circulated in the dominant Western media after the “liberation” of Afghanistan from the

Talking Back to Power  23 Taliban (Ayotte & Husain, 2005; Butler, 2004; Macdonald, 2006; Nayak, 2006). More recently, the ban of the Burkini in the summer of 2016 in France marked another historical moment when the debate on the question of veiling and national identity became particularly explicit in French public discourse (Berg & Lundahl, 2016). The controversy took center stage in the French and international media coverage and was often reported through colonial tropes. While culture and religion have been ideologically useful in galvanizing missions to “save brown women from brown men” as Spivak’s (2005) famous expression indicates, representations of Muslim masculinities have also been confined to the realm of criminality and violence. As Karim (2000) demonstrates, these representations draw on stories of assassins, kidnappers, and hostages, relying on the core stereotype of the “violent man of Islam,” while Christians are constructed as nonviolent in mainstream discourses. The image of the Muslim jihadist occupies a central place in this discourse as it serves to justify violence inflicted on Muslim bodies, such as the bombing of Iraqi cities during the Gulf War, the Serbian massacre of Bosnian Muslims, and the Russian attack on Chechens. Therefore, “the Muslim’s depiction as a villain carries a high level of plausibility in cultural entertainment that portrays the struggles of the good against the bad” (p. 65). European powers during the colonial era were already using this core stereotype to legitimize structural and direct violence against Muslims. This image has survived into the present, as can be seen through the framing of terrorism as emanating from the South, caused by “Oriental irrationality,” and as a global concern that calls for military action (Karim, 2000, p. 120). The essentialist notions deployed to construct Islam as a timeless entity are evident in stereotypical generalizations and clichés such as the “Islamic mindset,” and “the Shiite penchant for martyrdom” casting one billion Muslims as monolithic, barbaric, and backward (Karim, 2000). However, in this cluster of representations, the East is not only presented as evocative of danger and terror but also of attraction and fascination (Karim, 2000). One dimension of this binary focuses on the exotic. Here, the Muslim woman is represented as the sexually fatal other (Yeğenoğlu, 1998). Hence, the sexualization of Muslim women and the feminization of the “Orient” are central tropes of Orientalist discourse. The above-​mentioned studies provide the dominant tropes of Western discourse on Islam and Arab identity. Defining what constitutes a counter-​ hegemonic discourse depends on what is defined as hegemonic, and this is where the previous studies are useful –​studies that show constructions of the Arab and Muslim figure as terrorist/​suicide bomber are hallmarks of the hegemonic discourse. Constructions that paint Arab and Muslim men as traditional, barbaric, pre-​modern, and ultimate patriarchs, and the women as oppressed and victimized are some of the other iconic figures of this hegemonic discourse.

24  Talking Back to Power

Linking Hegemony/​Counter-​Hegemony to Alternative Discourses The understanding of hegemony that I apply in this book in order to conceptualize what constitutes the “counter-​ hegemonic” is that of a dynamic “moving equilibrium” (Gramsci & Forgacs, 1988). In Gramsci’s understanding of culture, the necessary unity to the formation of hegemony seldom takes place, as hegemony is always contested. When won temporarily, periods of “settlement” do not last for too long. They do not come about on their own, but rather are the result of dynamic constructions. The unravelling of these periods is preceded by crises. Hegemony needs consistent renewal, re-​creation, defense, and modification. It is also constantly challenged, opposed, and altered by outside forces, which are not only important in themselves but also serve as indicators of “what the hegemonic process has in practice had to work to control” (Williams, 1977, p. 113). In this book, I adopt Gramsci’s view of hegemony as exceeding the economic dominance of one ruling class over another: “the specific question of economic hardship or well-​being as a cause of new historical realities is a partial aspect of the question of the relations of force at their various levels” (Gramsci & Forgacs, 1988, p. 208). Refuting Marx’s emphasis on the economic relations as determining, Gramsci argues that hegemony is not only conducted in the economic and administrative fields but also in cultural arenas –​it involves moral, ethical, and intellectual leadership. This book applies an understanding of culture as playing a role in hegemonic and counter-​hegemonic movements in society. For Gramsci, the mainstreaming of culture leads to hegemony, through the consent of the institutions of civil society. Hegemony in this sense involves acquiring significant popular consent. In other words, it sets the tone and the standards of morality and social behavior among the populace. The power of the ruling class also derives from civil society, some subalterns and dominated classes, who have been brought in via the means of concessions and compromises. The slippery nature of hegemony (and the circulation of culture) leads us to consider how hegemonic discourses are contested and to examine the characteristic features that define counter-​hegemonic discourses. The notions of counter-​hegemony and counter-​hegemonic, although never used by Gramsci, have been adopted in studies of alternative media (Downing et al., 2001). Downing et al. (2001) cite some of the conventional terms of dissent –​“alternative, radical, oppositional, counterhegemonic, resistance” (p. 134) to suggest that, in effect, all attempt to convey the depth and extent of focus of that dissent. Thus, “… the counterhegemonic process operates at different depths …” (Downing et al., 2001, p. 141). In Language and Hegemony in Gramsci, Ives (2004) also mentions the absence of the term counter-​hegemony. However, he notes Gramsci’s contention that subaltern groups have their own conceptions of the world. But how can they translate their own conceptions into developing their own language? In other words,

Talking Back to Power  25 I ask in this book: how does it become possible to “talk back” to dominant discourses and articulate divergent perspectives? In order to conceptualize expressions and articulations of counter-​ hegemonic discourses, postcolonial theory offers a very useful entry point to discover that which stands in opposition, or that which differs from dominant representations. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, several studies identify the tropes of dominant discourses. Ideally, counter-​ hegemonic interventions would depart from Orientalist and colonial narratives in order to contest hegemonic frames and offer other ways of speaking of these identities and peoples. Counter-​hegemonic texts and sites should contest dominant discourses and present other ways of conceptualizing identity. I would argue that alternative media in particular needs to reflect a process of decolonization of the mind and provide informed critical responses to colonial and Orientalist discourse. It needs to, in some ways at least, offer an alternative discourse. Whereas alternative media messages can be contained, they can also display irreducible independence and originality at particular moments. Postcolonial theory is additionally connected to critical race analysis. Postcolonial theory has generated an understanding of postcolonialism as not literally coming after colonialism, “… but more flexibly as the contestation of colonial domination and the legacies of colonialism” (Loomba, 1998, p. 12). Postcolonial theory as a paradigm signals a recognition of the historical achievements of the fights for independence as well as a commitment to the continuing struggles against colonial domination (Young, 2001). Studying colonial discourse sheds light into the processes of creating divergent ways of speaking. Creating alternative portrayals involves subjecting Western domination and White supremacy to scrutiny by first of all rendering it visible as a form of domination. This can also take the form of playful reversal –​by transferring the undesirable qualities Orientalist discourse inflicts on the imaginary East onto the West itself. Orientalist discourse ascribes its own repressed qualities onto the “East” (Said, 1978). Colonial discourse has implied that European countries (and culture) are developed and civilized, hence providing the model for how humanity should be lived (Césaire, 1972; Fanon, 1963). The colonized have been expected and constructed to be “… millions of men in whom fear has been cunningly instilled, who have been taught to have an inferiority complex, to tremble, kneel, despair, and behave like flunkeys” (Césaire, 1972, p. 22). Although such early postcolonial studies provide seminal insight into how one might go about studying alternative discourse, they often fail to include or emphasize the centrality of gender and its inter-​relationship with other axes of power. As Yeğenoğlu (1998) reminds us: “a more sexualized reading of Orientalism reveals that representations of sexual difference cannot be treated as its sub-​domain; it is of fundamental importance in the formation of a colonial subject position” (p. 2). Even liberatory discourses have thus often failed to embody a gender-​fair approach.

26  Talking Back to Power

Alternative Media Interventions In challenging dominant knowledge paradigms and their real consequences, what tactics can marginalized people use to create alternative media? For De Certeau (1984), “people have to make do with what they have … there is a certain art of placing one’s blows, a pleasure in getting around the rules of constraining space” (p. 18). Acknowledging the constraining meta-​structure, what have been some of the spaces and sites of temporal interventions? De Certeau speaks about drawing unexpected results from difficult situations and diverting the dominant order without leaving it. It is interesting to think about how to “make do” of the available stock of materials in order to create alternative media. How can one manipulate the imposed vocabularies of the established knowledge –​composed of symbolism, representations, and practices? De Certeau refers to the “art of the weak,” which he develops through the concept of a tactic, or a clever trick. While he describes a tactic as time-​based, he situates it as standing against “strategy,” which is a force of domination (of the state, for example) that is space-​based. What the marginalized can do within constraining space depends on their “sensibility” (Grossberg, 1992). It is the population’s sensibility that allows it to select particular cultural practices for consumption, to relate to them in specific ways, and to consequently understand and interpret discursive formations. It is a dominant mode of organization “which describes its effects in people’s daily lives and thus the way in which a particular formation is lived” (Grossberg, 1992, p. 72). Although identifying the sensibility at work is not a simple task, a particular kind of sensibility is typically dominant. The effects of a discursive formation are not intrinsic to it; they depend on specific sensibilities. For example, laughter or tears reflect the ability of particular practices to have such effects for a particular interpretive community (Fish, 1980). The notion of sensibility lends itself well to Fish’s (1980) concept of “interpretive community,” explained in the Introduction, although it cannot be reduced to it. Subversion of dominant culture materials can be temporarily accomplished through tactics of play, such as appropriation, parody, pastiche, and bricolage (DeChaine, 1997). Media practitioners may invert meanings, which gives them temporary escape from oppressive circumstances. They may also offer a therapeutic form of resistance for their audience by creating moments of solidarity against an oppressor (DeChaine, 1997). However, according to DeChaine, this playful sensibility is limited in terms of its efficacy as a force of resistance as it only offers temporary and ambivalent empowerment. Furthermore, it may also be ignored and trivialized because it engages the dominant culture playfully through mockery and laughter. Alternative media practitioners may also use bricolage, which is at the core of DeChaine’s analysis of subversion through queer punk music and Hebdige’s (1979) analysis of subcultural style. Hebdige argues that it is

Talking Back to Power  27 through consumption and “… through style, that the subculture at once reveals its “secret” identity and communicates its forbidden meanings. It is basically the way in which commodities are used in subculture which mark the subculture off from more orthodox cultural formations” (p. 103). Such bricolage may include appropriating commodities, subverting the meaning of conventional insignia (such as business wear), dream work, collage, and so on, in order to disrupt and organize meaning that resonate with and communicate aspects of an audience’s lived reality. The Situationist tactic of détournement for fighting The Spectacle also fits within De Certeau’s notion of “making do.” One of the founding members of the Situationist International, a group of leftist Europeans who significantly influenced the strike of May 1968 in France, was Guy Debord. He significantly shaped the ideas of the Situationist movement. His work on how social relationships are mediated is grounded in the concept of The Spectacle as a virtual place where it is impossible to distinguish the inside from the outside, or the representation from the social. For Debord (1994), The Spectacle is an apparatus of images that regulates public discourse and the social relations among people. It unifies and explains distinct social phenomena. It monopolizes appearance and subjugates men [and women]. According to him, the mass media is a glaring and superficial manifestation of The Spectacle –​a “concentration” of communication in the hands of a system of administration. Hence, Debord argues that it is inseparable from the state and from class domination. The Situationist movement deployed the tactic of détournement as a way to fight The Spectacle through the modification of ads, news items, cartoons, and other types of cultural products. Their aim was to use manipulation in order to strip these commodities and events of their intended meanings and to subvert messages. Bailey et al. (2008) situate détournement as the most relevant reference to what is described today as culture jamming. The idea of the “serious parody” suggests reversing, transgressing, or subverting. In more contemporary applications and discussions of alternative media, the concept of “culture jamming” has come to the fore as a conceptual basis on which oppositional discourses are mounted and articulated. Branwyn (1997), for example, compares the function of jamming in alternative media to interrupting a radio signal in order to “jam” the status quo with counter-​ narratives, while Carty (2002) argues that culture jamming can be conceived of as a “type of ‘semiological guerrilla warfare’ (an idea advanced by Umberto Eco decades ago), in which the receiver of the message maintains the freedom to interpret the message in an individual way” (p. 140). In his proposal of montage as a visual practice prevalent in alternative media, Hamilton (2001) also articulates this idea of using the available stock of raw materials from popular culture and transforming them into alternative media. A relevant example of a montage that parodies Hollywood’s representation of Arabs is illustrated in Planet of the Arabs (2005) produced by Jacqueline Salloum and inspired by Shaheen’s book Reel Bad Arabs: How

28  Talking Back to Power Hollywood Vilifies a People. This montage uses various shots from different Hollywood movies from 1896 to 2000 depicting Arabs to highlight the recurrent stereotypes and negative images that have been consistently circulating. The montage ends with a call for turning off television sets when they present derogatory images of Arabs. Studies of indigenous and “third world” films and media also include other techniques of subversion. Ginsburg (2002) describes how indigenous media rectifies the erasure of history by recuperating lost stories and having them enacted on screen. Ginsburg (2002) cites the Aboriginal producer Rachel Perkins’s work as exemplary of this effort to create screen memories in Australia: “her [Rachel Perkins] agenda, was in a sense, to create ‘screen memories’ for the majority of Australians –​Black and White –​who knew virtually nothing of the role of Aboriginal people in the formation of modern Australia” (p. 49). Part of the effort of creating screen memories takes the form of using footage to provide visual evidence of indigenous existence. In addition, filmmakers have attempted to secure cultural preservation of language and rituals by communicating indigenous stories and cultural identity. Indigenous media makers have produced new Aboriginal television networks that became part of national television. Similarly, Stam and Spence (1985) speak of the effort to rewrite colonial history in “third world” films. Third world filmmakers have similarly engaged in the effort to reclaim the past: “in response to such distortions, the Third World has attempted to write its own history, take control of its own cinematic image, speak, in its own voice” (Stam & Spence, 1985, p. 638). Stam and Spence (1985) document the use of progressive realism as a central impulse informing the efforts of women and “third world” filmmakers to challenge hegemonic representations. Thus, some of these filmmakers have countered patriarchal and colonial discourses “with a vision of themselves and their reality as seen ‘from within’ ” (Stam & Spence, 1985, p. 639). Nonetheless, they contend that depicting “reality” and “truth” in film are not such evident tasks. The tendency to promote “positive images” on screen raises similar sets of issue as it can also lead to essentialism and to reductionist simplifications. They reason that “a cinema dominated by positive images, characterized by a bending-​over-​backwards-​not-​to-​be-​racist attitude, might ultimately betray a lack of confidence in the group portrayed, which usually itself has no illusions concerning its own perfection” (Stam & Spence, 1985, p. 639). Similarly, Hall (1997) argues that it is not a matter of replacing negative images with positive ones but to strive for diversity in representation. Furthermore, according to Stam and Spence, spectator positioning is a mediation specific to cinema. Positioning can become political when alternating the usual point of view and identification mechanisms. For example, reversing the impossibility of sympathetic identification with certain characters and groups, such as “Indians” or Algerians, could constitute

Talking Back to Power  29 an inversion to the typical stereotypical representations. Making them into speaking subjects on screen also negates stereotypes of passivity. In addition to the above-​mentioned tactics, which aim at creating counter-​ narratives, infiltrating mainstream media represents another mode of intervention. As previously mentioned, Shaheen intervened as a consultant to influence the content of Hollywood films on several occasions. Similarly, Carroll and Hackett’s (2006) research on “democratic media activism” led them to find that one form of action to democratize communication consists of “influencing content and practices of mainstream media” (p. 88). An example of a more radical infiltration can be found in the documentary The Yes Men Fix the World (Bichlbaulm et al., 2009), which revolves around the activism of the Yes Men who pose as executives of large corporations, gain access to business conferences, and stage comedic performances in order to challenge corrupt corporate practices. Orally performing resistance thus becomes a mode of counter-​hegemonic expression. Several scholars point to the importance of empowering the use of oral traditions by reviving oral stories and oral methods, as an aesthetic of resistance. They comment on how written literature has often drawn from the repertoires of spoken literature in an effort to unthink eurocentrism, where the latter has equated the “non-​literate” with the illiterate” (Shohat & Stam, 1994, pp. 297–​298). The emphasis on the oral often involves the use of the native language to communicate anti-​colonial perspectives. Third Worldist filmmakers have used this practice of resistance in their narratives of anti-​ colonial struggles. The reinscription of the oral can operate on a very practical level as a way of achieving collective agency: “in the arts, the aesthetic reinvoicing of tradition can serve purposes of collective agency in the present” (Shohat & Stam, 1994, p. 300). Ong (1982) identifies the distinguishing characteristics of orality and describes characteristics of the oral tradition that are interesting for the present study because they potentially energize particular interventions, especially since the oral tradition is embedded in lived culture. Some of these key characteristics of orality include memorization and the use of mnemonic techniques (or ways of memorizing such as rhymes, visual cues, and memory “theatres”). In addition, Ong describes how orality is communal, encourages the formation of group unity, and invites participation. He argues that primary orality fosters personality structures that in certain ways are more communal and externalized, and less introspective that those common among literates. Oral communication unites people in groups. Writing and reading are solitary activities that throw the psyche back on itself. (Ong, 1982, p. 69) He further elaborates this in the context of participation: “when a speaker is addressing an audience, the members of the audience normally become

30  Talking Back to Power a unity, with themselves and with the speaker” (Ong, 1982, p. 74). Orality is also concentrated in the present moment. Certain ways of establishing authority are based on oral communication, such as acts of bearing witness or providing testimony in court trials or in government-​sponsored “truth and reconciliation” committees. Activists have used the tactic of bearing witness as a way to intervene. Protesters at the World Economic Forum in Melbourne loudly chanted at the police “the whole world is watching” as they came with their own video cameras and recording equipment to document any potential abuse, and have their own coverage of the event. The Australian activists were echoing a chant that has a significant history: it was voiced back in August 1968 at the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination convention in Chicago, when anti-​Vietnam war protesters were massively assaulted by the police on the city’s streets. It was also the title of a book by media critic Todd Gitlin about the role of mainstream news media in defusing the nationwide student protest movement against that war. Other Internet media groups have been similarly engaged: “activists are now taking care of their own representation” (Montagner, 2001, pp. 16–​17). As Montagner (2001) explains in this study, activists are now becoming media activists. New technologies have clearly played a role in facilitating mounting challenges to dominance. Montagner (2001) describes this phenomenon as “cyber-​democracy” while Carty (2002) speaks of it as “web resistance.” Carty examines technology and counter-​ hegemonic movements around issues of labor and consumption in her case study of Nike Corporation. In describing sites promoting activism on the Web, Carty reflects on how the Internet has served activists as an ally through examples such as the use of open-​publishing newswires for grassroots coverage of protests. Similarly, Hil (2008) describes the role of new technologies vis-​à-​vis creating political change in the anti-​war movement in Australia following the US-​led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Hil examines the global civil society’s use of new technologies and demonstrates how these pose unprecedented challenges to the mainstream political system as it is no longer possible to launch wars and escape public scrutiny (brought to light through the Internet). For the purpose of this book’s analysis, a final tactical intervention which is important to mention is “resignification,” as Abel (2008) describes it in her case study of segregation signs in the United States, which she describes as an “American graffiti.” She describes these acts as a playful recording of historical evidence of hate speech through reversal and pastiche. As she explains it, acquiring these segregation signs for the purpose of recording historical evidence of the Jim Crow era consisted of a form of activism as the underlying risk was often imprisonment. Furthermore, these activist collectors performed a reversal in that they turned the signs around in order to bear witness, as a burden of proof and as tools for shaming their creators. Abel thus examines the transformation and changes in the life of segregation signs since the 1960s and 1970s to their entry in the marketplace. She notes,

Talking Back to Power  31 “energized by consumer desire for a material record of a vanishing history, the marketplace has become an engine of reproductions and reinventions whose diversions can be read, alternatively, as resisting or repressing the burden of that history” (Abel, 2008, p. 11). This industry serves opposing camps such as the Redneck Shop of the Ku Klux Klan Museum, an organization also interested in purchasing such products. Abel’s case study, therefore, provides a necessary reminder to the possibilities of co-​optation of alternative media and counter-​hegemonic discourses, particularly when they do not exist outside of the logic of capital, thereby turning them into products (often exoticized) for consumption. While alternative media is often organized around promoting social justice, it is important to acknowledge regressive uses of alternative media, as the studies of Atton (2006) and Daniels (2009) demonstrate. Atton asks if certain features typically associated with alternative media or citizens’ media (Rodriguez, 2001), such as participatory practices, are sufficient enough to qualify particular media, such as the far-​right radical media, to be categorized as such. Atton’s study, however, demonstrates how the British National Party’s (BNP), as far-​right media on the Internet, creates racist discourses. Downing et al. (2001) argue that far-​right media can be identified as “repressive radical media.” Similarly, Daniels’ (2009) study reveals how clocked websites, which are sites where authoring of material is hidden for political motives, promote cyber-​racism. These sites act as propaganda tools in order to push forward a White-​supremacist agenda and, yet, can be categorized as forms of alternative media –​depending on the criteria used to define alternative media. Hegemonic power draws ideas from alternative sources to find news media information or to find new ways of consumption, as well as engages in practices of containment and co-​optation as it transforms various alternative cultural symbols and creations into goods, thereby neutralizing their potential for resistance to cultural and political domination. Nevertheless, tactics of the weak need to be remembered as clever interventions, which seize an opportunity at a particular moment to stage a discursive coup. What happens after the text emerges in the public domain is beyond the control of the creator. When the exceptional artist’s work finds resonance with the standpoints of other women, then the movement of culture might start to shift in more compelling ways.

Gendering Resistance Whereas several of the tactics described above have been used as tactics of the weak and emerge from anti-​racism politics, women have used them as well. However, many women scholars and artists have generated discursive resistance in specific ways, by tackling issues around women’s lives and realities in the pursuit of a feminist agenda. From a gender perspective, Mohanty (1991), among other critical race and gender studies scholars, points out the

32  Talking Back to Power centrality of the notion of intersectionality (i.e., how different axes of identity interact to create a sense of self). Mohanty’s (1991) important contribution to the area of “third world” feminism sheds light on some of the ways that women from the Global South have challenged structures of patriarchy. A common “third world” feminist project includes engaging in practices of rewriting histories from specific locations of struggle (Mohanty, 1991). From this perspective, political and nationalist struggles for independence, liberation, and decolonization are intimately linked to a feminist agenda of achieving gender equality. Such a testimony can be found in Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, where bell hooks (1981) presents a particular rewriting of history –​of Black women’s involvement in women’s movements. hooks explains how White women took the lead of feminist movements, whereas Black women were pushed away from the forefront of such movements because of racial and imperial structures within US society. Thus, hooks departs from the dominant perception of Black women’s lack of commitment to women’s rights and argues that the call for “sisterhood” did not materialize as a result of the failure to recognize questions of race, class, and sexuality, along with the question of gender. In speaking to methodologies of discursive resistance from a gendered perspective, Stillman (2007) proposes three methods for analyzing feminist media activism: the diagnostic, the theatrical, and the archaeological. The diagnostic method, which includes naming and shaming, presents a cultural vocabulary for unpacking media stereotypes. For example, in her investigation of violence against women, but more particularly her unpacking of the media’s construction of “worthy” and “unworthy” victims, Stillman examines the technique of naming used by activists to bring to light the identity of dead and disappeared low-​income women of color. She argues that the act of naming, as the primary diagnostic tool, can have a significant impact on national and international coverage of women victims of violence. In addition, the act of shaming, particularly through the deployment of satire and humor, can successfully gain the attention of mainstream newsrooms. Nonetheless, she offers an important critique of the potential of satire to create lasting change: “satire has the potential, when carelessly wielded, to invite the very kind of dehumanization that it claims to resist, belittling the suffering of White female victims and those who mourn them” (Stillman, 2007, p. 494). The second method that Stillman proposes has been previously elaborated in Taylor’s (2003) work. According to Stillman, a theatrical approach revives marginalized bodies through storytelling. As a more creative form of feminist media activism, the third method consists of inserting stories of women victims of violence into the public imagination with the aim of securing their protection. This proposal resonates with Taylor’s studies of Latin American performance, which Stillman acknowledges, citing one of Taylor’s case studies: the Madres de Plaza de Mayo in Argentina who for decades called out the names of their disappeared children in front of

Talking Back to Power  33 the presidential palace in Buenos Aires. The theatrical method incorporates learning from the practices of theatre and stage by transforming bodies into “walking billboards” (Taylor, 2003). Finally, according to Stillman, the archaeological method involves digging/​unearthing the lost and disappeared stories of disenfranchised bodies. This persistent and proactive digging is a form of media activism that Stillman (2007) describes as “feminist archaeology” that could lead to reclaiming a particular memory or showing the state’s failure to protect an endangered woman (p. 498).

Emergence in Popular Culture If we think about these “counter” interventions as identities in emergence, we can begin to trace the contours of the rapid movement of culture in the realm of the popular. Working from within a constraining structure, these works attempt to produce alternatives because they are dissatisfied with their representation in the dominant public sphere. Although they circulate “identity work,” sites of emergence are inevitably open to co-​optation. For the purpose of this book’s analysis, we find Alarcón’s notion of sites of emergence particularly useful, as it points to the temporary surfacing of counter-​sensibilities and counter-​narratives. The image of “sites of emergence” refers to the fluid movement of culture and to the struggle to change meaning, while recognizing that meaning can never be fixed as Hall (1997) reminds us. As these identities temporarily emerge, “two basic strategies have evolved to deal with this threat. First, the Other can be trivialized, naturalized, domesticated. Here the difference is simply denied (“Otherness is reduced to sameness”). Alternatively, the Other can be transformed into meaningless exotica” (Hebdige, 1979, p. 97). Nevertheless, this does not mean that making an absolute distinction between the ideological and commercial “manipulations” of subcultures in the arena of popular culture is justified. The realm of popular culture is a site of struggle of hegemonic and counter-​ hegemonic discourses. It can offer opportunities to challenge the status quo and to disseminate alternative perspectives to a wide audience. However, it is also the arena of dominant cultural production. Williams (1977) posits dominant culture as constantly seeking to appropriate the emergent. As Hall (1981) explains, popular culture cannot be viewed as independent from the monopolization of cultural industries and from dominant cultural production. But the field of hegemony is a battlefield where dominant cultures constantly struggle to organize popular culture. As Grossberg (1992) puts it, “the popular can only be understood historically as located in a set of cultural sensibilities” (p. 85). The ability of certain practices to generate visceral responses on the body such as tears or laughter precisely determines the role of popular culture. Part of the struggle over popular culture is precisely to be able to generate such effects. It is its articulation with particular sensibilities that permits such reactions and responses.

34  Talking Back to Power Hence, the transition from alternative media to popular culture, as it appears also in this book’s analysis of three artistic case studies, is particularly interesting to study. In another analysis, Newman (2009) discusses indie culture and the “branding of alternative culture.” Whereas ““indie” connotes small-​scale, personal, artistic, and creative,” the mainstreaming of indie cultural texts has been taking place via their transformation into products for consumption that are attractive because of their unusual or exotic branding. Here, Newman brings to light how counter-​culture has been turned into consumer culture as alternative cultural movements become indie products for consumption. Western consumer culture has engaged in the packaging and selling of counter-​cultural products. In his study of American independent cinema, Newman (2009) posits that “indie” culture “… is a contradictory culture insofar as it counters and implicitly criticizes hegemonic mass culture, desiring to be an authentic alternative to it, but also serves as a taste culture perpetuating the privilege of a social elite of upscale consumers” (p. 17). From this perspective, to not appear as courting the mainstream’s audience is key to preserving an indie sensibility. Newman posits that too much popularity can decrease the “indie” artist’s credibility. Newman’s discussion, however, lacks an acknowledgment of exceptional artists who also benefit from a great degree of popularity. For example, the singer Oum Kulthum is even today regarded as a performer of high Arab art while she was also, in her lifetime, incredibly popular as a respectable female figure. Oum Kulthum’s musical performances were groundbreaking. She stood as a lone female figure and sang in front of a predominantly male audience, thereby pushing forward a feminist agenda. Oum Kulthum sang canonical Arabic poetry as well as political and religious songs.

Alternative Media and Collective Action What alternative cultural productions “do” in the hegemonic/​ counter-​ hegemonic system is related to the role that cultural production can play to shake or even transform what appears to be stagnant. How can alternative cultural productions influence collective existence? To answer this question, it seems useful to turn to Berlant’s (1997) concept of “Diva Citizenship” as it sheds light on the “public” significance of the selected case studies for this analysis. Even though the long-​term effects of “dramatic” interventions are limited, Berlant (1997) argues that Diva Citizenship cannot be underestimated because it “tends to emerge in moments of such extraordinary political paralysis” (p. 223) and appears to be transformative, impacting on collective existence. Berlant’s more recent work on “cruel optimism” is also useful here because it points to how upward mobility is severely restricted for marginalized communities. For Berlant (2011), cruel optimism is “the condition of maintaining an attachment to a problematic object” (p. 33). The concept

Talking Back to Power  35 of “cruel optimism” illustrates the problematic implications of trying to achieve socio-​economic status for marginalized communities whose upward mobility has been severely restricted. In this context, however, Berlant views the interventions of Diva Citizens as significant because they tend “to emerge in moments of such extraordinary political paralysis,” although she acknowledges that Diva Citizenship is limited in its ability to effect change on a grand scale. Therefore, Berlant’s two books Diva Citizenship and Cruel Optimism can be linked in the following way –​on one hand, the figure of the exceptional Diva Citizen can stage a dramatic coup in the public sphere, but on the other hand, the concept of cruel optimism points to the function that the figure of the “exceptional” serves in society. My reading of her latter book Cruel Optimism is that it points to the ways in which the presence of a few exceptional and successful women in the public sphere denies the absence of the many others. Beyond the scope of this particular study, Berlant’s insight resonates particularly with me as I am confronted in classroom discussions about gender and race with the statements of students who mention prominent female figures as evidence to deny the existence of gender discrimination, stating for instance, “but we have Condoleeza Rice” (or Hillary Clinton, or Bassima Hakkaoui in Morocco) –​it seems that in the minds of some students, before they become confronted to the structural inequalities and see the systemic and statistical inequities in the workplace, politics, and society that the few visible women mask the invisibility of countless others. In an interview with the magazine Variant, Berlant argues that the battle is to be thought and won at the level of the imaginary (Helms et al., 2010). What role can exceptional artists play in challenging stereotypes and structures of domination? While Berlant speaks of the uses of re-​narrating known stories, Kelley (2002) in a similar vein calls for the necessity of building visions of freedom: without new visions we don’t know what to build, only what to knock down. We not only end up confused, rudderless, and cynical, but we forget that making a revolution is not a series of clever manoeuvres and tactics but a process that can and must transform us. (p. Xii) Kelley is thus critical of the tendency in social movement literature to focus on maneuvers and tactics to the detriment of paying attention to visions that could fuel such movements. In this view, it is still (always) important to engage in a type of practice that first asks about the “what” and the “how” of the struggle before and while engaging in action. Here it is important to note that social movements have been generative of knowledge as Kelley clearly states, in order to avoid falling into an elitist understanding of cultural and political change. One of the core functions of exceptional alternative media artists therefore seems to be keeping particular narratives alive while simultaneously feeding news visions of emancipation.

36  Talking Back to Power We can find numerous examples of the activation of visions of emancipation in circulated Arab and Muslim cultural works. The poet Mahmud Darwish provides such a striking example of cultural influence on political life –​his work is considered to have metaphorically shaped Palestinian resistance. An example of Arab Spring cultural works is the YouTube video “YouTube –​Dream With Me (Ehlam Ma’aya) –​25 Jan Revolution” (Hussien, 2011), which uses the Egyptian artist Hamza Namira’s (2008) song “Dream With Me” (Ehlam Ma’aya) as a backdrop for the activist critique of the Egyptian government during the period of the January 25, 2011, Revolution. Various cultural works promote collective transformation that can be brought to light in the analysis of Shirin Neshat’s visual art, a subject that I turn to in the next chapter.

Conclusion “Talking back” to power, as outlined by hooks (1989), involves the movement of the speaker from an object to a subject position. Rather than a mere act of speech, it is an effort to liberate the voice of those who stand and represent the margins of society. Nonetheless, structures of domination inevitably subject these acts of “talking back” to containment and appropriation in a dynamic movement of cultural/​symbolic power, well illustrated by Gramsci’s notion of hegemony. Gramsci conceptualizes hegemony (1916–​1935) as a “moving equilibrium.” While it is secured via coercion, economic domination, and cultural consciousness, it is always contested. Part of Gramsci’s originality is situated in how he conceives of culture as a significant arena within which dominant powers attempt to win popular consent. In this regard, Gramsci denounces economism, critiquing Marx’s emphasis on the economy as a determining force. Whereas Gramsci never uses the terms counter-​ hegemony and counter-​ hegemonic, these notions have been applied in studies of alternative media and postcolonial analyses of liberationist struggles. Postcolonial theory outlines the central tropes of hegemonic thinking and identifies types of interventions that depart from, and are founded on critiques of, colonial and Orientalist narratives. These interventions can be conceptualized as counter-​hegemonic. What the marginalized can do to challenge structures of domination depends on the tools available to them (De Certeau, 1984). Describing a “tactic” as time-​based, De Certeau defines it as opposed to “strategy,” which is a space-​based force of domination. And here, identifying the sensibility at work is a key part of mounting a challenge to dominant cultural ideas. Ways of “making do” (De Certeau, 1984) that cohere around notions of tactical interventions include the tactic of détournement, rectifying the erasure of history through the rejuvenation and reactivation of the past, promoting positive images, using spectator positioning, infiltrating mainstream media, reviving oral stories, bearing witness, and resignifying. Most of this literature is derived from alternative media studies. While alternative media has

Talking Back to Power  37 been endorsing social justice change, it is important to note the regressive use of such media. Resistance, from a feminist perspective, has meant using the tactics of the weak, albeit in specific ways. “Third world” feminists, in particular, have emphasized the role of intersectionality (i.e., other axes of identity, e.g., race, class) in significantly shaping inequality. Discursive resistance, from a gendered perspective, has also meant deploying specific tools, such as diagnostic (naming and shaming), theatrical, and archaeological (digging for lost stories) methods for undertaking feminist media activism (Stillman, 2007). Such counter-​interventions emerge in sites that are rapidly recuperated in the realm of the popular. Hence, popular culture is the site of struggle of hegemonic and counter-​ hegemonic discourses. The significance of tacticality in terms of its connection to emergent collective action depends on the role that cultural productions can play to inspire and influence collective existence through the kinds of visions they uphold and the dreaming they allow.

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40  Talking Back to Power Razack, S. (1993). Storytelling for social change. In H. Bannerji (Ed.), Returning the gaze: Essays on racism, feminism and politics (pp. 100–​122). Sister Vision. Razack, S. (2008). Casting out: The eviction of Muslims from Western law and politics. University of Toronto Press. Rodríguez, C. (2001). From alternative media to citizen’s media. In Fissures in the mediascape: An international study of citizens’ media (pp. 1–​23). Hampton Press. Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. Vintage Books. Said, E. W. (1981). Covering Islam: How the media and the experts determine how we see the rest of the world. Routledge & Kegan Paul. Salaita, S. (2006). Anti-​Arab racism in the USA: Where it comes from and what it means for politics today. Pluto Press. Salloum, J. (Director). (2005). Planet of the Arabs. IMDb. Shaheen, J. G. (1984). The TV Arab. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. Shaheen, J. G. (2001). Reel bad Arabs: How Hollywood vilifies a people. Olive Branch Press. Shohat, E., & Stam R. (1994). Unthinking eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the media. Routledge. Spivak, G. C. (2005). Scattered speculations on the subaltern and the popular. Postcolonial Studies, 8(4), 475–​486. https://​doi.org/​10.1080/​13688790500375132 Stam, R., & Spence, L. (1985). Colonialism, racism, and representation: An introduction. In B. Nichols (Ed.), Movies and methods: An anthology (Vol. 2, pp. 632–​ 648). University of California Press. Stillman, S. (2007). “The missing white girl syndrome”: Disappeared women and media activism. Gender & Development, 15(3), 491–​502. https://​doi.org/​ 10.1080/​13552070701630665 Taylor, D. (2003). The archive and the repertoire: Performing cultural memory in the Americas. Duke University Press. Todd, S. (1998). Veiling the “other”, unveiling our “selves”: Reading media images of the hijab psychoanalytically to move beyond tolerance. Canadian Journal of Education/​ Revue canadienne de l’éducation, 23(4), 438–​451. https://​doi.org/​ 10.2307/​1585757 Vivian, B. (1999). The veil and the visible. Western Journal of Communication, 63(2), 115–​139. https://​doi.org/​10.1080/​10570319909374633 Wilkins, K., & Downing. J. (2002). Mediating terrorism: Text and protest in interpretations of the siege. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 19(4), 419–​ 437. https://​doi.org/​10.1080/​07393180216571 Williams, R. (1977). Hegemony. In Marxism and literature (pp. 108–​114). Oxford University Press. Yeğenoğlu, M. (1998). Colonial fantasies: Towards a feminist reading of orientalism. Cambridge University Press. Young, R. (2001). Postcolonialism: An historical introduction. Blackwell.

2  Assertions of Unintelligibility Shirin Neshat’s Visual Innovations

Born in 1957 in Qazvin, Iran, Shirin Neshat is an Iranian-​American multimedia artist and filmmaker who currently resides in New York City. Her work is internationally celebrated as groundbreaking. She left Iran in 1975, when a teenager, just a few years before the Iranian revolution, and moved to the United States, where she pursued her studies leading her to obtain an Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley. It was not until the 1990s that Neshat designed, directed, and posed for a series of photographs called Women of Allah and became known for her juxtapositions of the veil, weapons, and the written text (specifically poetry written in Farsi and inscribed as calligraphy on the body), hiring photographers such as Larry Barns and Kyong Park to create her images (MacDonald, 2004). Neshat started making movies in the late 1990s.1 During this time, she achieved global recognition, winning the First International Prize at the 48th Venice Biennale in 1999 for her video installation Turbulent. Her solo museum exhibitions include shows in New York, London, Amsterdam, and Montreal. Neshat is the recipient of numerous awards.2 She transitioned from this moving-​image work, often characterized by double-​screen installation and unconventional narratives, to cinema. Women without Men (2009b) was her first full-​length feature film. Neshat’s next feature Looking for Oum Kulthum (Neshat & Azari, 2017) had its world premiere at the 74th Venice International Film Festival in September 2017. Directed and written by Shirin Neshat, in collaboration with Shoja Azari, Looking for Oum Kulthum has received significant praise internationally and has been widely distributed.3 Neshat’s work has inspired at least hundreds of reviews and articles. In addition, it has received considerable academic attention from cultural critics such as Dabashi (1997, 2005), Dadi (2008), Milani (2001), and Naficy (2000), though none of these studies examine her film Women without Men. In this chapter, I focus on the ways in which Iranian-​American multimedia artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat’s work “talks back” to dominant discourses about Muslim identity. I take interest in processes of “talking DOI: 10.4324/9780429292927-3

42  Assertions of Unintelligibility

Figure 2.1 Shirin Neshat. Courtesy of Gladstone Gallery.

back” to dominant discourses, with a particular focus on gendered representation. “Talking back” is here conceptualized in the sense that bell hooks (1989) outlines –​as discursive acts of resistance that move the speaker from an object to a subject position. I argue that Neshat’s first feature film Women without Men (2009b) constitutes a crucial contemporary intervention that challenges the dominant sphere of mainstream cinema. This chapter first presents the dominant representations of Muslim and Iranian women to which Neshat’s work “talks back.” It then analyzes her work’s counter-​hegemonic discourses in light of the proposed concept of “assertions of unintelligibility.” The analysis also benefits from insights derived from an interview that I conducted with the artist (written notes only). In the concluding section, I question the conditions that make a counter-​hegemonic challenge possible by reflecting on significant contextual elements.

Representations of Muslim and Iranian Women In using the word representation, I draw from the work of cultural studies theorist Stuart Hall, who viewed identity as socially constructed. Rather than

Assertions of Unintelligibility  43 judging whether representation is reflective of reality, Hall (1997) contends that meaning is created through depictions of people, objects, events, and ideas (i.e., representation). Dominant representations in a given society contribute to creating a sense of culture, and thus have real consequences. In this view, the created words and images do not just operate in the abstract realm of discourse, but serve as the rhetorical foundation for enacting policies and political measures and for shaping behaviors. Shirin Neshat’s work “talks back” to a large repertoire of dominant representations of Muslim women. On one hand, Orientalist discourse shapes the contours of these representations by constructing them as oppressed women in need of saving. In his seminal book Orientalism (1978), Said defines it as the type of discourse that always positions a superior West vis-​à-​vis an inferior East for the purpose of achieving colonization and domination. On the other hand, patriarchal images of women have also shaped the discourse of Middle East media. Marked by discriminatory media coverage, the Middle East media landscape reveals the lack of input of women as makers of news (Sakr, 2004). The lack of women’s voices as experts further contributes to their considerable under-​representation in Middle East media (Sakr, 2004). In Orientalist discourse, gender plays a crucial role in that it confines Muslims to the imaginary era and space of the pre-​modern. Razack (2008) notes that women in particular are the markers of Muslims’ location in the continuum of modernity. Several scholars (Abu-​Lughod, 2002; Ayotte & Husain, 2005; Butler, 2004; Razack, 2008; Vivian, 1999) discuss how even feminist rhetoric has been appropriated to justify imperial expansion, notably through the use of military force. Leila Ahmed boldly terms this “colonial feminism” arguing that such “feminism” has been “used against other cultures in the service of colonialism” (quoted in Abu-​Lughod, 2002, p. 784). A central figure of this dominant discourse is the veiled Muslim woman (Jiwani, 2010; Oumlil, 2010). The global mainstream media consistently dismiss the many meanings and symbols of veiling for Muslim women. Instead, the coverage links Muslim religious practices, symbolized by the veil, with women’s oppression. The trend of linking wearing the veil to “fundamentalism,” “terrorism,” and a lack of “assimilation” into the “host” society has been documented in France (Vivian, 1999), the United States (Macdonald, 2006), and Quebec (Todd, 1998). One dimension of these representations focuses on the exotic. Here, the Muslim woman is represented as the sexually fatal other (Yeğenoğlu, 1998). Hence, the sexualization of Muslim women and the feminization of the “Orient” are central tropes of Orientalist discourse. According to Yeğenoğlu (1998), representations of sexual difference are of fundamental importance in the formation of a colonial subject position.

44  Assertions of Unintelligibility While Muslim women have been historically represented in Western media as oppressed women in need of saving, with their occasional representation as exotic beings (e.g., seductresses, belly dancers, harem girls), the cluster of representations of Iranian women in Iran’s domestic media has also taken essentialist and reductionist characteristics. In terms of visual representation, Iranian filmmakers have chosen to privilege men as chief protagonists, and women as confined to the ideological space of the home (Naficy, 1995). In terms of their own participation in the media, only one Iranian woman, Shahla Riahi, had directed a feature film before the 1978–​1979 Islamic revolution, a film titled Marjan in 1956. Since then, several female directors have made feature films in post-​revolutionary Iran, including Tahmineh Ardekani, Feryal Behzad, Rakhshan Bani-​ Etemad, Marziyeh Borumand, Puran Derakhshandeh, Tahmineh Milani, and Kobra S a’idi. However, Naficy (1994) points out that “it would be inaccurate to assume or to expect that female directors working in the Islamic Republic necessarily present a better rounded or a more radically feminist perspective in their films than do male directors” (p. 133). Nonetheless, he argues that representations have improved as stronger female characters and examinations of women’s conditions have emerged. Furthermore, Foster (1995) points out that since the 1960s, while Iranian female directors continue to challenge patriarchal society and explore feminist theme, they have been careful not to label themselves as feminists. Yet, the question remains as to the potential of films to influence socio-​ political action. Conditions since the 1979 Revolution have led to the emigration of a number of Iranian filmmakers, and others working in the film industry, who then started to operate from abroad. Iranian-​American filmmaker Cyrus Nowrasteh’s film The Stoning of Soraya M. (2008), an adaptation of French-​Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam’s (1990) book La Femme Lapidée, is based on the true story of an Iranian woman who was stoned to death after being falsely accused of committing adultery. The graphic and long-​lasting depiction of her stoning provides an archetypal example of the feminist tactic of shaming the perpetrators of gender-​based violence by drawing attention to the brutal and criminal acts of misogyny that they commit (Stillman, 2007). Her hands tied up and her lower body buried in the ground, each hit from a stone bends Soraya’s body backward until she collapses forward, her original white dress covered in blood. The director insisted on showing the cruelty of the killing. The sixth President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who served from 2005 to 2013, placed The Stoning of Soraya M. on a list of films for which Iran deserves an apology for “insults” and “slanders” (Miraudo, 2010; Tait, 2009). Interestingly, following the release of the film, Iranian lawmakers started revising legislation in order to outlaw harsh forms of punishment such as stoning. Creative expression has indeed the potential to influence socio-​political change in any context. Furthermore, the underground distribution networks in Iran present another version of

Assertions of Unintelligibility  45 socio-​political action. Besides state censorship, as illustrated in Ahmedinejad’s repressive response, defenders of media freedom have challenged government attempts to curtail freedom of expression. In The Stoning of Soraya M. case, lawmakers defended the legitimacy of the divergent discourse in court, while media consumers interested in alternative content found ways to gain access to the film and circulate it. A comparable case in 2012 was when protesters attacked a Tunisian TV station that aired the Iranian film Persepolis in post-​Ben Ali Tunisia. Directed by Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis (2007) is an adaptation of Satrapi’s best-​selling autobiographical graphic novel about a young girl who comes of age during the Iranian Islamic revolution. Persepolis sheds light on the immediate further curtailment of women’s rights after Ruhollah Khomeini’s accession to power in the 1978 revolution, which overthrew the last Shah of Iran and established the country as an Islamic Republic. Paronnaud and Satrapi’s film shows restrictions on women’s clothing and social behavior. As a consequence of broadcasting the film, the director of Tunisia’s Nessma TV, Nabil Karoui, was on trial for “insulting sacred values, offending decent morals and causing public unrest.” His defense team qualified it as “a trial that was a test of Tunisia’s youthful democracy” (Agence France Press, 2012). The Tunisian court ordered the TV station director to pay a 2,400 dinar ($1,500) fine for airing the animated film Persepolis (Amnesty International, 2012). Such attacks on creative expression, as these Iranian and Tunisian examples illustrate, signal a strategy to neutralize speech that runs counter to the dominant ideology, underlining the question of the degree of accessibility –​and even intelligibility –​of such assertions.

Assertions of Unintelligibility In analyzing the ways in which Shirin Neshat’s art talks back to discourses of domination, the phrase with the best capacity to illustrate the difficulties of articulating dissent, and circulating it either in the public sphere or in counter-​public spheres (alternative media), is “assertions of unintelligibility.” For this analysis, “assertions of unintelligibility” refers to the statements that marginalized people make in support of their rights.4 The present case study of Neshat’s work illustrates well assertions of unintelligibility, which may appear under one of the three mechanisms of silencing dissent that I have identified in this analysis: (a) silent speech, (b) speech constructed as insane, or (c) punishable speech. The examples that I offer illustrate some of the manifestations and metaphors by which these assertions are communicated.

Silent Speech As explained in the Introduction, assertions of unintelligibility can take the form of silent speech, a type of speech that becomes so utterly inaudible

46  Assertions of Unintelligibility that the speaker’s only resort to being heard is accomplished through death. Neshat’s film Women without Men plays out notions of female agency and disempowerment. The plot of the film revolves around the following four female protagonists. Fakhri, an upper-​class woman, seeks to separate herself from a distasteful marriage. As she is approaching menopause, her husband starts threatening to take a second wife. She decides to leave him and purchases an orchard which serves as a place of refuge for the four women. Munis is a political activist. While she is interested in following closely the political events taking place in Iran, her brother Amir attempts to force her into an arranged marriage because, according to him, she is getting too old. Struggling against his demand, she commits suicide, but then is magically revived. Faizeh is Munis’ friend and plots to marry Amir, who is interested in a much younger woman. After being raped by strangers who see her standing in front of a café, she is most concerned with having lost her virginity and, to her mind, the status of being a respectable female eligible for marriage. When Amir becomes interested in marrying her as his second wife, Faizeh refuses his proposal, stating: “And when you get tired of me, I’ll be a servant to your third wife?” The fourth character, Zarin, is a sex worker who escapes her line of work after male customers start to appear to her as faceless. She also seems to be anorexic. One of the most painful scenes of the film takes place in a public Turkish-​style bathhouse, where Zarin furiously scrubs her body until it bleeds. This act of self-​punishment illustrates a desperate attempt to cleanse her body. The notions of female agency and disempowerment perhaps most directly play out in the first and last scenes of the film, which depict Munis as committing suicide. However, her return to life brings to light the metaphor of speaking through death. The scenes speak to whether the subaltern can speak or at the very least find voice through death. The first scene of Women without Men starts with an adhan (Islamic call to prayer); we can hear “Allah Akbar,” or “God is Great.” Islam, from the beginning, is an integral part of the film’s narrative. Furthermore, shots of street protests in various scenes place the film in the political arena, as politics appear to be an integral part of everyday life and a significant force that shapes one’s existence. This is important in order to situate the film as a text that “talks back” to dominant discourses of Islam. The first scene depicts a female character (whom we will later get to know as Munis) jumping from the roof of a home and committing suicide. Her dark hair floats in the wind as she falls in slow motion, peacefully, to the pavement. As she jumps, Munis is not frightened; she shows a quiet determination to end her life. The theme of suicide is also present in Rapture, another video installation that Neshat produced in 1999, which depicts women leaving on a boat. As Neshat explains in Expressing the Inexpressible (2004), a DVD about her photography and video art, the women getting on the boat and

Assertions of Unintelligibility  47 leaving could be interpreted as an “act of bravery.” Furthermore, she adds, “Whether it meant that they were committing suicide or they were reaching freedom, it wasn’t very clear.” Interestingly, this is also a theme in the award-​ winning Iranian film The Day I Became a Woman (Meshkini, 2000), as one of the female characters named Hoora (meaning “nymph” or “mythological female spirit” in Farsi and “free” in Arabic) goes to the beach with her new belongings, purchased with her recent inheritance, and sets sail toward the unknown. Again in Expressing the Inexpressible, Neshat explicitly states that she was keen on keeping the resurrection of Munis in her version of Women without Men. When I interviewed Neshat, she explained how she was keen on showing how the characters go through a positive transformation and look for ways to rise above their oppressive circumstances. After Munis kills herself, Amir and Fayzeh bury her corpse in their backyard. Fayzeh comes back to their house on the day of Amir’s wedding in a last desperate attempt to stop the marriage from occurring. As she is burying a charm and casting a spell to stop his wedding from happening, Munis’ voice rises from beneath the ground. Fayzeh digs her up. This episode portrays how Munis finds voice through death. By killing herself, Munis thwarts her brother’s plan to force her into an arranged marriage and is able to magically return to life. A subsequent scene will show her as escaping to the orchard, which serves as a place of refuge and healing for the four women. The film ends with the first same shot of Munis falling from a roof. Her voice narrates, in a very peaceful and determined

Figure 2.2 Scene from Women without Men.

48  Assertions of Unintelligibility way, “Death isn’t so hard. You only think it is … all that we wanted was to find a new form, a new way. Release.” Speech Constructed as Insane Assertions of unintelligibility can also take the form of speech constructed as insane, a type of speech that by conventional patriarchal standards is incoherent. Neshat’s video installation Turbulent provides a striking example of speech constructed as insane. Turbulent is built around a double-​screen installation separating a male section from a female section. While a quick glance at the video shows male and female worlds as separate, the core message of this piece is about a woman’s struggle to take up her voice and her suppressed knowledge –​the video depicts how she does not have an audience. What she tries to sing finds an echo only with great difficulty. On a similar note, Naficy’s (2000) analysis of Turbulent, Rapture, and Soliloquy posits the complex nuances that underlie these apparent straightforward binaries. Naficy (2000) states, “[T]‌he tug of war between self and other, modern and pre-​modern, the West and the rest, female and male, desert and fortress, exile and home leads Neshat to create apparently straightforward and polar, but increasingly complex, parallel filmic texts” (p. 53). I agree with Naficy’s reading of Neshat’s work. Indeed, her art reproduces polarity in order to transcend it. In many ways, highlighting the gender-​based binaries for Neshat has involved using the metaphor of what I would describe as speech constructed as insane, the type of speech that gets dismissed as not making sense while it is not literally insane. Perhaps this is best shown through her video installation Turbulent, which illustrates the impossibility of speaking. Referencing gender roles, gender segregation, and Muslim practices that forbid women from singing in public, Turbulent simultaneously shows the gendered division and the relationality of this separation in a literal visual depiction. The two-​screen video installation simultaneously shows the male singer on one side and the female character on the other. Whereas the male singer performs to a full house, the female singer faces an empty auditorium. His voice is loud and clear; he receives applause for his performance even though he has his back turned to his audience. Therefore, it is implied that he is not making an effort to be heard. In contrast, the female voice is struggling to utter indecipherable sounds, which then turn into beautiful musicality, but then become disrupted again. The female singer holds her head as if she is becoming mad –​the singing does not make sense. Turbulent illustrates Neshat’s attempt to communicate with both the Iranian policymakers who banned women from singing in public and the overall Muslim and Iranian cultures that justify such patriarchal practices. Neshat discusses the ways in which she deliberately staged the female character’s madness: “[T]‌he fast circular camera movement around her was meant to reiterate her mental state, her madness, her rage” (S. MacDonald,

Assertions of Unintelligibility  49 2004, p. 632). Yet she also provides a hopeful element. While the female singer performs in an empty room and does not have an audience, her voice can be heard “next door” in the male auditorium, as the sounds come through. The film’s official press kit posits that in Turbulent, “Neshat explored singing as a metaphor for freedom, inspired by an Iranian ban on women singing” (Neshat, 2009a, p. 6). In Turbulent, the representation involves a portrayal of a male character as audible, and the female character as voiceless. Whereas men can speak, women struggle to have their voices heard. Punishable Speech Finally, and as explained in the Introduction, assertions of unintelligibility can take the form of punishable speech: hostile responses to silence dissent, or more serious forms of intimidation including censorship and imprisonment. The life trajectory of Parsipur, 2004, the author of the novel on which Women without Men is based, illustrates some of these difficulties. Born in Tehran in 1946, Parsipur was arrested and jailed four times, the first time in 1974 by the Shah’s intelligence agency and three subsequent times under the rule of the Islamic Republic. She left Iran after her books were banned and currently lives in exile in the United States as a political refugee. Parsipur has written 11 works of fiction and a memoir. Women without Men was originally published as Zanan bedun mardan in 1989 in Tehran. Parsipur was jailed twice afterwards as a result of the novel’s treatment of the issue of virginity. Neshat’s previous work shares some similar concerns with those presented in Parsipur’s novel, most notably in the ways in which she highlights gender inequality, censorship, lack of freedom, and the erasure of historical narratives. In Women without Men, Munis is listening to a radio host presenting the view of Mohammad Mossadegh, who was the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, and whose government was overthrown in a coup d’etat orchestrated by the United States and United Kingdom. As Munis is listening to the radio, her brother Amir enters the room screaming, asking her to turn off the radio as a suitor is coming that evening to ask for her hand. Munis replies: MUNIS  To hell with the suitor! I don’t want to get married! AMIR  Don’t talk back to me! Don’t want to get married! […] You’re

never going to be decent! I’m going to work. Get up and start making dinner. If you leave the house, I’ll break your legs.

In a direct way, Amir harshly instructs Munis to not talk back to him, dismissing her point of view and wishes for her own life, and violently threatens her through yelling at her, giving orders, breaking the radio, and threatening to break her legs if she disobeys.

50  Assertions of Unintelligibility It thus appears that Neshat’s art brings to light metaphors that illustrate the difficulty of taking voice for those who have been historically silenced. This analysis reveals the ways in which the characters struggle to express their views and wishes. Furthermore, Neshat’s first feature film is set in a historical era, which has been erased from dominant historical narratives: it responds to the amnesia in Iranian-​US relations represented in mainstream media by presenting a view of Iran in 1953, when a British and American-​backed coup removed the democratically elected government. Neshat re-​ centers this moment as a historical turning point. In order to present this counter-​ narrative, she uses desaturated colors to transport viewers into another historical era. Neshat’s unique method of juxtaposing the real with the ideal makes these difficulties palatable and emphasizes beauty within difficulty.

Conditions of Emergence of Alternative Discourses Given extant strategies to silence dissent, how does it become possible to stage an intervention and to circulate an alternative discourse, including an intervention like the one discussed above of rewriting a page of Iranian history? For this particular case, one of the ways of securing emergence for alternative art consists of capitalizing on the potential of visual appeal to attract viewership and attention. In addition to the possibilities of using a striking visual repertoire, one may make difference more palatable through moving away from the realist genre –​in this case, Neshat’s first feature film emerges under the form of magic realism. But more than to the problem of finding recognition as a celebrated artist, the question of emergence matters to show ways in which counter-​hegemonic artists might gain access to the public sphere. The section below will also discuss the ways in which the demand for recognizable binaries and loaded symbols included in Neshat’s first work The Women of Allah photographic series facilitated her emergence as an artist. Visual Appeal Neshat has achieved visibility through an aesthetic focus on visual appeal. Referring to the production of Turbulent, Neshat (2001) speaks of the ways in which her art creates visual narratives: It has been a great challenge for me to create a type of narrative that is not tied to language, but rather functions purely on a visual and sonic level. Since the narrative is non-​literal, abstract, and often quite ambiguous, the viewer must rely heavily on her or his own imagination to draw meanings. (p. 60) Overall, Women without Men has received significant praise as an artistic and visually compelling text made of “unforgettable images” (Ochoa,

Assertions of Unintelligibility  51 2010). The film is composed of memorable tableaux such as artistic stills in the illusionary shape of paintings. The emphasis is not on verbalizing things, but rather on showing them in a type of “quiet” tranquility that is also reinforced by the minimal use of music. Ryuichi Sakamoto, who created the music for the film, incorporated Persian music by Abbas Bakhtiari. He created a sonic atmosphere that minimized the use of music and privileged the sounds of nature (like birdsongs), so that the garden may be suggestive of paradise in the afterlife. The idea of the garden, which Neshat had already put to use in Tooba, symbolizes, in her own words: a heaven. In the Islamic and Persian tradition, the garden is a very important symbol both in mystical and political terms. As in many other cultures, in our mystical and poetic tradition a garden becomes a space for spiritual transcendence, a paradise. And within our political language the garden is a place for freedom and independence. I found all those subjects very relevant at the time. (Interview with MacDonald, 2004, p. 645) The images and colors of the garden, evocative of a place of well-​being and pleasure, contribute to the peacefulness of the film, proposing better possibilities and an alternative space freed from sexual harassment, rape, and foreign interventions. In its calming effect, Neshat’s film carries within it a hopeful sensibility. The same emphasis on visuality is apparent in Neshat’s use of the Farsi language. Neshat kept Farsi as the language of Women without Men. She relates how she did not provide translation and subtitles for Fervor (2010), a video installation about seduction and taboos related to sexuality in Muslim contexts, as the general aim was for the public to understand the concept of the film without using words. Similarly, she did not provide translation for the Farsi calligraphy painted on the bodies of the Women of Allah photographic series. Sawsan Mahdi (2010) offers a discussion of this, arguing that: the artist [Neshat] intentionally did not translate the text of Farsi Calligraphy (her native language) that has overwritten the uncovered parts of her body such as her face, hands, feet, and eyes. By doing so, she announces the need to confront a cultural conflict and to accentuate the gap that remains unbridgeable between the Eastern and Western cultures. (p. 12) Neshat painted Farsi calligraphy and the poetry of Iranian women writers Forugh Farrokhzād and Tahereh Saffarzadeh on the women’s bodies (Dabashi, 1997). Neshat’s work speaks volumes without words. The first time I watched Turbulent and Women without Men, it was without English subtitles and

52  Assertions of Unintelligibility the narratives of both works were perfectly understandable. When I saw Women without Men again, with English subtitles this time, I did not discover any new meaning in the plot. Neshat has minimized the use of dialogue, which contributes to creating the quiet sensibility of the film and to ensuring that even viewers who are not familiar with the language can appreciate the intended messages. Dabashi (2005) perceptively notes that the strength of Neshat’s art is its visual innovation. However, he also points to some of Neshat’s verbal “generalizations,” such as when she refers to “Islamic societies” and “Western societies,” each imbued with “collective” and “traditional” versus “individualistic” and “non-​traditional” characteristics (Neshat, 1997). Neshat’s own explanations of her art in interviews reveal generalizations about the “East” and “West,” but Dabashi (2005) contends that her work reproduces binary oppositions (such as West/​East, Modernity/​Tradition, Man/​Woman) at the same time that it challenges them, calling her art as “semantically arrested, in order to be visually liberated” (p. 71). The visual appeal of her works has been a defining characteristic and a recognizable trademark. However, Neshat’s artistic debut was also characterized by some generalizations about the “East” and “West,” and a reproduction of essentialist imagery and binary oppositions in her attempts to challenge them. The demand for essentialist imagery and discourse has led to using reductionist symbols as a point of entry to circulate a counter-​hegemonic message. The counter-​hegemonic artist may then endeavor to do something else with the image or the role portrayed. As Bogle (2001), explains in his study of African-​ American representation in film, alternative representations develop slowly, rather than in the sense of a [cultural] revolutionary coup: “I wanted comments and analysis on what certain black actors accomplished with even demeaning stereotyped roles” (p. xxi). His study not only describes the ways in which the image of African Americans in film has changed but also brings attention to how some representations have disturbingly remained the same. The tension between no representation against some representation raises the important question of how to gain access, and the ways in which those who have been historically on the sidelines of media production may endeavor to take voice. Artistic Debut The Women of Allah photographic series constituted Neshat’s point of entry as an artist, as this was her first major body of work. The photographic series, which display veiled women carrying guns and with calligraphy painted on their bodies, received considerable attention, leading her to become a “globally celebrated artist” (Dabashi, 2005, p. 31). Although her work has been widely acclaimed, it nonetheless stands against a large repertoire of discourses that it opposes, at times in a very confrontational way. Guns could signify an alternative portrayal of women as being able to

Assertions of Unintelligibility  53 defend themselves and possibly even the nation (Homa Hoodfar, personal communication, 2011). Dadi (2008) speaks of a “confrontational modality” in his article on Neshat’s photographs, which also includes a shot by an unknown photographer of Iranian women “fighters” in an army display at the occasion of the commemoration of the war with Iraq. Dadi relies on this confrontational modality to contend that Neshat does not simply draw upon an Orientalist repertoire of images of the veiled figure to show them as passive objects of the erotic gaze. Rather, Dadi compares the confrontational modality of Neshat’s photographs to Alloula’s (1986) previous research on French colonial postcards from a century earlier featuring Algerian women. Although Dadi does not expand on Alloula’s research, it is clear that the women in the postcards posed without smiling, or displayed forced smiles, or might have smiled on command, suggesting a reticence to being subjected to the colonial eroticized gaze. Neshat also uses the veil, another loaded symbol, in her photographs as well as in her film Soliloquy, in which she posed dressed in clothing resembling a chador (a large black cloth that conceals the body, typically worn by women in Iran). Soliloquy theatrically performs identity, as Neshat does not wear a veil. Other artists, like Iranian-​American comedian Tissa Hami and Pakistani-​British Muslim comedian Shazia Mirza, just as controversially have incorporated the veil in their performances and have been criticized for going on stage wearing a headscarf since they themselves do not wear veils.5 But even women who do not wear the hijab on a daily basis occasionally cover their heads. Several Muslim practices require women, who do not regularly veil, to wear the headscarf for particular occasions (e.g., when entering a mosque or attending a funeral). As much as the veil is feared, there is also an appetite for its display; for example, when belly dancers enter a stage with faces covered, only to lose their veils to satisfy the desires of the male gaze. The theme of veiling enables some types of access to the public domain. While it typically fluctuates between commodification (as an object of desire) and threat (as a symbol of difference and resistance) (Oumlil, 2010), including the veil in a performance does not necessarily preclude an alternative treatment of the subject. According to Dadi (2008), “the audience of Neshat’s photographs was, and has remained, primarily the Western art world. Her remarkable success is due to her promotion by European and American critics, curators, galleries, and museums” (p. 130). Neshat herself speaks of the insufficient circulation of her work in Iran: “[O]‌nly Tooba has been officially shown in Iran recently at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Teheran. Apparently it had an enthusiastic reception” (MacDonald, 2004, p. 639). Women without Men has been available through a pirate distribution network in Iran. When I interviewed the artist about the difficulty of gaining access to her video installations, she explained that in addition to her interest in exploring a new medium to expand her repertoire as an artist, part of her motivation for transitioning to making her first feature-​length film was so that a larger

54  Assertions of Unintelligibility audience could see her work. Neshat decided that her first feature film would appear under the form of magic realism. Magic Realism Women without Men is produced in the unique style of magic realism. Similar to the use of humor discussed for the other case studies, it allows a disruptive message to break through and become accessible. Neshat opens her preface to the 2011 edition of Women without Men with a reference to Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s definition of magic realism, relating it to Parsipur’s ability to make her readers believe the impossible. Thus, a viewer has to suspend judgment when “she [Parsipur] unleashes a dead woman and brings her back to life; she plants another woman to grow as a tree; the men in a brothel suddenly become headless; a woman gives birth to a flower and they fly off to the skies” (Neshat, 2011, pp. vii–​viii). This tradition capitalizes on orality, as in Marquez’s reliance on his grandmother’s stories that did not make sense to him, but which he did not dare to question. Azari picks up on this note when he tells the audience, in a discussion organized by the Walker Art Center (April 21, 2010), “You have to take it for what it is. We are your grandmothers telling you a story; either you accept it or you don’t.” In the same discussion, Neshat specified that they were not interested in making a documentary film. In so doing, the artists refer to the perspective of stories and voices that do not make sense and that are routinely dismissed. As mentioned in the author’s note to this new edition, Parsipur drew inspiration from what she knew to create her characters: relatives and other Iranians who crossed her path at different points of her life, and was able to circulate messages beyond the framework of having to provide strict burdens of proof. Magic realism reflects a sensibility that entertains the possibility of a better “what-​if,” of an art form that may activate an illusionary kernel of utopian possibility. As such, it constitutes a useful and tactical alternative to the use of progressive realism. According to Stam and Spence (1985), progressive realism’s search for “truth” and “reality” is not so evident to portray on screen: Many oppressed groups have used “progressive realism” to unmask and combat hegemonic images. Women and Third World film-​makers have attempted to counter-​pose the objectifying discourse of patriarchy and colonialism with a vision of themselves and their reality “from within.” But this laudable intention is not always unproblematic. “Reality” is not self-​evidently given and “truth” cannot be immediately captured by the camera. (p. 639) Stam and Spence do not completely dismiss here the possibilities of progressive realism. Rather, they point to some of the issues of using a realist

Assertions of Unintelligibility  55 repertoire. Using a magical repertoire, as in the case of Women without Men, affords the filmmaker more leeway and increased flexibility to stage an intervention. Neshat cannot be subjected (in this case) to the burden of demonstrating that her representations are accurately reflective of “reality.” When Fakhri enters the orchard for the first time, it almost seems to be a magical, mystical paradise, with birds singing while a cloud masks clarity of sight, hovering somewhere between the unreal and the possibility of the real. While there is not such a stringent burden of proof operating, the burden of representation (Mercer, 1988) is invoked. As early as the 1970s, Mercer documented the “burden of representation” as reality for filmmakers of color, who had to carry on the heavy and impossible responsibility of representing an entire community and their issues, and serving their interests as a group. The “burden of representation” also implies that the designated artists or cultural ambassadors are asked to speak on behalf of their communities, placing them within the essentializing realm of identity politics. The DVD booklet of Women without Men opens with the following statement: “Shirin Neshat is an Iranian born artist/​filmmaker whose work addresses the complex social and religious forces shaping the identity of Muslim women.” In a TED talk, Neshat (2010) speaks about finding herself in a position of “being” the voice of her people, but that “oddly enough,” she does not live in Iran. So how is one entitled to represent the people of a particular land without living there? This representation, located in exile, occurs through the performance of identity. (Note the title of Parsipur’s novel: Women without Men: A Novel of Modern Iran –​my emphasis). In this case, the burden of representation involves a portrayal of Muslim men as violent misogynists. Although this type of image sells, it cannot simply be relegated to a consent to domination, since for Gramsci good sense (as critical and collective) is part of common sense –​it contains the seeds of viable alternatives (Keeling, 2007). Adamson (1980), quoting Gramsci, explains that[d]‌espite its connotation in English, then, “common sense” is ordinarily very far removed from the real needs and interests of the masses of ordinary people who hold it; thought that satisfies real needs and interests is referred to by Gramsci as “good sense.” (p. 150) This view calls for deconstructing commonsensical understandings of culture and unraveling the ways in which they run counter to the interests of ordinary people (although they appear as “natural” and tend to be taken for granted). Gramsci uses “good sense,” which is contained within common sense, as the thoughts and questions that reveal the people’s intuition about what makes sense for them and is in accordance with their needs and well-​being. Because patriarchy is a global system, the telling of stories about Muslim women’s oppression should not be reduced to mere consent to hegemony.

56  Assertions of Unintelligibility Similar to Bogle’s previously discussed point of the ways in which African-​ American actors enacted stereotypical roles and made fun of them to call out their reductionist stance, mobilizing easy and appealing images of Muslim women (like the exotic veil) could be done in order to challenge dominant understandings.

Concluding Remarks In conclusion, Neshat’s work attempts to forge an aesthetic of contestation. Women without Men’s main creative energy is located in its visual appeal, accomplished through memorable tableaux and a quiet tranquility that endows the film with a Zen-​like quality. Indeed, Neshat minimizes the use of music and dialogue and puts the emphasis on showing ideas. The film also re-​centers gendered dynamics, in the mystical space of the garden, suggestive of paradise after life. Neshat’s point of entry as an artist began with her work on the Women of Allah photographic series, which mobilizes culturally loaded symbols (the veil, guns, and calligraphy), while offering alternative meanings to them. As she transforms herself as an artist and expands her repertoire from photography to video installations to film, Neshat has worked with metaphors of madness (in Turbulent), as well as speaking through death and punitive consequences (in Women without Men), pointing to how certain types of logic are unwelcome in the public domain and constitute what I refer to as “assertions of unintelligibility,” which may take the form of (a) silent speech (e.g., speaking through death); (b) speech constructed as insane; or (c) punishable speech (i.e., expressions of dissent that are punishable by imprisonment, censorship, etc.) in an attempt to eliminate, or at least neutralize, their effects in the public sphere. And in light of the emergence of a counter-​ hegemonic voice, Neshat tells the story of her first feature film in the style of magic realism, which enables the circulation of otherwise “suppressed knowledge” (Foucault, 1972). While the burden of proof is loosened, the burden of representation increases, invoking at times a type of theatrical performance of identity. The already impossible task of representing an entire religion, country, or culture is furthermore problematized by the artist’s location of residence and work, some 6,000 miles away from her land of birth. She is, as an embodied hybridity, contesting these binaries: West/​ East, modernity/​ tradition, male/​ female. Neshat visually transcends polarity by showing the interconnectedness of the binaries and through her usage of contrasts of color, double-​screen installations, and parallel narratives. The male and female characters of her videos operate in separate worlds but are nonetheless connected to each other. In continuation with examining the possibilities of transmitting counterhegemonic messages, the next chapter discusses the use of humor to talk back by taking interest in the stand-up comedy of Maysoon Zayid. The forthcoming analysis reveals similarities in terms of discursive tactics

Assertions of Unintelligibility  57 deployed. But the next case study is also interesting because it sheds light onto the implications of silencing speech through various forms of symbolic violence.

Notes 1 Her moving-​image work includes The Shadow Under the Web, 1997; Turbulent, 1998; Rapture, 1999; Soliloquy, 1999; Fervor, 2000; Pulse, 2001; Possessed, 2001; Passage, 2001; and The Last Word, 2003. 2 Neshat’s is the recipient of the First International Prize at the 48th Venice Biennial (1999), the Grand Prix of the Kwangju Biennial in Korea (2000), the Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art Peace Award (2004), the Lillian Gish Prize (2006), and the Crystal Award (2014). 3 Among the film’s many prizes and distinctions are: a Silver Lion for Best Director, 2009, Venice Film Festival; Official Selection to the 2010 Sundance Film Festival; and Official Selection to the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. 4 See the Introduction for a more detailed explanation of the notion of ‘assertions of unintelligibility’ that I deploy in this book. 5 For example, see Fakhraie’s (2007) blog entry: www.racialicious.com/​2007/​11/​ 20/​funny-​business-​-​in-​comedy/​

References Abu-​Lughod, L. (2002). Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others. American Anthropologist, 104(3), 783–​790. www.jstor.org/​stable/​3567256 Adamson, W. L. (1980). Hegemony and revolution: A study of Antonio Gramsci’s political and cultural theory. University of California Press. Agence France Press. (2012, January 24). Persepolis’ trial resumes in Tunisia in tense climate. Egypt Independent. https://​egyptindependent.com/​persepolis-​ trial-​resumes-​tense-​climate-​tunisia/​ Alloula, M. (1986). The colonial harem (M. Godzich & W. Godzich, Trans., Vol. 21). University of Minnesota Press. Amnesty International. (2012, May 3). Tunisia: Persepolis trial verdict signals “erosion” of free speech. Amnesty International. www.amnesty.org/​en/​latest/​ news/​2012/​05/​tunisia-​persepolis-​trial-​verdict-​signals-​erosion-​free-​speech/​ Ayotte, K. J., & Husain, M. E. (2005). Securing Afghan women: Neocolonialism, epistemic violence, and the rhetoric of the veil. NWSA Journal, 17(3), 112–​133. Bogle, D. (2001). Toms, coons, mulattoes, mammies, and bucks: An interpretive history of blacks in American films (4th ed.). Continuum. Butler, J. (2004). Precarious life: The powers of mourning and violence. Verso. Dabashi, H. (1997). The gun and the gaze: Shirin Neshat’s photography. In S. Neshat (Ed.), Shirin Neshat: Women of Allah. Marco Noire. Dabashi, H. (2005). Transcending the boundaries of an imaginative geography. In O. Zaya (Ed.), Shirin Neshat: La última palabra/​the last word (pp. 30–​85). Edizioni Charta. Dadi, I. (2008). Shirin Neshat’s photographs as postcolonial allegories. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society, 34(1), 125–​150. https://​doi.org/​10.1086/​588469

58  Assertions of Unintelligibility Fakhraie, F. (2007). Funny business: Muslims in comedy. Racialicious. Foster, G. A. (1995). Women film directors: An international bio-​critical dictionary. Greenwood Press. Foucault, M. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge. Tavistock. Gladstone Gallery (n.d.). Shirin Neshat. Gladstone Gallery. www.gladstonegallery. com/​artist/​shirin-​neshat/​biography Hall, S. (1997). Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. Sage. hooks, b. (1989). Talking back: Thinking feminist, thinking black. South End Press. Jiwani, Y. (2010). Doubling discourses and the veiled Other: Mediations of race and gender in the Canadian media. In S. Razack, M. S. Smith, & S. Thobani (Eds.), States of race: Critical race feminism for the 21st century (pp. 59–​86). Between the Lines. Keeling, K. (2007). The witch’s flight: The cinematic, the black femme, and the image of common sense. Duke University Press. Macdonald, M. (2006). Muslim women and the veil. Feminist Media Studies, 6(1), 7–​23. https://​doi.org/​10.1080/​14680770500471004 MacDonald, S. (2004). Between two worlds: An interview with Shirin Neshat. Feminist Studies, 30(3), 620–​659. https://​doi.org/​10.2307/​20458988 Mahdi, S. (2010). Rihla 912 days [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Vermont College of Fine Arts. Mercer, K. (1988). Diaspora culture and the dialogic imagination: The aesthetics of black independent film in Britain. In M. B. Cham & C. Andrade-​Watkins (Eds.), Blackframes: Critical perspectives on black independent cinema (pp. 50–​ 61). MIT Press. Meshkini, M. (Director). (2000). The day I became a woman [Film]. Olive Films. Milani, F. (2001). Shirin Neshat. Edizioni Charta. Miraudo, S. (2010, May 28). Interview –​Cyrus Nowrasteh, Director of the Stoning of Soraya M. Quickflix. www.quickflix.com.au/​News/​Interviews/​ TheStoningofSorayaM/​6720 Naficy, H. (1994). Veiled vision/​powerful presences: Women in post-​revolutionary Iranian cinema. In M. Afkhami and E. Friedl (Eds.), In The Eye of the storm: Women in post-​revolutionary Iran (pp. 131–​150). Syracuse University Press. Naficy, H. (1995). Iranian Cinema under the Islamic Republic. American Anthropologist, 97(3), 548–​558. www.jstor.org/​stable/​683274 Naficy, H. (2000). Parallel worlds. In G. Matt (Ed.), Shirin Neshat (pp. 42–​53). Kunsthalle. Neshat, S. (Director). (1999). Rapture [Short Film]. Neshat, S. (Director). (2004). Expressing the Inexpressible [DVD]. Films Media Group. Neshat, S. (Director). (1998). Turbulent [Film]. Neshat, S. (Director). (2009). Women without Men. IndiePix Films. Neshat, S. (2010, December). Art in exile [Video]. TED Conferences. www.ted.com/​ talks/​shirin_​neshat_​art_​in_​exile Neshat, S. (2011). Foreword. In S. Parsipur, Women without men: A novel of modern Iran (pp. iv–​viii). The Feminist Press at CUNY. Neshat, S., & Azari, S. (Directors). (2017). Looking for Oum Kulthum. The Match Factory. Nowrasteh, C. (Director). (2008). The stoning of Soraya M. [Film]. Mpower Pictures. Ochoa, S. (2010, April 18). Shirin Neshat’s “Women without Men” a suspenseful work of beauty. Levantine Cultural Center. www.levantinecenter.org/​levantine-​ review/​film/​shirin-​neshats-​women-​without-​men-​surpasses

Assertions of Unintelligibility  59 Oumlil, K. (2010). Discourses of the Veil in Al Jazeera English. Reconstruction, 10(1). Paronnaud, V., & Satrapi, M. (Directors). (2007). Persepolis [Film]. Celluloid Dreams; CNC. Pārsīʹpūr, S. (2004). Women without men: A novel of modern Iran (K. Talattof & J. Sharlet, Trans.). Feminist Press at the City University of New York. (Original work published 1990). Razack, S. (2008). Casting out: The eviction of Muslims from Western law and politics. University of Toronto Press. Riahi, S. (Director). (1956). Marjan [Film]. Arya Film. Sahebjam, F. (1990). La femme lapidée. Grasset. Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. Vintage Books. Sakr, N. (Ed.). (2004). Women and media in the Middle East: Power through self-​ expression. Bloomsbury. Stam, R., & Spence, L. (1985). Colonialism, racism, and representation: An introduction. In B. Nichols (Ed.), Movies and methods: An anthology (Vol. 2, pp. 632–​ 648). University of California Press. Stillman, S. (2007). ‘The missing white girl syndrome’: Disappeared women and media activism. Gender & Development, 15(3), 491–​502. https://​doi.org/​ 10.1080/​13552070701630665 Tait, R. (2009). Hollywood goes to Tehran –​and is ordered to apologise for its sins. The Guardian. www.theguardian.com/​world/​2009/​mar/​02/​mahmoud-​ ahmedinejad-​arts-​film-​hollywood Todd, S. (1998). Veiling the “other”, unveiling our “selves”: Reading media images of the hijab psychoanalytically to move beyond tolerance. Canadian Journal of Education/​ Revue canadienne de l’éducation, 23(4), 438–​451. https://​doi.org/​ 10.2307/​1585757 Vivian, B. (1999). The veil and the visible. Western Journal of Communication, 63(2), 115–​139. https://​doi.org/​10.1080/​10570319909374633 Walker Art Center. (2010, April 21). Women without Men discussion [Video]. Youtube. www.youtube.com/​watch?time_​continue=​7&v=​ixDnVXsr8Kw Yeğenoğlu, M. (1998). Colonial fantasies: Towards a feminist reading of orientalism. Cambridge University Press.

3  Using Humor to Talk Back The Stand-​Up Comedy of Maysoon Zayid

As an artist, Zayid is known as one of America’s first Muslim women comedians. Her groundbreaking contribution in leading the way for other Muslim women comedians to follow and her sustained commitment to challenge stereotypes and advocate for the rights of people with disabilities make her an essential name in the realm of alternative popular culture. She is also the first woman who performed stand-​up in Palestine and Jordan (https://​mayso​onza​yid.wee​bly.com). Born in 1974, Maysoon Zayid grew up in New Jersey, but spent every summer in the West Bank to learn Arabic and stay connected to her Palestinian and Muslim roots. She later attended Arizona State University, from which she graduated with a bachelor of fine arts degree in theater. Realizing early on that she was not being offered acting roles due to her disability and ethnicity, she turned to comedy as a way to gain access to Hollywood, and later on television. Zayid has cerebral palsy, and she is a fervent advocate of giving equal opportunities to people who suffer from disabilities. In the early days of her career, Zayid began appearing as a comedian in famous comedy clubs in New York City. She succeeded in gaining access to counter-​public spheres as well as mainstream media, while communicating an alternative perspective. Although Zayid’s ability to gain access to both alternative and mainstream sites and media may appear contradictory, alternative media scholar Linda Jean Kenix (2011) argues that mainstream media draws from alternative media content and practices, while alternative media may rely on mainstream media to operate. One of the tactics of alternative media is to infiltrate mainstream channels in order to disseminate widely an alternative message. In her performances as a comedian, Zayid challenges stereotypes about people with disabilities by getting on stage to perform as a stand-​up comic “who can’t stand-​up,” as she herself points out. She furthermore challenges gendered and Islamophobic stereotypes, which are based on the assumption that Muslim women can’t be funny and speak their minds assertively in public. Indeed, as Sabry (2011) argues, stand-​up comedy has been historically “the genre of the racial outcast,” as African-​Americans and Jews, DOI: 10.4324/9780429292927-4

Using Humor to Talk Back  61 amongst other racialized groups, have resorted to comedy to challenge stereotypes and redefine their identity (p. 150). In 2003, Zayid entrepreneurially founded with Dean Obeidallah the New York Arab-​American comedy festival, and joined other art collectives to gain increased visibility. In 2006, Zayid debuted her one-​woman show Little American Whore, at Los Angeles’ Comedy Central Stage. She toured the United States with other Muslim American comics to counter Islamophobia through humor in the Arabs Gone Wild Comedy Tour and The Muslims Are Coming Tour (the documentary of the latter tour was released in 2013). Zayid additionally toured as a special guest on the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. She also appears as a comedian in the documentary Stand Up: Muslim-​American Comics Come of Age (2008). However, it was not until her 2013 Ted talk titled “I got 99 problems … palsy is just one” that she gained unprecedented visibility –​her talk accumulated so far 10,700,917 views (ted.com, as of February 28, 2020), translated into at least 35 languages (Marie Forleo’s, 2014, interview with Zayid), and has been watched globally. Through her Ted talk, Zayid raises awareness about discrimination against people with disabilities in Hollywood and asserts her Palestinian identity. On stage, the mere act of announcing her Palestinian identity becomes political as Palestinians often need to assert the legitimacy of their existence in the West. She is also the founder of Maysoon’s Kids, an education and wellness program for Palestinian refugee children. Zayid spends several months of the year in the occupied Palestinian territory helping children with disabilities and orphans deal with trauma by using art. This chapter tackles the role of comedy as a genre and of humor as a form of “talking back” –​that is, the process of taking voice by moving from an object to a subject position by those who have been historically silenced by hegemonic structures of power (hooks, 1989). It particularly focuses on Zayid’s performance on November 4, 2019, in the landmark space of Town Hall on Broadway in New York City. In addition, the textual analysis incorporates an examination of her Ted talk as a turning moment in her artistic career, her memoir (audiobook) Find Another Dream (2019), her performances in the Arab-​American Comedy Tour as documented in a DVD recording (Zayid et al., 2006) bearing the same title, and in the New York Arab-​American Comedy Festival videos available online. Given that it was not possible to interview the artist, who declined the invitation for an interview due to her busy schedule, the analysis is also informed by interviews with Zayid found on the Internet. The chapter also examines the conditions of emergence of Zayid’s mediated interventions, by examining contextual elements that facilitated or impeded her ability to “talk back” (hooks, 1989) and recodify her identity. This chapter will first situate Zayid’s work in the context of Muslim American humor that challenges stereotypes. It will then present an analysis

62  Using Humor to Talk Back

Figure 3.1  Maysoon Zayid. Credit: Michelle Kinney.

of how Zayid resignifies identity through humor, discusses her treatment of disability and gender in her comedy, and addresses the conditions of emergence of her work. The chapter ends with a discussion of the implications of silencing her speech through various forms of symbolic violence, including online harassment, cyber-​bullying, and hate speech, to argue for a recognition of the materiality and real implications of what we have called “symbolic violence.”

Muslim American Comedy Maysoon Zayid “talks back” (1989) to a large repertoire of stereotypical and harmful images outlined by the seminal work of Edward Said (1978)

Using Humor to Talk Back  63

Figure 3.2  Maysoon Zayid during a comedy performance. Courtesy of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.

who influenced generations of scholars through his groundbreaking thesis of Orientalism –​the body of knowledge produced in the 19th century to enable colonizing an imaginary geographical entity he referred to as the “Orient,” positioned vis-​à-​vis a superior and civilized West. For the 20th and 21st centuries, Jack Shaheen also made an important contribution when he documented the prevalence of “reel bad Arabs” in Hollywood film (2001) and in US television (1984). Subsequent analyses improved our understanding of the implications of xenophobic, sexist, racist, and Islamophobic tropes representing Muslim women and men in the dominant media, pointing to the real consequences that harmful images can have (Abu-​Lughod, 2002; Ayotte & Husain, 2005; Butler, 2004; Hirji, 2014; Jiwani, 2006, 2010; Khan, 1998; Macdonald, 2006; Nayak, 2006; Oumlil, 2013; Parameswaran, 2006; Razack, 2008; Todd, 1998; Vivian, 1999; Yeğenoğlu, 1998).

64  Using Humor to Talk Back Paradoxically, in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, doors started opening up for Arab and Muslim voices, leading to the increased popularity of Arab and Muslim American artists who took advantage of the opportunity of using identity politics to gain access to the public domain, and combat stereotypes. In a chapter of an anthology titled Muslims and American Popular Culture, Najjar (2014) states the following: Since 9/​11, Muslims have gained increasing prominence within the U.S. comedy scene. Self-​identified Muslim-​American comics Ahmed Ahmed, Mohammed Amer, Tissa Hami, Preacher Moss, Dean Obeidallah, Azhar Usman, and Maysoon Zayid have gradually changed American perceptions of Muslims by confronting stereotypes through comedy and by satirizing themselves, their spiritualties, and their heritages. In the past decade, these comics have appeared on cable networks, produced videos, toured internationally, and garnered press coverage in major U.S. periodicals and television documentaries. The response to their humor has generally been positive, and their comedy is popular with Muslims and non-​Muslims alike. It is the opinion of these artists that stand-​up comedy is the best way to combat anti-​Muslim prejudice. (p. 3) Najjar’s description of the standpoint of contemporary Muslim American comedians points out the contradiction of having gained some mainstream access while they attempt to provide alternative content about Muslim identity, in an effort to humanize Muslims. Importantly, the above-​mentioned quote illustrates how the lines between alternative and mainstream media become blurred at times, in agreement with Kenix’s (2011) argument based on the scholarly contributions of other prominent alternative media scholars that alternative media has been hard to categorize, and that mainstream media may carry alternative content in different times and places. Furthermore, mainstream media draws heavily from both the content of alternative media (e.g., documentaries) and its practices (e.g., mainstream newspapers adopt a participatory approach and encourage citizen journalism). However, alternative media scholars (e.g., Hamilton, 2001) warn of the potential co-​optation of alternative media when it attempts to operate as mainstream media (by adopting the modes of address, approach, and content of mainstream media, and hence co-​ opting one’s perspective). Infiltrating mainstream media, in contrast, involves staging dramatic coups when timely opportunities arise to expose divergent perspectives. It is important to note that several North American Muslim comedians resorted to stand-​up comedy precisely because they could not be Hollywood actors. For example, Egyptian-​American comedian Ahmed Ahmed describes how he was being cast in the stereotypical role of the terrorist, while Maysoon Zayid describes the ways in which she was not as a woman living with a

Using Humor to Talk Back  65 disability being cast at all, not even in a role about a girl with cerebral palsy in a theater play at Arizona State University where Maysoon was a theater student. Like Ahmed Ahmed, because she could not break into Hollywood, Maysoon Zayid turned to stand-​ up comedy, a move well-​ illustrated through the title and core message of her memoir Have Another Dream. Zimbardo (2014) argues that this field of stand-​up comedy clearly emerged to de-​ normalize Islamophobic stereotypes and challenge Islamophobia. The comedians have exposed dehumanizing stereotypes in order to make them “uninhabitable” (to borrow cultural studies theorist Stuart Hall’s terminology). For Hall (1997), meaning can never be fixed, as it is regularly challenged and (re) negotiated. “Social justice humor” comedians destabilize stereotypes through making them visible (Zimbardo, 2014). In a previous study, Amarasingam (2010) similarly argues that Muslim American comedians have been challenging stereotypes and educating the general public about their identity, while boosting confidence and self-​respect for their own communities. Once they gain access, Muslim comedians according to Hirzalla and van Zoonen’s (2016) study of the documentary The Muslims Are Coming! attempt to call for non-​ Muslims to unite with Muslims, by preaching Muslims’ own normality, modernity, and stand against terrorism; they thus “… approach humor as engendering moral appeals that function as sign posts, indicating to audiences whom they ought to support based on their shared virtues, and which people ought to be defied for their vices” (p. 261). The emphasis on shared morality aims to build bridges between Muslims and non-​Muslims. According to the same study, such activist Muslim comedy additionally expresses opposition to conservatism, violent extremism, and media that distorts facts about Muslims, with the main goal of “combatting Islamophobia” (Hirzalla & van Zoonen, 2016). Hirzalla and van Zoonen’s (2016) study raises important questions in regards to the potential of humor as a generator of socio-​political change, through the analysis of the particular case study of the documentary The Muslims Are Coming! (Farsad & Obeidallah, 2013), in which Zayid herself participates in a minimal role as a comedian.1 The potential of humor as a generator of socio-​political change is further enhanced through the use of the Internet to circulate content. Indeed, the virtual circulation of stand-​up comedy content through Internet sites opens up possibilities that were not possible for early comedy club circuit comedians (Michael, 2011). Zayid herself is a savvy Internet user, who capitalizes on the potency of social media and the Internet to increase her visibility. Through her artistic expression, she furthermore presents a unique contribution, by challenging not only stereotypes about Muslims but also dominant notions about disability and gender. Michael’s (2011) study of Muslim American comics reveals the gender politics of insider humor; she says: “… several Muslim male comedian’s jokes about Muslim women suggest that their critical humor may not be as incisive when it comes to

66  Using Humor to Talk Back gender roles and Muslim women’s lives.” (p. 147). While they denounce the racial discrimination they face, Muslim men comedians have also simultaneously denied women’s oppression and contributed to reinforcing gender norms and expectations. In contrast, Muslim American women comics have challenged dominant views about Muslim women (Michael, 2011). Studies of Maysoon Zayid’s comedy incorporate her work as part of their broader analyses of Arab-​American artistic expression (Selim, 2014); Arab-​American women’s writing and performance (Sabry, 2011); Muslim American humor in the post-​9/​11 world (Najjar, 2014); and use of humor by comedians with disabilities (Bingham & Green, 2016). Overall, the studies celebrate Zayid’s challenge to Islamophobic and anti-​Arab stereotypes (Najjar, 2014; Sabry 2011; Selim 2014) patriarchal Arab culture (Selim, 2014), and they point to how her art does not just revolve around her disability but also raises awareness about national and global abuses of power, denouncing xenophobia and various forms of oppression (Bingham & Green, 2016). In addition, Selim’s (2014) study of Arab-​American stand-​ up comedy aims to contribute to filling the gap in literature and knowledge about Arab-​American artistic expression. Selim’s (2014) study focuses on four Arab-​American stand-​up comedians, with the only woman included being Maysoon Zayid. Zayid appears to be the most visible Arab-​American woman comedian. The back cover DVD description of the Arab-​American Comedy Tour describes the three comedians featured in the DVD (Ahmed Ahmed, Dean Obeidallah, and Maysoon Zayid) as “three of the nation’s hottest Arab-​ American comedians.” Zayid is indeed prominent in the Arab-American comedy scene.

Performance of Identity Through Stand-​Up Comedy How does Zayid manage to gain visibility in the male-​dominated field of stand-​up comedy? How do her stand-​up comedy performances “talk back” (1989) to dominant discourses to discursively de-​naturalize the defining features of the widespread cultural definitions of her identity? How does she enact the various components of her identity on stage? Performance studies scholar Diana Taylor (2003) presents the following key questions for the study of performance: “why do they [scenarios, as meaning making paradigms] continue to be so compelling? What accounts for their explanatory and affective power? How can they be parodied and subverted?” (Taylor, 2003, p. 28). Indeed, the study of performance enables the researcher to not only take into consideration the archive by focusing on the narrative analysis of seemingly lasting materials (such as written documents) but also the repertoire (what has been dismissed as ephemeral –​the embodied dimension, including corporeal behaviors, actions and practices) (Taylor, 2003). Methodologically, Taylor thus suggests to pay attention to the milieu of the performance –​to both space and narrative. Such analysis incorporates a description of the scene of the performance and an examination of the

Using Humor to Talk Back  67 embodiment of the performance (through gestures, roles, attitudes, etc.), repetition of formulaic structures, as well as the participative nature of the performance (i.e., absence of distanciation), while revealing the ideas presented in the performance. Zayid’s November 4, 2019, New York City performance reveals some of the ways in which she performs her identity on stage, through a “mise en scene.” Zayid’s comedic intervention occurs through the performance and performativity of identity. It is through the performativity and “(re) presentation” of identity that she circulates meaning to take voice as an artist and challenge dominant paradigms. Performativity is hence an essential attribute of the alternative counter-​hegemonic discourses that Zayid circulates –​embodying a corporeal dimension that coexists with the oral delivery, thereby enunciating the potency of the message in ways that are calibrated across the senses. It is a defining characteristic of her trajectory as an artist. Zayid regularly performs her poetry around the world. Her comedy performances are also archived online, enabling her to reach a wider audience. Although mediated, at a more fundamental level, her interventions capitalize on the power of orality. Ong (1982) describes how orality is communal and encourages the formation of group unity as it invites participation. The first time I saw Zayid perform was at the 20th National Convention of the American-​ Arab Anti-​ Discrimination Committee in Washington D.C. in 2003, which I attended. The audience was mainly composed of Arab-​ Americans: students, activists, lawyers, and community leaders of different age groups and genders. It was overall an activist gathering, with the crowd aiming to challenge anti-​Arab discrimination in the United States and to push for creating an Arab-​American political lobby. The seminal scholar Jack Shaheen, who did groundbreaking work in retracing representations of Arabs in Hollywood films, served as the master of ceremonies of the gala dinner that evening, and warmly introduced Zayid. During her performance, Zayid not only tackled themes related to racial profiling and discrimination but also poked fun at the divide between Arab Christians and Arab Muslims by bringing up the topic of the lack of acceptance in the Arab community for inter-​religious marriage. The following analysis, however, will be based on her November 4, 2019, performance, which was held at the landmark performance space of The Town Hall on Broadway in New York City, as part of the Together Live “traveling event that brings diverse storytellers together for an epic evening of laughter, music and hard-​won wisdom. Thought leaders, musicians, celebrities and comedians share the stage and tell their own raw, inspiring stories of finding purpose and community” (Together Live official website).2 Not all performers performed in each American city during the 10-​city tour. Maysoon performed in Fayetville and Boston in October 2019, and in New York in November 2019. Describing themselves during the New York City performance as a “family,” the promotional booklet displayed Together

68  Using Humor to Talk Back Live’s motto: “we are Empowered Women Empowering Women Together.” The founder of Together Live is Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, who describes the traveling event as an inclusive initiative created “… to hear women’s real stories of personal transformation,” adding about the power of storytelling, while each of these stories have been unique and personal, they also shine a light on what we all have in common. When we come together, we can see that we are more alike than we are different. It’s in that common ground where we find our magic to transform ourselves and those around us. The audience for the traveling event was more than 40,000 in cities across North America, according to Rudolph Walsh. For the New York City Town Hall event, it was a full house and a sold-​out crowd, with the vast majority of the audience being women. As we entered the landmark Broadway space of The Town Hall, upbeat contemporary music was playing, shortly followed by the opening performance of the Resistance Revival Chorus, which received warm applause as soon as they entered the stage. Setting the stage right away, as revealed by their very name, the Resistance Revival Chorus reinforced the nature of the event as showcasing activist art by women, and as offering an opportunity for taking voice from divergent perspectives; they sang, “This voice that I have the world didn’t give it to me.” Other key parts of their performance announced their political affiliations when singing, for example, that “Black Lives Matter,” and “impeach” [President Trump]. During the event, the host of the event Glennon Doyle described the gathering as a “delicious feminist circle,” although some of her other statements sounded didactic, including when she said “authentic storytelling has the power to heal the world;” and called the audience to “save the world.” When Zayid took on the stage, she presented herself as “I’m one of the non-​violent Muslims,” using a direct mode of address and immediately “talking back” (hooks, 1989) to Islamophobic discourses, which essentialize Muslim identity in a monolithic way –​one of the core stereotypes being the image of the violent Muslim. However, it is the theme of disability that took center stage during her performance. Resignifying Disability In resignifying her identity, disability appears as the main theme of her comedy routines, particularly in her more recent work. Through her comedy, Zayid attempts to resignify her identity and to make the stereotypes related to it “uninhabitable.” As Hall (1997) explains, “interrogating stereotypes makes them uninhabitable –​it destroys their naturalness and normalcy” ( p. 148). Indeed, challenging stereotypes has the capacity to destabilize dominant narratives. The concept of resignification involves challenging

Using Humor to Talk Back  69 dominant ideas by creating new meanings for them (Abel, 2008). The alternative media studies concept of culture jamming (Branwyn, 1997; Carty, 2002) presents another very relevant and similar metaphor, as it signals the ways in which alternative media practitioners jam the symbolic airwaves of dominant media in order to challenge the status quo and provide divergent interpretations to important issues affecting marginalized groups in the society. Whereas these three terms deploy specific metaphors to reflect on cultural work that aims to challenge the status quo, they all point to the potential of alternative discourses to exert change and reshape perception about identity and culture. In “talking back” (hooks, 1989) to dominant discourses, Maysoon Zayid navigates between multiple dimensions of her persona and uses humor as her medium of communication. Zayid not only addresses disability, racism, Islamophobia, and gender norms but also tackles various other cultural and political issues. Her standpoint as a woman “who ticks all the minority boxes” (Mahdawi, 2008, p. 88) provides solid evidence for the concept of intersectionality (i.e., the ways in which different axes of identity interact to create a sense of self) (Crenshaw, 1991; Mohanty, 1991). Sabry (2011) argues that Zayid not only presents in her comedy the multiple layers of her identity, but that she furthermore includes a critique of stereotypes about Arab-​Americans. Similarly, scholars Bingham and Green (2016) explain how Zayid’s comedy does not just focus on disability, or one theme; but that she rather raises awareness about a wide range of issues dealing with abuses of power. Aware of her particular standpoint, Zayid calls herself a “multiple minority,” “I also became acutely aware of the fact that I didn’t see people who looked like me, a multiple minority, on TV” (Rhoades’ interview with Zayid on DIVERSEability Magazine, 2019). In another interview, she refers to the notion of intersectionality and the complexity of the human self: “we can have multiple disabilities and also be multiple minorities. Disability intersects with every community” (Rhoades’ interview with Zayid on DIVERSEability Magazine, 2019). Zayid is perceived as an expert on disability rights, and as a knowledgeable representative of the disability community. For example, the host of the Uncomfortable podcast on ABC radio Amna Nawaz (2017) presents Zayid as a leading representative of people with disabilities in America: “you have become the loudest, one of the most visible voices for people with disabilities in America.” In the same interview, Zayid discusses some of the ways that she acts as a disability advocate: “I talk to a lot of parents who say: ‘I mourn the normal baby I didn’t have, instead of celebrating the disabled child that they do.’ ” When Nawaz asks her about why people bring their concerns to her, she responds by saying, I’m safe. I’m funny, I think. I don’t know. They have no boundaries [laughs]. I don’t know (…) A lot of times the first disabled person they

70  Using Humor to Talk Back meet is their child, and they don’t know how to cope with it. I think if we had more positive images (…) that would give parents more hope, and maybe they would be less likely to reject the disabled child and may be more accepting. (Nawaz, 2017)3 In the same interview, Zayid furthermore links under-​representation and negative representation of people with disabilities to violence, stating that they are more likely to be bullied, killed by their caregivers, and women with disabilities are more likely to be sexually assaulted (Nawaz, 2017). In her November 4, 2019, performance in The Town Hall in New York City, Zayid introduces herself by telling the story of participating in the Dance Educators of America convention for the youth in New York City, and how the leader of her group tried to shatter her dream of becoming a tap dancer when he said, “honey, you ain’t black, and you’re a cripple. Find another dream.” Enacting her resilience on stage and her ability to overcome a self-​fulfilling prophecy, she tells the audience: “look at me! I’m now tap dancing on Broadway!” She then starts to tap dance on stage, and receives warm applause from the audience. Playing with her hair, and running out of breath, she introduces herself with her usual opening line, which she used previously for her Ted talk and other performances: “If there was an Oppression Olympics, I would win the gold medal. I’m Palestinian, Muslim, I’m female, I’m disabled, and I live in New Jersey.” During her performance that evening of November 4, 2019, in New York City, Zayid made a reference early on to popular culture by mentioning how teen-​singer Taylor Swift wants to “shake, shake, shake, shake, shake” (a repeated theme in Swift’s “Shake It Off,” 2014, song). Referring to the lack of sensitivity about disability issues and the difficulty of living with a disability, she subsequently said, “my disability makes people uncomfortable.” She nonetheless succeeded in attracting the empathy of the audience when she told the story of how her father taught her how to walk (by holding her while she stood and walked on his feet). The audience expressed solidarity and admiration by positively praising this moment through a loud “oooh!” The theme of disability also occupies center stage for Zayid in her most recent work. Her Ted talk focused on the disability aspect of her identity. Because of the stereotypes against people with disabilities, and their lack of participation in the production of images about their own identity, Zayid aims to disrupt the dominant flow of information and the discrimination that ensues from it. Mentioning the stereotyping of people with disabilities, she says, “we think of people with disabilities as infantile” (Nawaz’s, 2017, interview with Zayid on the Uncomfortable podcast on ABC radio). Therefore, Zayid aims to talk about disability in a way that is not pitying. This is why she says in her ted talk: “I’m not inspirational…,” in order to challenge the condescending nature of remarks and attitudes which view disability from above, as a sign of disadvantage and inferiority. In Nawaz’s

Using Humor to Talk Back  71 (2017) interview with Zayid on Uncomfortable Talk, Zayid identifies three types of story lines: (1) “heal me,” (2) “you can’t love me because I’m disabled,” and (3) “kill me” (she gives as examples for this last recurrent theme mainstream films like Me Before You and Million Dollar Baby). Hence, denouncing the lack of content diversity in mainstream media, Zayid furthermore demonstrates her awareness of the detrimental impact of negative and limited representations. In an interview with Marie Forleo (2014), Zayid states, “I want to flip the script,” as she discusses stereotypes about disability and condemns how characters with disabilities are played by able-​bodied people in American media. During her celebrated Ted talk, she opens her speech with the same opening line, explaining that her cerebral palsy disability causes movement disorders. She furthermore related the discrimination she faced when she was not cast for the role of a girl with cerebral palsy for a play organized by the theater department at Arizona State University where Zayid was a student: Sherry Brown got the part. I went racing to the head of the theater department crying hysterically, like someone shot my cat, to ask her why, and she said it was because they didn’t think I could do the stunts. I said, “Excuse me, if I can’t do the stunts, neither can the character.” (Laughter) (Applause) (Zayid, 2013) Being denied a leading acting role as a person with a disability became a defining moment for Zayid; she regularly recalls it as indicative of the lack of opportunities and discrimination that people with disabilities experience in the entertainment industry. In her memoir, Zayid recalls this incident as well: “I shouted that I would not be ignored and I demanded that she explains to me how I didn’t get a part that I was literally born to play” (Chapter 10). In her trajectory as a comedian, Zayid learned that she must include a mention of her cerebral palsy at the beginning of every performance. After her first appearance on the Keith Olbermann show (2010), Zayid was subjected to negative online comments “of people guessing what she had” and cyber-​ bullying. Since then, Zayid has been using the same opening line, which includes a mention of her disability.4 In her performance at the Sixth Arab-​ American Comedy festival5 (2009), she adds to explain her disability: “Hello, my name is Maysoon Zayid, no I’m not drunk, let’s be honest, when you saw me like rambling, you thought either she is wasted or retarded, right?” In her memoir, the first chapter as well starts with narrating the moment of her birth and how medical negligence caused her cerebral palsy. The title of Chapter 1 of her memoir “Happy Birthday to Me” announces the chaos and tragedy of her birth.

72  Using Humor to Talk Back During Marie Forleo’s (2014) interview with Zayid, Zayid specifically reveals why disability takes center stage for her: I mean, if you go online there’s a lot of people who say, “Without the CP, without the shtick, she wouldn’t have a career, she wouldn’t be on TED’s stage.” And I think, “It’s really amazing that you all thought the disability helped me in Hollywood, because it’s actually been the biggest hindrance.” And some people ask me is it being female, is it being ethnic, and it’s not. It’s really the disability is … it’s the most underrepresented and people just don’t want to take a risk on us. And I write so often because I want to change what we’re doing. Zayid therefore expresses that disability-​based discrimination has been the hardest to challenge. In another interview with DIVERSEability Magazine (Rhoades, 2019), Zayid said, “I realized very quickly that casting directors were not taking me seriously because of my disability, cerebral palsy.” In resignifying disability, Zayid’s key message is to give the same opportunities to people with disabilities: I think it is very very important that people see a functional disabled person and the fact that I could make them laugh maybe even better. And they asked me to share my message, and my message is equality for all, not just for some. If you meet people with disabilities, treat them as you would treat any other person, don’t judge their ability on their ability, know it exists. (Zayid’s interview with Ajman University, 2017)6 In her pursuit of equality for all, Zayid’s standpoint as a Muslim woman performer defines her evolving access to the public sphere, and her own treatment of gender-​related issues and discrimination.

Resignifying Muslim Women Zayid’s presence in the public sphere as a Muslim woman comedian, in a male-​dominated field, and in an overall media climate that presents Muslim women as passive victims in need of rescue, and veiled Muslim women as the epitome figure of oppression (Abu-​Lughod, 2002; Ayotte & Husain, 2005; Butler, 2004; Hirji, 2014; Jiwani, 2006, 2010; Khan, 1998; Macdonald, 2006; Nayak, 2006; Oumlil, 2013; Parameswaran, 2006; Razack, 2008; Todd, 1998; Vivian, 1999; Yeğenoğlu, 1998), posits a challenge to their under-​ representation and negative portrayals. The mediated obsession with removing Muslim women’s veil in the West represents the biopolitics (Foucault, 2009) of the state to control women’s bodies; one of the ways that the state makes the personal political is through regulating dress in the public sphere. As a Muslim woman who does not veil and can dress at times

Using Humor to Talk Back  73 in revealing clothes showing cleavage and bare legs, Zayid expands the definition of what a Muslim looks like. Zayid’s presence in the public sphere is indeed significant. However, a conscious feminist agenda is not as apparent in her comedy routines, although Zayid makes statements and adopts behaviors that reflect a feminist sensibility. As I mentioned in the previous section, the theme of disability predominates in Zayid’s comedy. In the following section, I will present some key elements that represent the ways in which Zayid addresses gender issues in public. In the November 4, 2019, performance in New York City, Zayid spoke against society’s stringent body ideals that impact women’s confidence and self-​esteem. She mentioned people commenting and making fun of the weight around her stomach, and explained that it is related to her disability, and not due to overeating or lack of exercise. She also spoke against people’s expectation of women to bear children and argued that not all women desire or are able to have children. She explained that having a child is not a viable and safe option for her due to her disability. The audience for the event was predominantly composed of women who responded present to the event’s call for celebrating women’s stories about empowerment. In a positive mood, the audience celebrated storytelling about difference and women’s strength. The women in the audience were taking pictures and videos, and talking loudly during the intermission in an activist mood that seemed like a joyful celebration, with upbeat contemporary music playing. Setting the tone for the event as an activist gathering of feminists, the Resistance Revival Chorus entered the stage and sang about resistance, women’s empowerment, and from the repertoire of the labor movement. The women in the audience shouted in support and applauded their performance. On stage, the women performers sat on a couch next to each other in a replica of a living room. The layout of the space created a sense or closeness, like a family relationship, and encouraged the audience to sustain the bonds of solidarity necessary for effecting positive change in society. In speaking to a feminist audience on November 4, 2019, in New York City, Zayid indeed demonstrated that she moved beyond performing within the Arab-​American comedy scene. Zayid was performing with different women (e.g., Black, Queer, White) and spreading a message of equality for a wider audience demographic. After her performance in The Town Hall on Broadway, she received a standing ovation. Further demonstrating her ability to attract a feminist audience, Zayid partnered with Reese Witherspoon’s media production company Hello Sunshine, which focuses on telling women-​driven stories and has for mission to celebrate women and “help chart a new path forward,” to create her audio memoir on Amazon-​owned Audible. There seems to be a difference in the ways in which Zayid addressed the audience in The Town Hall event in New York City, and the ways in which she has been performing for the audience of Arab-​American comedy. When

74  Using Humor to Talk Back performing for the Arab-​American Comedy Festival and the Arab-​American Comedy Tour, it seems that Zayid puts further emphasis on gender-​related themes, including marriage, age expectations of women, and the issue of virginity. During the Sixth Arab-​American Comedy Festival, as documented in the Beautyandthe East 2009 video, Zayid states for example: In my village, the custom is, when a girl gets married, the guy buys her $25,000 worth of gold; no joke. So my dad is on the phone with my fiancé and he goes: [she talks with an Arabic accent] listen to me my son, [audience laughs], the way we do it in my village is this: we give every woman, she gets $25,000 of gold, bass [Palestinian Arabic for but] I am gonna give you half price [audience laughs] because she is old [audience laughs]. I am gonna knock off another 25% because she walks funny. So for you my friend, you get bargain basement price 6748 and I throw in the cat and my ex-​wife. Mentioning her Palestinian roots, Zayid explains the practice of mahr: the obligation for the groom to gift money or possessions to the bride at the time of the marriage contract. However, she points to how her disability and age being perceived as advanced (in her 30s at that time) negatively affected her desirability as a candidate for marriage. The joke that Zayid shares with the audience additionally points to how men are the ones who “seal the deal” of marriage contracts, but without deconstructing the handling of women as commodities for exchange. In another Arab-​American Comedy Festival performance, Zayid (2007) talks about being in her 30s and still single. Flipping her hair, she challenges the negative stereotype about single women by comparing herself to the glamorous character from the television show Sex and the City who does not need a partner in life. However, she quickly breaks that analogy by reminding her audience of her Arab heritage. She explains that for Arab culture, her single status at her age is far from glamorous: You know, I am 30 years old and I am single, right. Which is not a big deal, because, like I said, it’s like Sex and the City woo-​oo! [audience laughs]. I am so cool! [audience laughs]. Here is the problem: in Arab years, I am actually 67 [audience laughs]. Zayid’s joke emphasizes the pressure on Arab women to marry and abide by a hetero-​normative lifestyle within the institution of marriage. By revealing her age, she furthermore criticizes the pressure imposed on women to forever maintain a facade of youthfulness. There are other moments of clear challenge to dominant gender norms and expectations. In the Arab-​American Comedy Tour, as documented in the DVD bearing the same name, Zayid illustrates what scholars Cirksena and Cuklanz (1992) have described as one of the core myths on femininity: women

Using Humor to Talk Back  75 being confined to the private realm. Adding to it an Arab and Muslim specificity, Zayid highlights the pressure on young women to act in virtuous and “pure” ways before marriage. During her performance, Zayid narrates that following an appearance she had just made on CNN, she visited the family of a potential husband in Palestine. His skeptical mother greets her by saying: “Yes, everybody saw you on the CNN [with Arabic accent].” Zayid humorously challenges the expectation of young women to act in virginal and innocent ways and to remain hidden from public view, when she says: “I was like is this CNN or Adult Spice?” However, there are other moments when Zayid mentions a type of injustice that girls or women face, but she refrains from formulating on overt condemnation of the gender injustice. When mentioning instances of gender inequality, Zayid quickly moves on to the next point, without delving into the specifics and the injustice of that situation of domination. For example, the second chapter of her audio-​memoir, which is titled “Meet the Parents,” presents her family to her listeners. In relating a story about her grandmother, Zayid narrates how her grandfather instructed her grandmother to go make him dinner immediately after she gave birth to her father. Relating this story could have been an opportunity for Zayid to expand and be more critical of gender relations (historical versus current) in the Middle East. However, her approach to discussing gender issues is not as explicit and firmly grounded in unconditionally advocating for women’s rights, in comparison to other North American Muslim women artists, including Shirin Neshat and Zarqa Nawaz, whose artistic contributions are included in this book. Nawaz, as explained in the next chapter, takes the conscious stance of speaking up as a Muslim woman about gender issues because she believes that if Muslim women refrain from tackling internal issues themselves, their voices will be appropriated and co-​opted. Unlike Neshat and Nawaz, Zayid does not delve into unpacking Arab and Muslim communities’ own responsibility in maintaining structures of patriarchy in place. Likewise, in Chapters 2 and 3 of her memoir, Zayid relates how her father wished for her and her sisters to be boys, to the point that he asked his family relatives to pray for his wife to give birth to a son. Narrating the birth of her sister Lamiah, her parents’ first born, Zayid (2019) says, My dad was sad. He had prayed for a boy. I don’t blame my father for wanting a son. Musa was from a different place and time. He soon came to appreciate the blessing of having a gaggle of girls and he was a picture perfect patriarch. (Chapter 3) Even though her father wished for his children to be boys, Zayid is very forgiving of him and speaks of him very fondly in her memoir as taking her to every single doctor’s appointment, making sure she gets the education that she deserves, and waking up early in the morning to assist her

76  Using Humor to Talk Back with her physical therapy exercises. Her father’s mantra: “You can do it. Yes you can can,” which he repeated as words of encouragement so that she can learn to stand on her own feet and walk, will become hers as well, as she shared in her Ted talk. Her father’s support for her appears as commendable and heroic in his affirmation that she deserves the same opportunities as fully abled bodies. I would argue however that the storytelling of her grandfather’s and father’s thoughts and actions could have provided a window for shedding light onto larger patriarchal structures, and unconditionally destabilizing patriarchal logic and culture, by exposing, for example, the harmful consequences that gendered binary systems have on the everyday lives of women and men.

Conditions of Emergence of Alternative Discourses Maysoon Zayid made a name for herself first as an Arab and Muslim American comedian, before she became a prominent disability-​rights advocate, using humor to spread a message of equality. Zayid (2017) speaks about how she experienced a sense of being part of a community for the first time when she founded, with Dean Obeidallah, the New York Arab-​ American Comedy Festival in 2003. This [pan-​ Arab] festival allowed comedians to come together and gain increased visibility. In Zayid’s own words, the festival was a political response to the rise of negative stereotypes and discrimination against Arabs and Muslims in the immediate aftermath of September 11, 2001: “I co-​produced this festival, which is now 14-​years-​ old, with my friend Dean Obeidallah. The aim of the event was to resist to prejudice in the aftermath of the attacks and on the eve of the war in Iraq” (interview with Maysoon Zayid in Moroccan Ladies magazine by Sabel Da Costa in 2017). In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks against the Pentagon and the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Muslim and Arab comedians intervened in the public sphere to challenge stereotypes and denounce discrimination, racism, and racial profiling. Another noteworthy initiative was The Axis of Evil Comedy Club, which featured three Middle-​Eastern American men comedians (Palestinian-​American Aron Kader, Iranian-​ American Maz Jobrani, and Egyptian-​ American Ahmed Ahmed) who joined efforts post-​9/​11 to use comedy as a form of activism and joked about racial profiling, their inability to fly, and everyday discrimination. The documentary film Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert (Kalin, 2008), stars three Muslim men comedians: Palestinian-​American Mohammed Amer, African-​American Preacher Moss, and Indian-​American Azhar Usman. Denouncing racial profiling at airports and other forms of discrimination, the comedians attempt to reverse dominant stereotypes through comedy. In addition to Maysoon Zayid, North American Muslim women comedians include Tissa Hami and more recently Atheer Yacoub, as

Using Humor to Talk Back  77 prominent names in the Muslim North American comedy scene. Muslim comedians have, at times, found avenues for expression in the mainstream –​ as when PBS aired the documentary Stand Up: Muslim American Comics Come of Age in May 2008 (Naim & Glenn, 2008). Dean Obeidallah and Tissa Hami were on ABC’s The View to announce the premiere (May 11, 2008) of America at a Crossroads. More recently, the web television series Ramy (Youssef & Carmichael, 2019–​present) achieved notable success, capitalizing on the Internet opportunity to disseminate content. In July 2020, Hulu renewed the series for a third season. Mainstreaming Difference Although she presents alternative content, Zayid has achieved notable access to mainstream media. Zayid started in the cultural margins as a stand-​up comic who can’t stand up, but she has also aspired to gain further notoriety. Whereas she has aimed to transition to mainstream media, she has in effect been infiltrating the mainstream in the category of alternative media that aspires to gain access to mainstream media in order to express a counter-​ perspective. In her Ted talk, Zayid talks about her desire from early on to gain access to mainstream television as an actor: “and my dream was to be on the daytime soap opera ‘General Hospital.’ ” In an interview by Sabel Da Costa in Moroccan Ladies magazine in 2017, she communicates her ambition to receive an award: I want an Emmy or a Golden Globe. My ambitions are focused on television not cinema. I am currently in the process of producing a TV show, hopefully I am nominated either as a screenwriter or as an actor. My biggest dream would be to have my own TV show. You can win an Emmy for that too [laughs]. (FDM, 2017) In her Ted talk, she also reveals how she aims to “mainstream” Arabs, referring to the stigma, discrimination, and hate crimes that Arabs experienced in North America since the post-​9/​11 climate. In her professional trajectory, she then turned to giving disability center stage in her comedy routines, interviews, and public appearances: “mainstreaming Arabs was much, much easier than conquering the challenge against the stigma against disability.” The positive reviews that Zayid’s work has received enabled her work to infiltrate mainstream media. Tabloid newspaper the Daily Star reporter Dalila Mahdawi (2008) in the United Kingdom positively reviews Zayid’s work as dismantling stereotypes and describes the comedian “as one of the best Arab-​American stand-​up comedians,” in an article she wrote for Al-​ Raide journal. As for the documentary The Muslims Are Coming! in which Zayid participates, Hirzalla and van Zoonen (2016) reveal that it received

78  Using Humor to Talk Back a mixed audience reception, although most viewers interpreted the film positively: other indications that the social potential of The Muslims are Coming will come about in negotiation with audience reading rather than as a direct result of its moral appeals can be found in the diverging reviews of the movie. While most commentators laud the purpose and quality of the movie –​calling it, for instance, “deeply funny” (Lang 2013) –​it has also been qualified as “evidently mediocre” (Sachs 2013). It remains to be seen how common viewers evaluate this and other instances of Muslim comedy, but variation in their perceptions is bound to impact on humor’s dividing and unifying potentials. (Hirzalla & van Zoonen, 2016, p. 276) However, she has not achieved the status of a mainstream celebrity. More recently, Zayid worked on creating her own show Can Can with ABC, although the deal fell through as she explains in her memoir because she became unsatisfied with the stereotypical turn the series took during the development stage. Zayid started in the cultural margins by speaking to counterpublics (Fraser, 1990). She has managed to appeal to Arabs in the United States through the cultural and political content of her comedy, and her defense of their interests by denouncing racial profiling, discrimination, and racism. As Selim (2014) explains, the Arab-​American Comedy Festival was founded by Dean Obeidallah and Maysoon Zayid “to build resilience after 9/​11 and to reclaim the Arab American identity through performing ethnicity in front of a good number of Arab and Caucasian American audiences attracted to the performances” (p. 82). The festival was an activist intervention that capitalized on the potential of comedy and humor to alleviate some of the burden of the post-​9/​11 trauma for Arabs and Muslims in America. However, Zayid’s main audience is in fact composed of non-​Arabs. In the words of comedian Dean Obeidallah, Zayid’s co-​founder of the Arab-​American Comedy Festival, it was essential for comedians like Zayid to reach out to a wider audience outside of their own ethnic and religious communities: In recent years, we’ve reached a non–​Arab Americans audience because we’re writing material with that audience in mind. The more established Arab American comics, such as Maysoon Zayid, Ahmed Ahmed, Aron Kader, Nasry Malak, and I are truly funny comedians, and we make both Arabs and non–​Arab audience members laugh. Most of us perform numerous times a week in comedy clubs across the country, where typically, there are no people of Arab heritage in the audience. Consequently, we must write jokes to make the average American laugh if we are going to succeed. (Arida & Ameri, 2009, p. 196)

Using Humor to Talk Back  79 More recently, and in order to increase her reach, Zayid has capitalized on social media to gain access to the public sphere and challenge stereotypes about people with disabilities, Arabs and Muslims, women, and other marginalized groups, while trying to shed light on these colliding identities and lift some of the burden of discrimination. However, Zayid also speaks about the violent side of social media (RockStar Empires [2017] interview with Zayid), where bullying and other forms of “symbolic” violence take place to silence dissent. “Symbolic Violence” For Bourdieu (1977), “symbolic violence” serves to legitimate domination. It is embedded within “symbolic power,” which operates through a constructed false consciousness in society as the dominated classes themselves accept the imposed taxonomies of social reality. Symbolic power ideologically serves the interests of the elite and aims to neutralize the struggle between classes and reproduce hierarchies of power in society. Symbolic violence, as an abuse of power, by its invisibility secures the domination of the subordinate classes. Attentive discourse analysis has the ability to unpack the workings of symbolic violence in language and reveal the ways in which the dominated classes accept their position in society (Bourdieu, 1977). The distinction that Bourdieu makes between physical force and economic power, vis-​à-​vis the very other domination that is symbolic power, is very important and very much aligned with Gramsci’s conceptualization of hegemony in society and the crucial role of culture in securing the consent of the populace (Gramsci & Forgacs, 1988). However, it seems that the lexicon of the symbolic could also hide the material consequences of so-​called symbolic violence (e.g., depression, suicide). Accounting for that duality, Williams’ (1991) concept of “spirit murder,” which she developed in the context of racism, highlights the psychological impact of racism and other forms of domination. For Williams, “spirit murder” has for product “… a system of formalized distortions of thought. It produces social structures centered around fear and hate” (Williams, 1991, p. 73). But beyond spiritual harm, Williams’ conceptualization is based on her fragmented recollection of the murder of a black man who was a civil rights activist by a white man for racially motivated reasons in the 1960s. His murder was particularly atrocious as the killer stabbed his victim with a knife 39 times. Reflecting on what compelled the killer to stab his victim 39 times, Williams uses the terminology of “spirit murder,” which in my view highlights well the material impact of symbolic violence –​the formalized distorted thoughts that lead to violent action reproducing the dominant social order. It is also worth noting that the concept of “spirit injury” (Wing, 1990) is built on Williams’ concept of “spirit murder.” The psychological impact of the dominant ideology may lead to the murder or genocide of the dehumanized population, but it also can be

80  Using Humor to Talk Back described as “injury,” pointing to the material consequence of harm to the spirit. Wing (1990) argues that the widespread rapes of Bosnian women as part of Serbian ethnic cleansing constituted not just an injury to the individual Muslim woman victim of rape but to society as a whole. For Wing (1990), victims of the war tactic of rape suffered from both a physical and a psychological assault. The spirit injury affected not only the women but also their families and the larger community. Based on the Bosnian case of ethnically motivated rape, Wing (1990) asserts that the combined impact of racism and sexism led to the devaluation and assault on an entire culture and way of life, while connecting it to the long-​drawn-​out “spirit injury” of black Americans through slavery, segregation, racism, and discrimination. Based on this literature, I would argue that more generally speaking certain forms of backlash against unacceptable speech, what I have called in this book assertions of unintelligibility, can be categorized as symbolic violence (to be understood here as psychological violence on the spirit and in language that has yet very material effects). In the process of talking back to dominant discourses about her identity, Zayid has faced online harassment and cyber-​bullying, demonstrating a backlash against the ideas she presents and her efforts to humanize Muslims, Arabs, and people with disabilities. In Marie Forleo’s (2014) interview, Zayid makes a brilliant remark in regards to binary systems of identity that situate one group of people as inherently or culturally superior, while casting another as backward (what Razak, 2008, among other critical race scholars, would call a more modern manifestation of race thinking). In pointing out remarks people make about her body shape and weight, Zayid says, “we absolutely have to focus on the physical because there’s absolutely no way that this person who should be inferior should be excelling. So I need to find something that I can bring her down for.” Such focus on the physical is also gendered, as women’s bodies are more critically evaluated on the basis of acceptable standards of beauty (e.g., Bordo, 2004). Racist ideology and other types of identity-​based domination indeed posit one group of people as inherently superior, vis-​à-​vis an inferior “Other,” as Edward Said (1978) prominently demonstrated in his thesis of Orientalism. When a racialized person steps out of their position of inferiority, it becomes unacceptable for those who uphold racist views, and they therefore often engage in various degrees of violent backlash. Backlash against anti-​domination voices when it takes place on the Internet may be classified as symbolic violence, but I have argued here that its effects are also in the domain of the “real.” Comments that question Zayid’s qualifications and belittle her accomplishments represent in my view illustrations of anti-​ affirmative action statements, which claim that minorities have gained access to interesting positions of power only to “represent” their communities and fill in quotas and facades of diversity within work and media environments. Zayid mentions the comment: “Without CP, she wouldn’t have a career” (Marie Forleo’s, 2014, interview with Zayid). To this point, she replies that

Using Humor to Talk Back  81 her disability in fact made it more difficult to break through professionally and build a name for herself. In RockStar Empires (2017) interview with Zayid, she discusses the verbal abuse, bullying, and hate she receives online: one of the reasons that I do what I do is I often say that I fight for the people who can’t … Words do matter. So I feel like it’s my job to fight back for the people who can’t, for the people who are bullied … Let me fight the fight for you because they don’t affect me, and the reason they don’t affect me is because I refuse to let anyone define me. Through this statement, Zayid denounces the cruelty and cyber-​bullying of the online sphere, and points to the ways in which anonymity breeds irresponsibility and a lack of accountability for one’s words and hate speech. On the Internet, hate speech may become permissible under the disguise of anonymity. Symbolic violence can indeed precede physical violence. Zayid has been subjected to death threats. In her interview in Moroccan Ladies magazine by Sabel Da Costa, Zayid states, I’ve been receiving death threats for about 10 years but it is true that the situation has escalated since the campaign of Trump. I am afraid for the world, because “the orange nightmare” now has nuclear power. I am not afraid for myself, I grew up in a country at war, I do not get impressed so easily. (FDM, 2017) Whereas Zayid’s statement reveals the strength of her character and her motivation to continue creating her art in spite of the threats against her person, being subjected to death threats announces potential looming violence. As hate crimes and feminicide (i.e., the killing of women on account of their gender) occurrences demonstrate, hate speech is not always formulated only to intimidate, and to put minorities back in their “inferior” place. It has also led to hate crimes through which victims lost their lives: to name but a few, the New Zealand Christchurch mosque shootings (in 2019) and the Quebec City mosque shooting (in 2017) show that a prejudiced mind can guide someone to take action, pull a trigger, and kill. In challenging several stereotypes at once, Zayid’s first priority is for her audiences to laugh, then she aims to advocate for equality, as a core message of her comedy. In an interview on the Queen Latifah (2014) show, Zayid states, First of all, I want people to laugh. I really want people to laugh. If they are not laughing, there is no point. I am not here to lecture people; I want them to laugh and then once they’re done laughing, I want them to realize that, I think, what I symbolize is equality. I want people to be

82  Using Humor to Talk Back treated equally and not reduced to their skin color, their ethnicity, their ability… Equality, for Zayid involves more than just one aspect of marginalization. On the possibilities of using comedy to take voice, Zayid speaks about how the medium of stand-​up comedy offers opportunities to have an uncensored voice and to use one’s own words to effect positive social change: because there is a difference between reading lines written for you and telling your own story. Right now in the arts, live theater is only something that is accessible to people with lots of money, whereas comedy is still mainstream and I feel that it is the last chance we have in the society on honest, unedited and uncensored voice. (RockStar Empires [2017]) In another interview with Moroccan Ladies magazine, Zayid speaks on the access comedy gives as an alternative diverse environment, unlike television, which in her view is not opening up doors to people of color or women to host shows. Furthermore, the burden of proof is lifted in the medium of comedy. In Marie Forleo’s (2014) interview with Zayid, she reveals how her comedy routines contain fictional elements, and that her statements about her husband are not factual. Comedy, therefore, provides opportunities to communicate in ways that are not contingent on having one’s words subjected to close scrutiny and criticism based on their theoretical validity and painstaking argumentation.

Concluding Remarks Through the use of humor and comedy, Maysoon Zayid has succeeded in “talking back” (hooks, 1989) to dominant discourses about the multiple facets of her identity and gaining access to the public sphere by addressing audiences beyond the borders of her immediate ethnic community as a Muslim and Arab woman. Bringing to the fore the topic of disability, Zayid became a prominent advocate of disability rights, while presenting a new image of Muslim women, by the mere fact of immersing herself in a male-​dominated field. Her physical presence along with some noteworthy challenges to dominant gender norms attempt to destabilize the dominant flow of information about these identities, although her treatment of gender-​ based discrimination and inequality could benefit from more precise development. For example, she refrains from formulating an overt condemnation of patriarchal logic when narrating stories of gender discrimination within her own family environment. Using humor as resistance and as a generator of positive social change, she has endeavored to challenge Islamophobic discourses, like other prominent

Using Humor to Talk Back  83 Muslim American comedians (mostly men) (Amarasingam, 2010; Hirzalla & van Zoonen, 2015; Najjar, 2014; Zimbardo, 2014). Zayid also capitalizes on the potential of the Internet to increase her reach to a wider audience. Like other Muslim American comedians, she is similarly engaged in humanizing a marginalized community –​Muslims, but her standpoint as a Muslim woman adds a gender presence to a male-​dominated field. Very centrally, her own comedy distinguishes itself in the field of Muslim American and Arab-​ American comedy in the ways in which she puts emphasis on disability as a theme, and aims to increase opportunities for people with disabilities to be visible actors in the entertainment industry. In doing so, Zayid expresses a clear intention to mainstream her perspective, while alterative media scholars (Albert, 1997; Hamilton, 2000; Kidd, 1999) warn about the vulnerabilities of co-​optation of alternative media that aims to operate with the same modalities as mainstream media. However, regardless of her intent, Zayid has in effect been able to infiltrate mainstream media through her work, rather than exert a complete transition. From an alternative media perspective, infiltrating mainstream media constitutes an essential function of alternative media, as it allows the media practitioner to circulate otherwise suppressed content. In the process of gaining further prominence, Zayid has faced a backlash against the perspective that she presents in the forms of online harassment, cyber-​bullying, hate speech, and death threats. While Bourdieu (1977) has called “symbolic violence” violence that aims to secure domination, other literature points us further toward the materiality of violence that we have called symbolic (Williams’, 1991, concept of “spirit murder” and Wing’s, 1990, concept of “spirit injury”). A prejudiced mind, race thinking, and Islamophobic and gendered discourses, in their most violent forms have led to suicide, depression, feminicides, and hate crimes, reminding us about the vital significance of language, and what is at stake when challenging structures of domination in language. In her own effort to talk back, Zayid speaks from a place of hope, and uses the medium of comedy and the form of humor as a conduit for gaining access to the public sphere and humanizing Muslim women and people with disabilities. Further on the possibilities of articulating counter-perspectives, the next chapter discusses the films and television productions of Zarqa Nawaz. The forthcoming analysis also reveals similarities in terms of discursive tactics deployed. But the next case study is interesting because it has achieved the greatest level of popularity, thereby shedding light on processes of transitioning to mainstream media.

Notes 1 In her memoir, Zayid (2019) speaks of the strained relationship and divergent views she had with one of the film directors of the documentary The Muslims Are Coming! (2013), Negin Farsad, leading her to experience the making of the film as a “tortourous tour,” and ultimately appearing in the film “for like 15 seconds” (Chapter 21).

84  Using Humor to Talk Back 2 The performers of the Together Live traveling event include, in addition to Maysoon Zayid, Michelle Buteau: actor and comedian; Glennon Doyle: author, activist, and founder of Together Rising; Megan Rapinoe: Two-​time World Cup Champion and co-​captain of the US Women’s National Team; Resistance Revival Chorus: Musical group; and Abby Wambach: Olympian, activist, and author. 3 The interview can be accessed here: https://​abcnews.go.com/​Politics/​comic-​ maysoon-​zayid-​making-​disability-​mainstream/​story?id=​48545823 4 As previously mentioned, Zayid opens her comedy performances with the following line: “If there was an Oppression Olympics, I would win the gold medal. I’m Palestinian, Muslim, I’m female, I’m disabled, and I live in New Jersey.” 5 As it appears in the following BeautyandtheEastTV video: www.youtube.com/​ watch?v=​9hJOTvUq_​6Q 6 Zayid’s statement included in Ajman’s University’s promotional video for Zayid’s 2017 performance can be accessed here: www.youtube.com/​watch?v=​ 1dtQcSIH4SA

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86  Using Humor to Talk Back Macdonald, M. (2006). Muslim women and the veil. Feminist Media Studies, 6(1), 7–​23. https://​doi.org/​10.1080/​14680770500471004 Mahdawi, D. (2008). Fear and laughing in the occupied territories: Comedienne Maysoon Zayid transforms lives. Al-​Raida Journal, Fall(122–​123), 88–​89. Michael, J. (2011). American Muslims stand up and speak out: Trajectories of humor in Muslim American stand-​ up comedy. Contemporary Islam, 7(2), 129–​153. https://​doi.org/​10.1007/​s11562-​011-​0183-​6 Mohanty, C. T. (1991). Cartographies of struggle: Third world women and the politics of feminism. In C. T. Mohanty, A. Russo, & L. Torres (Eds.), Third world women and the politics of feminism (pp. 1–​47). Indiana University Press. Naim, O., & Glenn, B. (Directors). (2008). Stand up: Muslim American comics come of age [Documentary]. PBS. Najjar, M. M. (2014). “There’s nothing funny about your people”: Muslim-​American humor in the post-​9/​11 world. In I. Omidvar & A. R. Richards (Eds.), Muslims and American popular culture (pp. 3–​17). Praeger. Nawaz, A. (2017, July 11). Comic Maysoon Zayid is making disability mainstream. ABCnews. https://​abcnews.go.com/​Politics/​comic-​maysoon-​zayid-​making-​ disability-mainstream/​story?id=​48545823 Nayak, M. (2006). Orientalism and “saving” US state identity after 9/​ 11. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 8(1), 42–​61. https://​doi.org/​10.1080/​ 14616740500415458 Olbermann, K. (Presenter). (2010, December 9). Must See TV [TV Series Episode]. In K. Olbermann (Presenter), Countdown with Keith Olbermann. MSNBC. Ong, W. J. (1982). Orality and Literacy (2nd ed.). Routledge. Oumlil, K. (2013). “Talking Back”: The poetry of Suheir Hammad. Feminist Media Studies, 13(5), 850–​859. https://​doi.org/​10.1080/​14680777.2013.838368 Parameswaran, R. (2006). Military metaphors, masculine modes, and critical commentary: Deconstructing journalists’ inner tales of September 11. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 30(1), 42–​64. https://​doi.org/​10.1177/​ 0196859905280954 Queen Latifah. (2014, April 8). Comedian Maysoon Zayid pushes forward through laughs on The Queen Latifah Show [Video]. Youtube. www.youtube.com/​ watch?v=​rgeGzZYw3Mk Razack, S. (2008). Casting out: The eviction of Muslims from Western law and politics. University of Toronto Press. Rhoades, B. (2019). Maysoon Zayid: Advocacy with humor. DIVERSEability Magazine. https://​diverseabilitymagazine.com/​2019/​04/​maysoon-​zayidadvocacy-humor/​ RockStar Empires (2017, January 10). RockStar Empires Interviews Maysoon Zayid [Video]. Youtube. www.youtube.com/​watch?v=​a-​FIqL4g-​_​A Sabry, S. S. (2011). Arab-​American women’s writing and performance: Orientalism, race and the idea of the Arabian nights. Bloomsbury. Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. Vintage Books. Selim, F. A. (2014). Performing Arabness in Arab American stand-​ up comedy. American, British and Canadian Studies Journal, 23(1), 77–​92. https://​doi.org/​ 10.1515/​abcsj-​2014-​0028 Shaheen, J. G. (1984). The TV Arab. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. Shaheen, J. G. (2001). Reel bad Arabs: How Hollywood vilifies a people. Olive Branch Press.

Using Humor to Talk Back  87 Swift, T. (2014). Shake it off [Song]. On 1989. Big machine. Taylor, D. (2003). The archive and the repertoire: Performing cultural memory in the Americas. Duke University Press. The Muslims are Coming. (2007, December 22). 2008 New York Arab American Comedy Festival STAND UP PREVIEW [Video]. YouTube. Todd, S. (1998). Veiling the “other”, unveiling our “selves”: Reading media images of the hijab psychoanalytically to move beyond tolerance. Canadian Journal of Education/​ Revue canadienne de l’éducation, 23(4), 438–​451. https://​doi.org/​ 10.2307/​1585757 Vivian, B. (1999). The veil and the visible. Western Journal of Communication, 63(2), 115–​139. https://​doi.org/​10.1080/​10570319909374633 Williams, P. J. (1991). The alchemy of race and rights. Harvard University Press. Wing, A. K. (1990). Brief reflections toward a multiplicative theory and praxis of being. Berkeley Women’s LJ, 6(1), 181. https://​doi.org/​10.15779/​Z38557J Yeğenoğlu, M. (1998). Colonial fantasies: Towards a feminist reading of orientalism. Cambridge University Press. Youssef, R., & Carmichael, J. (Executive Producers). (2019–​present). Ramy [TV Series]. Foxera. Zayid, M. (Creator). (2006). Little American whore [Comedy routine]. Zayid, M. (2013, December). I got 99 problems … palsy is just one [Video]. TED Conferences. www.ted.com/​talks/​maysoon_​zayid_​i_​got_​99_​problems_​palsy_​is_​ just_​one Zayid, M. (2019). Find another dream. Audible Original. www.audible.com/​author/​ Maysoon-​Zayid/​B07ZG4VVH8 Zayid, M., Ahmed, A., & Obeidallah, D. (Directors). (2006). The Arab American Comedy Tour: Featuring America’s most wanted comedians! [Film]. Arab Film Distribution. Zimbardo, Z. (2014). Cultural politics of humor in (de) normalizing Islamophobic stereotypes. Islamophobia Studies Journal, 2(1), 59–​81. https://​doi.org/​10.13169/​ islastudj.2.1.0059

4  Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television Zarqa Nawaz’s Film and Television Productions

Born in Liverpool in 1968, raised in Toronto, and currently residing in Regina, Saskatchewan, Zarqa Nawaz is a videographer, filmmaker, television producer, and writer. Making a groundbreaking intervention through humor and visual communication, Nawaz was able to infiltrate mainstream television in an unprecedented way. Through her television show Little Mosque on the Prairie, which has been broadcasted nationally and internationally, Nawaz makes it possible to associate Muslims with humor, in a departure from all too familiar images of violent Muslim men and oppressed Muslim women. In her professional trajectory, Nawaz has experimented with different channels of communication. While pursuing a degree in journalism at Ryerson University, Nawaz produced a short radio documentary in a radio broadcast class. Titled The Changing Rituals of Death (1992), Nawaz’s radio documentary won first prize in the Radio Long Documentary category and the Chairman’s Award in Radio Production at the Ontario Telefest Award, leading her to pursue an internship with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). In the years that followed, Nawaz worked as a freelance writer and broadcaster with CBC radio, CBC Newsworld, CTV’s Canada AM, and CBC’s The National. She was also the associate producer of several CBC radio programs. Sensing that her creativity was not completely fulfilled by journalism, she turned to filmmaking and registered for a short course at the Ontario College of Art. She subsequently wrote and directed BBQ Muslims, a short film that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1996. A series of other short films followed: Death Threat (1998), Fred’s Burqa (2005a), and Random Check (2005c). Also in 2005, Nawaz directed her first feature length documentary Me and the Mosque (Nawaz, 2005b), which was coproduced with the National Film Board of Canada and CBC. She thereafter created the comedy television series Little Mosque on the Prairie, which started to broadcast on CBC in 2007. She additionally runs FUNdamentalist Films, a production company aimed at “putting the fun back into fundamentalism.” Named as one of the “ten young visionaries shaping Islam in America” by Islamica Magazine and the recipient of the DOI: 10.4324/9780429292927-5

Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television  89

Figure 4.1  Zarqa Nawaz.

90  Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television Outstanding International Achievement Awards, presented by Women In Film and Television—​Toronto (Zine et al. 2007a, p. 379), Nawaz more recently turned to another mode of communication, and wrote her memoir titled Laughing All the Way to the Mosque: The Misadventures of a Muslim Woman, which was published in 2014. This chapter takes interest in the processes of alternative media transitioning to the mainstream and gaining access to the realm of popular culture. It particularly focuses on Nawaz’s show Little Mosque on the Prairie, a popular television sit-​com. Launched on January 9, 2007, and ending on April 2, 2012, the television comedy, consisting of a total of 91 episodes, aired on CBC for six seasons. It has also aired in more than 90 countries, including France, Finland, the United Arab Emirates, and several countries in francophone Africa. My interest in this series is based on its duration –​as a long-​term intervention –​and its widespread popularity.1 Why delve into mainstream television when analyzing alternative discourses? As explained in Chapter 3, Kenix (2011) cites the scholarly contributions of other prominent alternative media scholars to argue that alternative media has been hard to categorize and that the lines between mainstream media and alternative media often get blurred, in the ways in which mainstream media draws from the content and practices of alternative media, while alternative media may infiltrate or transition to mainstream media. As I have argued elsewhere (Oumlil, 2016), retaining both interpellations is still useful to signal the urgent need for alternative perspectives to find avenues for expression and challenge all forms of domination. Nawaz’s own artistic contribution illustrates well this dualism: her text emerges in the mainstream medium of television, but yet produces unusual and divergent content that seeks to promote social change. More importantly, Little Mosque on the Prairie makes comedic history, as it is the first Muslim comedy to air on North American television. Nawaz’s work emerges in the context of a renaissance of Arab and Muslim cultural works circulating in the realm of popular culture. It can be situated as part of a new 9/​11 genre of cultural productions following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Her interventions circulate in a paradoxical climate of Islamophobia and renewed interest in Islam. This chapter focuses on examining the counter-​hegemonic potential of Nawaz’s productions. It is based on a textual and visual examination of all 91 episodes (each lasting approximately 22 minutes) of the six seasons of the show (from January 9, 2007, to April 2, 2012), as well as excerpts from an interview conducted with Nawaz. The chapter presents the discursive “tactical interventions” that appear in the show (including resignification, reversal, and using positive images). The chapter also addresses the question of self-​representation –​ given that the production staff, the writing staff, and the directors of Little Mosque on the Prairie are predominantly non-​Muslim, and the ways in which the popularity of the television show carries implications for the emergence of alternative content. It argues that the positive outlook of

Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television  91 the television series is situated in its ability to contest stereotypes through the use of humor. However, as the first Muslim television show in North America, it was limited in its self-​representational potential. This case study thus supports this book’s claim that assertions of unintelligibility gradually surface over time in the public sphere.

9/​11 Genre I argue that a new genre of representation has emerged since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in part as a way of responding to the extant climate of fear and moral panic. The ongoing demonization of Muslims and their pejorative representations in the mass media fulfils a representational need to portray them as an enemy and thereby reinforce a sense of superior Western self. Yet, negative and limited portrayals of Muslims even predate the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (Karim, 2000; Khan, 1998; Said, 1978; Shaheen, 1984, 2001; Todd, 1998; Vivian, 1999; Yeğenoğlu, 1998). Contact with Muslim peoples has a relatively recent history in North America. Europe, in contrast, has more ancient histories of Muslim contact, particularly through the Crusades, colonialism, and migration. Since North America does not have a colonial history in Muslim lands, although it does have a contemporary one of imperialism, its experiences with Muslims are part of more recent developments. Said (1981) contends that in the United States the preoccupation with “Islam,” a term used monolithically in the American media to talk about distinct issues in the MENA region, intensified in 1978 with the Iranian revolution, continuing after the end of the Cold War with the collapse of communism. Writing from Canada, Karim (2000) similarly retraces the genealogy of contemporary representations of Muslims in the West. He finds that during the Cold War, dominant discourses saw communism and the Soviet camp as the major opponent. According to Karim, it was not until the overthrow of the Iranian Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi in 1979 and the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in 1981, by movements that identified as Muslim, that Islam began to occupy the place of the “enemy.” Following the events that displaced the Shah of Iran and Anwar Sadat, who were both considered to be allies of the West, and the new Iranian leadership’s public statement that America was the “Great Satan,” mediated representations of Islam began to have consistent negative overtones. Discourses constructing Muslim identity changed after the terrorist attacks of 9/​11. Shortly after the attacks, mainstream US media, which has obvious international ramifications, became saturated with images and language constructing Islam as a worrisome green menace. Canada also saw an intensification of race thinking. Razack (2008) notes that “tolerance” of Islam in Canada began to evaporate post-​9/​11, and that the dominant

92  Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television narrative of the West being under siege and threatened by Islam served as a justification for discriminatory governmental measures and policies. The television show that constitutes the focus of this chapter is situated in this particular 9/​11 context. About two decades later, we continue to see the circulation of terrorism shows and films. But another type of media products also appear: those that illustrate a renewed interest in Islam, as exemplified by the existence of shows like the web documentary Me, the Muslim Next Door (a production of Radio Canada International, the CBC International Service, which also airs programs produced by CBC/​Radio-​Canada; Vilar, 2011), and TLC’s short-​lived reality show All-​American Muslim (Emmerson et al., 2011–​2012), set in Dearborn, Michigan, home of the highest concentration of Arab-​Americans in the United States. In her analysis of the television crime drama The Border, which debuted on January 7, 2008, and was also broadcasted by CBC, Jiwani (2010b) reveals how the series draws from post-​9/​11 issues of security and terrorism in demonstrating and legitimizing the workings of the Canadian security state apparatus. As with Little Mosque on the Prairie, this show has been sold to more than a dozen of television networks worldwide (mostly European, but also to the United States and Mexico). A more recent noteworthy show is Shahs of Sunset (2012–​present), which derives its longevity and success according to Alsultany (2016) from its downplaying of religion and celebration of “American values.”

Cultural Renaissance and Comedy The policies of 9/​11 have severely curtailed the individual rights and liberties of Muslim populations, through measures like the USA PATRIOT Act in the United States, the Canadian Anti-​terrorism Act, the more recent Trump travel ban for citizens of several Muslim countries, and so on. However, there has also been a “renaissance” of Arab and Muslim cultural works circulating in the realm of popular culture. Amarasingam (2010) attests of the post-​9/​11 public interest in Islam in regards to comedy as he quotes Muslim comedians’ statements regarding this new turn of events: As female comedian Tissa Hami stated in an interview with PBS, “I don’t think that I would have ever gone into stand-​up comedy if it hadn’t been for 9/​11 … Living through 9/​11 as an Iranian who had lived through the hostage crisis … I just wanted to do something this time.” Dean Obeidallah also speaks of 9/​11 as a turning point that altered the way he was viewed and changed his comedic performance: “before 9/​11, I’m just a White guy living a typical White guy life. All my friends had names like Monica, and Chandler, and Joey, and Ross. I go to bed September 10th White, wake up September 11th, I’m an Arab!” Obeidallah, a light-​ skinned, Palestinian-​Italian American, is very honest that he can be a spectator in these discussions if he wishes. He does not “look Muslim.”

Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television  93 Other comedians, like Ahmed Ahmed or Azhar Usman, do not have this “luxury.” (p. 468) Amarasingam cites initiatives of Muslim comedians such as the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour and the Allah Made Me Funny Comedy Tour and mentions in passing television shows like Little Mosque on the Prairie and Aliens in America (now canceled). He incorporates in his study quotes from Arab and Muslim men comedians like Maz Jobrani, Dean Obeidallah, Azhar Usman, and Azeem, as well as Muslim women comedians like Shazia Mirza, Tissa Hami, and Maysoon Zayid. Alsultany’s (2016) more recent article on the cultural politics of Islam cites two broad strategies of incorporating Islam in U.S. reality television: one of “normalization” (exemplified in her study of the show All American Muslim); and the second of “assimilatory exoticization” (exemplified in her study of the show Shahs of Sunset (SOS)). Alsultany further argues that unlike All-​American Muslims (2011–​2012), Shahs of Sunset (2012–​2018) was successful because it decentralizes the question of Islam and celebrates constructed components of American identity (traits like individualism and consumerism), but does it nonetheless through an Orientalist lens: “in SOS, we see the cast members embrace the American Dream and become ideal subjects of U.S. multiculturalism through consumerism, secularism, and disavowal of Islam” (Alsultany 2016, p. 605). Amarasingam’s (2010) study of how Muslim comedians in post-​9/​11 America challenge cultural stereotypes describes them as performing the role of Gramscian organic intellectuals (i.e., educators/​leaders who emerge out of the group/​class of which they are part), who use comedy to destabilize commonsense beliefs about Arab and Muslim identity and assist their communities to gain confidence and self-​respect. After 9/​11, another turning point moment would significantly define the Arab cultural scenes, born out of the revolutionary spirit of the Arab Spring. During the conjuncture of the Arab Spring, an explosion of artistic production occurred in the Arab world (LeVine, 2015). In the diaspora as well, Arabs and Muslims used their creative imagination to circulate revolutionary art. Some examples include the Arab Winter multimedia artist collective born in Montreal in 2011 to create counter-​narratives about the Arab Spring; Suheir Hammad’s poetry, which has engaged with the uprisings in the region through a collaborative video of her poem “into Egypt”; and the #Jan25 Egypt song, a hip-​hop track of several alternative musicians from North America, including Syrian-​American Omar Offendum and Iraqi-​Canadian Yassin Alsalman (better known by his stage name Narcy), to name but a few examples. Nawaz’s work emerged within the context of the 9/​11 renaissance of self-​ produced Arab and Muslim cultural works. Little Mosque on the Prairie relies on humor to convey different messages about Islam, although one cannot state unequivocally that it is an “indigenous” vernacular production

94  Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television

Figure 4.2 A still from Little Mosque on the Prairie.

because the majority of the writers and producers of the show are not Muslim.

Background on Little Mosque on the Prairie The very title of Little Mosque on the Prairie alludes to the American drama television series Little House on the Prairie (1974–​1983), another well-​ received family show that reinforces the normalization of middle-​class life. Although Nawaz relates how she watched Little House on the Prairie as a child, she states that her show’s title only plays with the words and is not an homage to Michael Landon’s series, which was a long-​running and famous show. The launch of the show marks an important turning point as it is considered to be the first Muslim comedy in North America: “what is groundbreaking about the show is that it is the first Muslim comedy in North America. Most of the main characters are Muslim, but not Muslims of the violent terrorist and/​or oppressor-​of-​women stereotypes common in North American media representations” (Greifenhagen, 2010, p. 15). Nevertheless, newspaper reviews criticized the show because of a lack of representation of terrorist, dangerous, and extremist Muslims. From a different vantage point, non-​practicing Muslims also criticized the show for not representing different types of Muslim characters (Greifenhagen, 2010). In the interview conducted for this study, and in her recently published memoir, Nawaz speaks about conservative members of the Muslim community who were also critical of what they considered to be liberal representations of Islam.

Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television  95 I would categorize all these criticisms as deriving from the “burden of representation” (Mercer, 1988). In this case, the “minority” artist is asked to serve as an ambassador of culture and represent positively and in a comprehensive way an entire culture and group of people, a task impossible to achieve. In contrast, Nawaz (2014) takes voice and engages in self-​criticism: Making a documentary [Me and the Mosque] that was critical of the community hadn’t made me popular, though. Friends thought my timing was terrible and that I was handing ammunition to the '“Muslims are sexist” publicity machine. They felt we should sort out our issues in private. But I felt that the outside world would judge us less harshly if it saw that we too were struggling with gender equality. ( p. 174) Hence Nawaz’s work is interesting as it takes voice to self-​represent Muslim issues. Little Mosque on the Prairie has received notable academic attention (e.g., Cañas, 2008; Conway, 2014, 2017; Dakroury, 2008; Gray, 2014; Greinfenhagen, 2010; Hirji, 2011; Jiwani, 2010a; Kassam, 2015; Matheson, 2012; Paré, 2010). These studies point to the ways in which the show challenges Orientalist discourse (Cañas, 2008), and promotes a sense of “convivencia” (peaceful coexistence) between Muslims and non-​Muslims in the Canadian context (Greinfenhagen, 2010). In one of the earliest studies of the show, along with Cañas (2008), Dakroury (2008) contends that the show contributes to normalizing (i.e., humanizing) Muslims. However, studies of the show also point to the lack of diversity and simplified representations of Muslims (Cañas, 2008; Greinfenhagen, 2010; Hirji, 2011; Kassam, 2015), which Jiwani (2010a) posits as operating through a “doubling discourse.” While the lead female character Rayyan is constructed as assimilated into Western Canadian society, Jiwani (2010a) argues that she also struggles within the patriarchal structure of the Mercy mosque. This particular study, however, is interested in the processes of transitioning to mainstream media, by taking as a case study Nawaz’s work. The first episode of the television show scored over two million viewers, an accomplishment that the CBC had not been able to achieve since airing Anne of Avonlea in 1990, according to Greifenhagen (2010). Hence, this show is interesting for its significant level of popularity, particularly as a work that originally emerged from the cultural margins. Furthermore, the show has also attracted international attention, broadcasting in countries like France and the United Arab Emirates.

“Normalizing” Muslims Little Mosque on the Prairie “talks back” (hooks, 1989) to dominant discourses about Islam, by using a strategy of “normalization.” The

96  Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television television show puts the emphasis on family life and presents Muslims as part of the Canadian landscape. The title sequence of the show starts with an image of rolling hills, depicting the Canadian prairies. It is a very bright sunny day. A blue sky appears, symbolizing through the celestial, religion. It is however clouded, alluding to cascading difficulties. The title includes drawings of mosques on the words “little,” “mosque,” and “prairie.” With the opening credits, we see Mercy mosque, depicting Muslims as part of the Canadian landscape, and effectively un-​othering them. The opening song, containing the Arabic words “ya habibi” (Oh my love!), departs from the typical portrayals of violent Muslims as it associates them with the most positive emotion. The television show, however, does not just focus on showing “nice” Muslims, and thus tactically deploying positive images, but it also sheds light on the discrimination and marginalization of Muslims living in North America. The show therefore contributes to what Kenix (2011) describes as blurring the lines between mainstream and alternative media, because it presents unusual content for mainstream Canadian television. From the first episode, the show tackles some important political issues, including the racial profiling of Muslims and the ways in which they may be wrongfully subjected to terrorism charges. One of the main characters Amaar, who quit his career as a lawyer in Toronto and moved to the small fictional town of Mercy to become the Mosque’s resident Imam, is wrongfully suspected of terrorism because of a traveler overhearing and misinterpreting his phone conversation with his mother: AMAAR: [on

phone] Mom, stop it with the guilt. No, don’t put dad on! I’ve been planning this for months it’s not like I dropped a bomb on ‘im. Oh dad thinks it’s suicide? So be it; this is Allah’s plan for me. WOMAN:  Oh my … AMAAR:  I’m not throwing my life away, I’m moving to the Prairies! The strategy of normalization that the show undertakes relies on using the genre of the sitcom, which facilitates the depiction of Muslims as regular and inoffensive people. Each episode of the series lasts approximately 22 minutes and follows the conventional story line of the sitcom. Similar to the soap opera, the sitcom depends on repetition and a forestalling of closure (Neale & Krutnik, 1990). However, the sitcom differs from the soap opera, which maintains a sense of temporal development. Some of the key features of the sitcom include organizing relationships between characters along familial and communal lines, as well as the continuing familiarization and return to the original situation, in a circular process type of narrative. The show depicts the everyday events of designated chief protagonists. It particularly centers on resignifying commonsensical portrayals of Muslim women and Islam.

Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television  97

Resignifying Muslim Women The show aims to normalize Muslims by presenting alternative portrayals of Muslim women. Abel (2008) posits resignification as the discursive tactic of turning signs and symbols around for the purpose of injecting new meanings to them. Furthermore, I would argue that the tactic of resignification can be deployed to “talk back” (hooks, 1989) to dominant discourses. In mainstream media, Muslims are effectively “othered” by positioning women as subjugated victims in need of Western rescue. Through the figure of the lead character Rayyan Hamoudi, Little Mosque on the Prairie shows that Muslim women can be feminists. Rayyan, who is a doctor in the show, counters dominant notions about Muslim womanhood. From the first episode of season 1, her first line is, “maybe while the enemy is in there, he could do the dishes:” BABER:  The enemy is in your kitchen. RAYYAN:  And maybe while the enemy’s

in there he could do the dishes.

The show frames her specifically as a veiled, strong, and outspoken feminist. Amaar Rashid, who is the town’s imam, states, “I think people would find it surprising that there’s such a thing as a Muslim feminist” (season 1, episode 3). Often, the show directly talks back to dominant discourses by providing an alternative perspective. In episode 3 of season 1, Rayyan says: “they see the headscarf, they think oppression.” The first season contains numerous reminders of Rayyan’s identity as a feminist. For example, in the second episode of the first season, Babar Siddiqui, who “represents” the ultra-​ conservative segment of the mosque, says, “don’t listen to this feminist” while Rayyan is trying to stop him from putting up a barrier in the mosque that would separate women from men. Overall, what is also refreshingly absent in the series is the objectifying gaze toward women. As Mulvey (1976) argues, mainstream films typically consider [heterosexual] men viewers as the targeted audience. Concern with satisfying the male gaze in cinema has led to objectifying and sexualizing female bodies on screen. In contrast, Little Mosque on the Prairie appears to be sanitized from all matters of the flesh. The show does not contain any sex scenes, nor does it film women in revealing clothing. The camera work is not done in such a way to zoom in on body parts. Through the figure of Rayyan Hammoudi, Little Mosque on the Prairie shows that Muslim women can be feminists. However, the show also sheds light on Muslims’ internalized sexism. From her earlier work, as it appears for example in her documentary Me and the Mosque (2005b), Nawaz took on this subject. Me and the Mosque (2005b) tackles the topic of gender segregation in Muslim places of worship by focusing on barriers in mosques that spatially separate women from men. In her later work, as it appears

98  Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television in her memoir Laughing All the Way to the Mosque (2014), Nawaz also addresses the same topic when she relates going to hajj with her family and how she noticed that both genders pray side by side in Mecca. Also showing the continuity of her work, several episodes of Little Mosque on the Prairie take on the same subject. For example, in episode 18 of season 3, Babar and Faisal, representing the most conservative members of the Mercy mosque, start building a separate entrance for women at the mosque. Since there wasn’t a budget for it, they propose that women use the backdoor to enter and exit the mosque. However, the backdoor leads to a dumpster in the alley. Faisal says, “just because garbage goes out doesn’t mean women can’t come in.” Amaar, the Imam of Mercy Mosque, who fails to intervene, justifies his inaction to Rayyan by saying, “I can’t tell them segregation is wrong. I have to show them.” The use of the word segregation to frame the issue exercises a momentary “spectator positioning” (Stam & Spence, 1985) that reverses the usual male point of view to the Muslim woman’s standpoint. Kress and Van Leeuwen (1996) explain that the use of close-​ups encourages closer relations with represented participants. In this scene, the camera zooms in to highlight Rayyan’s disappointed facial expression. It also follows her and Fatima in a previous scene as they attempt to enter the mosque in the midst of garbage and flies. This episode continues to display what the backdoor means for the women of the mosque. Babar’s daughter Layla talks back to her father who was behind this “backward” “innovation”: “It’s the door, Dad. The garbage door. It’s degrading. It’s humiliating. Oh yeah, it’s surrounded by garbage. Who thought this was a good idea anyway?” In an atypical turn of events, it is the men who now have to use the backdoor after Amaar proposes this as an alternative solution. After using the back and garbage door, the men change their mind and Mercy mosque returns to having one entrance for all. Therefore, this episode represents discriminatory gendered behaviors within Muslim communities as well as feminist efforts to change the status quo. In addition, the show also showcases women’s involvement in upholding patriarchy. In season 1, episode 7, Yasir’s mother proposes that his cousin Samira becomes his second wife, referencing the issue of polygamy. In another episode, Rayyan challenges White women at an interfaith council (season 2, episode 1). She suggests that she would rather not volunteer to bake and that as women, they should challenge the status quo. Using resignification and reversal, this episode portrays a Muslim woman as more feminist than a group of White women. To further complicate Rayyan’s standpoint as a Muslim woman in Canada, another episode (season 2, episode 12) tackles the topic of racism and discrimination against veiled women in the host society. Because she plays curling well, Fred (who is the host of a radio talk show and regularly uses the airwaves to promote intolerance toward Mercy’s Muslims) ejects Rayyan from the game by using the veil as justification. This episode therefore acts as a reference to veiled Muslim girls who were prevented from

Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television  99 participating in sports in Quebec. Lakhani (2008) examines the coverage of 11-​year-​old Asmahan Mansour’s expulsion from a girls’ soccer tournament in Laval, Quebec, in February 2007. Her article surveys English-​ language newspapers in Quebec and Central Canada in order to examine their construction of the charge, issued by Quebec soccer officials, that Mansour’s headscarf presented a safety threat. She found that the Canadian press consolidated notions of Canada’s commitment to “multiculturalism” and “tolerance” by constructing Mansour as both threat and promise to the nation (see also Zine, 2009). As Nawaz explained when interviewed, “…Rayyan being banned from the curling team because she wears hijab sort of mimics what has been happening with Muslim women in sports in Quebec…” Hence, this episode parallels real incidents, in an attempt to inject new meanings to dominant discourses about veiled Muslim girls’ participation in sports in Quebec. Furthermore, it certainly speaks to recent events. In 2019, Quebec passed Bill 21, which bans religious clothing for some new public servants employees. The law particularly affects Muslim women who wear the hijab as they wouldn’t be able to work as civil servants while wearing the veil.

Resignifying Islam More generally, a salient characteristic of the series is the resignification of Islam. Little Mosque on the Prairie performs a reversal in its juxtaposition of Islam and Christianity, contrary to dominant representations that inject negative attributions to Islam while simultaneously rendering Christianity invisible and positively valued. As Said (1978) explains, Orientalism is constructed vis-​à-​vis an invisible, untouchable West. Several episodes of the series clearly position the relationality of Muslim/​ Christian interactions. Rendering Christianity apparent, these episodes highlight the beliefs and assumptions of Mercy’s Anglicans. Furthermore, they often perform various forms of reversal. Episode 14 of season 4 depicts Rayyan’s friend Holly as a devout born-​again Christian who attempts to convert her: “I’m here now to save your soul from hell fire.” Reverend Thorne also tries to convert some of the Muslim characters. Hence, these episodes position identity vis-​à-​vis difference, since they render apparent the beliefs and biases of Christian characters toward Islam. Furthermore, the show also deploys a type of reversal that turns around the dominant spectator positioning. For example, episode 6 of season 1 illustrates this when a White Canadian convert to Islam, Sarah, introduces Mercy’s Muslims to Christianity. Curious about the religion, they ask candid questions about communion and Easter. Momentarily viewing religion from Muslim eyes, the typical invisibility of Christianity in North American media is brought to light, and furthermore portrayed as the novelty, the foreign, and the different. Muslim/​Christian relations evolve throughout the seasons of the show. The first season starts with a friendly relationship between Amaar and

100  Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television Reverend McGee, who was the minister of Mercy Anglican before Thorne’s arrival. It was McGee’s idea to rent out the parish hall to Mercy’s Muslims so they could have a place of worship there. While McGee’s relationship to the new Imam of the Mosque Amaar is friendly since the first season, the show’s narrative also alluded to the Crusades, thereby historically contextualizing the relationship. For example, in episode 5 of season 1, a new White Muslim convert joins Mercy mosque. Whereas the mosque congregants welcome him in the beginning, they quickly become irritated by his excessive enthusiasm and over-​zealous commitment to obeying Islamic rules. Yasir tells Babar that they should make the new judgmental convert believe that they are decadent in order to drive him away. When Babar refuses, Yasir tells him, “settle down Salahuddin,2 the crusades are over” (season 1, episode 5). Nonetheless, the arrival of the new Reverend William Thorne, who replaces McGee, changes the course of the relationship. In episode 2 of season 4, Amaar acknowledges this tense state of affairs when he tells Thorne, “look, I know we started off on the wrong foot. You, surprised that there was a mosque in a church. Me, worried about the future of that mosque.” In the following episode, Reverend Thorne steals Amaar’s sermon and delivers it in his church (season 4, episode 3). Several episodes reproduce the theme of the competitiveness of Reverend Thorne toward Amaar –​ and derivatively, toward Islam. This unfriendly relationship post-​McGee is depicted in a charity prize fight when Amaar and Thorne engage in a boxing match (season 4, episode 3). Reverend Thorne pretends that he can’t move because of a blow Amaar inflicted on him during the fight in order to obtain sympathy from Mercy’s Anglicans. He also asks Amaar to run a number of errands for him. But soon enough, his lies turn against him when a couple of Anglican women become more impressed with Amaar’s dedication toward Thorne than being sympathetic to Thorne’s pseudo pain. However, the series evolves to include numerous references to the potential for improvement of Muslim/​Christian relations. In episode 17 of season 4, Reverend Thorne delivers an impromptu “speech” defending Amaar and Rayyan’s decision to move out of Mercy, which Rayyan’s parents initially opposed. Thorne says, regardless, today should be a celebration of these two remarkable people. They’ve changed all our lives. Well, I know they changed mine. So they’re moving on. Wherever they go, they will carry us with them in their hearts, as we should carry them in ours. This speech operates as a concession on Muslim/​Christian relations, especially given how strained it had become throughout the show’s fourth season up to this point. Although this is a turning point for Reverend Thorne who becomes more sympathetic toward Muslims, his change of heart doesn’t last for long –​similar to Fred’s pattern of alternating from hostility to sympathy toward Mercy’s Muslim residents. For example, in episode 20 of season

Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television  101 3, Fred expresses his wish to attend Rayyan’s wedding. This episode similarly points to potential peaceful relations between Christians and Muslims, as even an extremist character, like Fred, can express positive feelings. Numerous episodes entertain this potential. The title of episode 5 of season 5 is “roomies.” Thorne welcomes Amaar, who was evicted from his place, to his home as a quintessential illustration of their changing relationship. The series, in its entirety, points to “burying the hatchet” in an almost medieval crusade battle allegory. It suggests a notion of “coexistence.” In episode 0 of season 5, the Muslim congregants host a Christmas party for Anglicans in their mosque, which is located inside the Anglican Church. Another episode visually depicts this Muslim/​Christian potential for peace. Thorne suggests that he might be bonding with Amaar and they both extend their arms as if they are about to shake hands but then change their mind (season 5, episode 6). In the same episode, Amaar describes the scene as, “Muslims and Anglicans side by side.” The last season continues to depict the improvement of Muslim/​Christian relations via narrative developments like the growing friendship between Thorne and Babar, who play games together and engage in competitive fasting to lose weight (season 6, episode 3). Amaar sums up this overall trajectory and message of the series, which promotes a notion of peaceful “coexistence” as he says, “we’re all people of the book and our differences are tiny by comparison” (season 6, episode 4). This last season brings about a notable turn of events as Amaar starts to build a new mosque. Although Amaar engages in a publicity campaign to promote the project, Mercy’s Muslims are surprisingly unsupportive of his plans. Suggesting a potential separation of the conservative segment, Babar is interested in keeping his own mosque. But he eventually gives up on his idea when Sarah accidently burns down the Church building. The finale of the entire series suggests a hopeful ending. First, Amaar refuses to put up a prayer barrier at the new mosque to segregate women from men. Second, he creates a mosque independent from the church. But paradoxically, it also becomes the new location of the Anglican Church; Thorne declares, “the community room downstairs will be the new home of Mercy Anglican” (season 6, episode 11). This ending performs a reversal of the typical gaze, as the church is now in a mosque. The previous tenant/​landlord dynamic indicated an evident power relation through the depiction of a Muslim (minority) group that strives to secure its own space. While the mosque was first located within a church, it was eventually moved to an independent location that also became the hosting space for the Anglican Church. However, there is a potential of this narrative of coexistence, as sweet as it sounds, to effectively mask the structural and institutionalized marginalization of minority groups.

102  Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television

Conditions of Emergence Performativity of Identity The representation of marginalized groups often depends on a performativity of identity. Similar to the television show, Nawaz’s memoir Laughing All the Way to the Mosque, published more recently in 2014, contains generalizations about Muslims, as it appears in the essentialist chapter title “How to Name a Muslim Baby.” In the case of Little Mosque on the Prairie, identity is clearly stated in uncanny and rehearsed ways. Very often, the characters of the show directly and literally declare their Muslim identity (“as a Muslim woman,” in episode 5 of season 1), with an over-​usage of phrases like “it’s un-​Islamic,” assuming that spectators need constant reminders that the show is about Muslims. The word “Muslim” is used a countless number of times, but in a sanitized version of Muslim identity secured through phrases like “you’re not behaving like a proper Muslim woman,” as Amaar says to Rayyan in episode 8 of season 1. These grand statements not only privilege religion over other axes of identity but also lead to several reductionisms that do not reflect the different schools and ways of practicing Islam. Hirji (2011) also presents this argument in her analysis of Little Mosque on the Prairie, and argues that the show excludes discussions of different schools within Islam. In addition, the show dilutes complexity in blanket generalizations, as evident in Amaar’s following statement: “cosmetic surgery is frowned upon by Islam” (season 2, episode 16). Even if Muslims reach consensus of what the Shariaa (Islamic law) instructs, they certainly do not always abide by the rules. The preferred representational strategy of the show, however, presents proper Muslims who make unequivocal statements about religion, such as the following: “under Islamic dating rules, you can’t touch me” (season 2, episode 19). In reality, many “Muslim” practices of dating include engaging in sexual relations. To establish authenticity, the show symbolically returns to original Islam through the opening and closing Arabic songs, “ya habibi” and “Tala‘ al-​ Badru ‘Alaynā (Arabic: ‫)علط ردبلا انيلع‬.” While “habibi” means “my love,” “Tala‘ al-​Badru ‘Alaynā” symbolically sends viewers, particularly those with a Muslim sensibility, to the Prophet’s first entry to Medina, which was then known as the city of Yathrib. Upon his arrival, the citizens of Yathrib sang “Tala‘ al-​Badru ‘Alaynā” for the first time:

ṭala‘a ‘l-​badru ‘alaynā

Oh the white moon rose over us min thaniyyāti ‘l-​wadā ‘ From the valley of al-​Wadā wajaba ‘l-​shukru ‘alaynā And we owe it to show gratefulness mā da‘ā li-​l-​lāhi dā‘

Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television  103 Where the call is to Allah ’ayyuha ‘l-​mab‘ūthu fīnā Oh you who were raised among us ji’ta bi-​l-​’amri ‘l-​muṭā ‘ Coming with a word to be obeyed ji’ta sharrafta ‘l-​madīnah You have brought to this city nobleness marḥaban yā khayra dā‘ Welcome best caller to God’s way (Wikipedia, 2012) They compared the arrival of the prophet to the rising of the full moon (signifying light, celestial knowledge, and beauty) –​the moon having a special connotation of beauty in Arabic poetry and in Muslim heritage –​is reflective in the Islamic calendar as being a lunar calendar. In a clear invocation of authenticity, the song points to an original Islam and, more specifically, to an idea that claims an authoritative Muslim identity. As well, the lines “you have brought to this city nobleness” suggests that Muslims coming to Mercy endow the city with an enhanced grace. The show undertakes a pedagogical function that provides explanations of Islamic practices. For example, episode 10 of season 2 narrates how Eid al-​Adha is a religious holiday that commemorates the willingness of prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son on God’s request. It relates how when Ibrahim was about to comply, God stopped him and asked him to sacrifice a sheep instead. The show therefore explicates the rationales and stories of Muslim practices. In a similar vein, Sarah, a Muslim convert in the show explains to the Mayor of Mercy the essential step of Wudu before prayer, while debunking assumptions about Muslim practices’ necessary connection to terrorism: MAYOR:  Is the mosque building a hydrogen bomb? SARAH:  No, of course not! MAYOR:  I don’t understand, what other kind of bomb

uses that much water? SARAH:  They are not building a bomb. It’s probably just the wudu. MAYOR:  Oh, where you sacrifice a chicken and everybody dances around. SARAH:  No, that is voodoo. This is wudu, it’s a washing ritual. Before we pray, Muslims have to wash each body part three times. MAYOR:  It’s like your entire religion is based on obsessive compulsive disorder. SARAH:  Well, Christians have holy water. MAYOR:  Yes, but we don’t go spraying it around all over the place, unless there’s a vampire camp. (Little Mosque on the Prairie (2007), episode 14, season 2)

104  Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television Nawaz’s memoir also educates viewers about Islam. For example, one can read a passage about prophet Ismail: Muslims believe that Abraham was ordered by God to take his wife, Hajar, and infant son, Ismail, to an uncultivated valley in the desert … Gradually people settled in that area, which became known as Mecca, and built a well, which is known as Zam Zam, one of the oldest wells in history. (Nawaz, 2014, pp. 99–​100) The characters of the show constantly state their connection to Islam. If they were Muslims in predominantly Muslim countries, would there be such a need to utter the word “Islam” as the explanatory framework for their behaviors or views? The show is clearly targeting a non-​Muslim audience that is deficiently knowledgeable of the religion. It attempts to reverse dominant portrayals of Islam through “edutainment” (as a media strategy for social change, by merging education with entertainment; Usdin et al., 2004). Paradoxically, the use of other reductionisms and essentialist portrayals compromises the pedagogical function of reframing Islam to a miseducated audience. Whereas these portrayals might be “positive,” the complexity is still diluted –​and can’t be solely represented through including Muslim characters of different national backgrounds (Indians, Pakistanis, Lebanese, Nigerians, and White Canadians). Positive Images Stam and Spence (1985) argue against the tendency of “third world” filmmakers to promote “positive images” on screen because it leads to essentialism and to reductionist simplifications. Little Mosque on the Prairie presents “good Muslims,” to borrow Mamdani’s (2005) famous iterance. Even the “radical” character in the show, Babar, has childlike qualities, often displayed by his quick temper. Babar “represents” the “conservative segment” (interview of Nawaz) of Mercy’s Muslim residents. However, he is not threatening, and never displays any violent characteristics. In this regard, he is similar to his White extremist counterpart Fred, who becomes amiable to Muslims when a Muslim (Layla) starts to work for him as an intern, leading him to stop his attacks and generalizations about Muslims. The evolution of these two characters throughout the series illustrates the overall orientation of the show to entertain the possibility of peaceful coexistence (Greifenhagen, 2010). What the show refrains from delving into is that while coexistence is a remarkable idea, it also masks structural sources of tension in environments that do not provide an equal existence to all their citizens. Little Mosque on the Prairie is positioned in an in-​ between space -​ -​ located in a defensive position by default. In regards to using positive

Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television  105 images in media representation, cultural studies theorist Stuart Hall (1997) argues, similar to Stam and Spence’s (1985) analysis of “third world” films, the futility of such a move. Instead of a predominant reliance on depicting minority characters in an extremely positive light, Hall proposes that challenging negative stereotypes shall involve increasing the diversity of images. In the show, positive representation additionally rests on an over-​emphasis on representing “good Muslims” (Mamdani, 2005) as second-​generation immigrants who are saved by the West. This is most evident in the framing of Babar, who is a recent immigrant to Canada, representing the conservative segment of Mercy’s Muslim community, while Canadian-​born Rayyan is depicted as a progressive feminist. Nawaz’s own assumptions about first-​ generation immigrants are revealed in the following interview: Many of the men who were leading the mosques had their cultural upbringing in countries that tended to be very patriarchal and they came to Canada with this cultural baggage and it was affecting our mosques. So while I was making Me and the Mosque, I began thinking about what would happen if there was an imam who didn’t come with that baggage and who was born and raised here in this country and could relate to the women in a different way and that’s what inspired Little mosque on the Prairie. I wanted the imam to be born and raised in Canada and who felt he could bring change to a community because he could understand the people. There would still be the basic challenges of conservative immigrant men…but this would be balanced with the concerns of first generation Muslim-​Canadian men and women. (Zine et al., 2007a, pp. 380–​381) There are however definitive implications of assuming that second-​ generation Muslim women are more liberated than first-​generation women and women living in Muslim countries because it speaks to the colonial narrative of Muslim women needing to be saved by the West (Abu-​Lughod, 2002). Jiwani (2010a) argues that Rayyan is the “hybrid” figure reflective of a mix between whiteness and Arabness (from her father’s side). As a hybrid, she is “more like us” and, as I have pointed out in my analysis of Asian heroines, this strategy becomes one way in which to defuse or neutralize the threat of race. She is then the figure “in-​between” –​mediating the links between the oppressed Muslim woman and her liberated white, Western, and secularized counterpart. (p. 74) The show therefore relies on a performativity of identity and an over-​usage of positive images to talk back to dominant discourses. It does so through the enabling form of humor.

106  Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television Use of Humor One of the defining elements of Little Mosque on the Prairie is its use of humor to present alternative representations of Muslims. Matheson (2012) contends that the use of humor in the television show has a positive outcome: “by situating Islam in the context of comedy, the series effectively resists the sensational and violent depictions typical of news coverage and found in dramatic action series such as 24 and Sleeper Cell” (p. 163). Several episodes of Little Mosque on the Prairie present cultural encounters between Muslims and Christians with a touch of humor. For example, in episode 2 of season 1, two Muslim characters (Fatima and Rayyan) jokingly tell Fred that it is forbidden for Muslim women to speak on the radio, in an attempt to protect their community from media attacks. Little Mosque on the Prairie engages in a very polite “ethical” type of humor. The show does not contain ad hominem attacks that parody any well-​known personalities, nor does it contain any profanity. Furthermore, several episodes rely on physical comedy as a style of humor. For example, Reverend Thorne dances around and sings when Muslim tenants move out of the church that “We are free. Muslim free. At last” as he dances (season 4, episode 18). With a broom in his hand, Thorne is delighted that they are “no more Muslims” and that it’s “just Christians” now. The duration of this song and dance (about 1 minute and 30 seconds), along with the use of the broom and the type of lyrics, plays into a type of humor that relies on using exaggerated body movements to provoke laughter. This episode also plays on the fantasy of living in a place free of Muslims while it ridicules making such wishes. Another example of physical comedy occurs when Babar and Fatima are fighting over Halloween pumpkins and pulling them toward their bodies (season 1, episode 4). The use of humor thus becomes an enabling form to present alternative messages. However, a playful sensibility may be ignored and considered insignificant because it engages the dominant culture through mockery and laughter (DeChaine, 1997). Muslim comedians, as a desirable commodity in the North American market after 9/​11, point us toward earlier times with the emergence of “Negro humor” in America. Historically, African slaves were permitted to entertain benevolent White audiences, in a context of extreme oppression. However, a different type of humor has also circulated historically. Because laughter and comedy are not as threatening as other mediums of communication, the use of humor can dilute difficult content and allow it to enter the public sphere. Humor may allow subversive content to emerge, while it alleviates the critic from having to provide strict burdens of proof for their claims. It is thus a tool that the marginalized can use to take voice. The documentary Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy (Townsend, 2009) and Donald Bogle’s (2001) book Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies and Bucks: An Interpretative History of Blacks in

Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television  107 Films demonstrate how alternative representations develop slowly, rather than in the sense of a [cultural] revolutionary coup. In his introduction, Bogle (2001) states: “I wanted comments and analysis on what certain black actors accomplished with even demeaning stereotyped roles” ( p. xxi). His study found that the history of blacks in American films is one in which actors have elevated kitsch or trash and brought to it arty qualities if not pure art itself. Indeed, the thesis of my book is that many black actors –​from Stepin Fetchit to Louise Beavers to Sidney Poitier to Jim Brown and Whoopi Goldberg –​have played –​at some time or another –​stereotyped roles. But the essence of black film history is not found in the stereotyped role but in what certain talented actors have done with the stereotype. (Bogle, 2001, p. xxii) Bogle’s study describes the ways in which the image of African Americans in film evolved positively, and that even in the performance of stereotypical representations, black actors were able to challenge the scripts that they were re-​enacting. In the same way, Egyptian-​American comedian Ahmed Ahmed, who emerged in the 9/​11 conjuncture when he created with other Middle Eastern-​American comedians the “Axis of Evil” comedy tour, reveals that as an aspiring actor in Hollywood he was being cast in stereotypical roles. On stage, Ahmed Ahmed was able to recall his experience of being cast to play the role of “terrorist number 4.” The comedian went into a detailed description of the interaction he had with the director when applying for the role, ridiculing assumptions about Middle Eastern identity.3 Keeping in mind how representations of other racialized groups have historically shifted, and generally improved as minorities gain more visibility, sheds light into how change is likely to occur for Muslims in the realm of mediated discourses.

Concluding Remarks This chapter focuses on the processes of alternative media transitioning to mainstream media, while acknowledging that the demarcation between these different types of media and the realms within which they circulate often become blurred (Kenix, 2011). Nawaz’s work, like the works of other North American Muslim artists, finds resonance in the September 11, 2001 (9/​11) context. Paradoxically, while Muslims were racially profiled and targeted through a number of legal and political measures, doors also started opening up for North American Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern, and South Asian artists in the immediate aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Nawaz’s work emerges in the context of increased curiosity about “the Muslim voice.” While essentializing in itself, the demand for hearing from the “mysterious unknown” also constituted an opportunity to take voice, and even to “talk back” (hooks, 1989) for those

108  Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television who carefully crafted their messages to challenge dominant paradigms. At the same time that the 9/​11 context allowed for North American Muslim artists to gain some access to the public sphere, it also burdened them with the responsibility of representation (i.e., fulfilling the impossible task of speaking on behalf of an entire religion and racialized communities). It also subjected such works to vulnerabilities of co-​optation –​the case study at hand reveals in particular a vulnerability due to its performativity of identity, over-​reliance on positive images, and threat to self-​representation and auto-​determination over its own voice (i.e., the ability of the communities themselves to talk for themselves). I argued previously in the Introduction that my call for self-​representation is not to be narrowly understood as an essentialist claim for control over representation by those who belong to the specific community being represented, but rather as a legitimate demand to participate as well in the creation of one’s own images and discourse. A number of alternative media scholars argue that those who have been historically silenced must take voice and express their perspectives through media (Oumlil, 2016).4 In Little Mosque on the Prairie, the lack of self-​ representation points to vulnerabilities of co-​optation. Since the launch of the show, the production staff, the writing staff, and the directors are not Muslim (with the exception of the creator Zarqa Nawaz and of Sadiya Duranni, a Muslim stand-​up comedian from Winnipeg, who was hired at a later stage as writing staff). When I asked Nawaz about how she thought this affected the production of the series, which she didn’t envision as targeting a Muslim audience but is still about Muslims, she spoke about combining universal truths with Muslim specificity. For example, she said, raising your daughter when she rebels and didn’t want to wear the hijab … So you have non-​Muslim men or fathers worrying about how their daughters dress. It’s not just a Muslim issue … And how do you deal with teenage rebellion because in his mind [Babar] she should be wearing hijab. But while writing in universal terms would highlight the humanity of all of Canada’s residents, the show is specifically about a mosque and its congregants. It would seem therefore that the principal topic of the show would call for the expertise of Muslims who would have extensive background knowledge about Islam and its practices. However, the producers of the series included a majority of writers who are not Muslim, leading to compromising the self-​representational potential of Little Mosque on the Prairie. In the process of “talking back” (hooks, 1989), Nawaz adopted a tactic of normalization, similar to other popular media texts including the U.S. reality television show All American Muslim (see e.g., Alsultany’s, 2016, analysis of All American Muslim). But Little Mosque on the Prairie did not just put the emphasis on the shared human characteristics of Muslims, it also resignified

Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television  109 dominant portrayals of Muslim women, particularly through the centrality in the narrative of a veiled feminist character –​this figure itself shattering the prevalent stereotype of veiled women as in need of rescue from oppressive Muslim men and an oppressive religion. Furthermore, the show makes the choice to directly address internal issues, as Nawaz does not shy away from revealing the gender-​specific contradictions and gender discrimination within Muslim communities. Nawaz (2005b) previously demonstrated her commitment to address internal communal issues in her documentary Me and the Mosque, which tackles the topic of gender segregation in mosques. The show also speaks against the racial profiling and intolerance toward Muslims through depictions of such occurrences in the fictional town of Mercy. To normalize Muslims and resignify Muslim women, the show engages more broadly in resignifying Islam, by pointing to the potential of peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians (the two religions that the show focuses on). As part of the conditions of emergence of Nawaz’s mediated interventions, the key feature of style that is humor facilitated her access to the public sphere. Access to communal and activist counter-​public spheres was already available. But the question here is in regards to the feasibility, conditions, and desirability of accessing a larger public. The use of humor contributes to facilitating access, in easing out existing tensions between Christian majority and Muslim minority populations, and in delivering otherwise suppressed assertions. Humor, as a communication tool, indeed has the capacity to be relieved from the burden of proof and the demands of persuasive communication, and could be an effective conduit for passing through divergent ideas. However, speaking of Islam when Islam has been negatively portrayed revolved in this case around a performativity of identity, by including generalizations about Muslims, simplifications of the complexity of identity, and an excess of explanations about the religion and the centrality of its place in Muslim lives. In fact, not all Muslims live every component of their lives guided by religion. Even when they do, one could argue that such moral compass follows a particular interpretation, ritualization, and culturalization of religion. Furthermore, I would argue that another vulnerability of co-​optation is situated in the tendency to promote positive images, similar to Stam and Spence’s (1985) criticism of the over-​reliance on positive images in “third world” films. The emphasis on positive images, while it could appear as beneficial to stereotyped communities, is nonetheless essentializing and reductive of diversity and complexity within any ethnic or religious community. Instead of assuming such a defensive position, Hall (1997) further contends that increasing diversity in representation would lead to unsettling stereotypical representation, thereby warning against the tendency to depict minorities in an extremely positive light. This representational move, which Hall (1997) calls for, would prevent the construction of simplistic binaries

110  Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television of “good Muslims” versus “bad Muslims.” As Mamdani (2005) contends, “good Muslims” within this framework can easily lose their acceptable status and be subjected to conditional acceptance. Historicizing representations of racialized groups, as Bogle (2001) shows for black comedy in the United States, demonstrates how representations evolve through history. Stereotypical representation in the early days of gaining access to the mediated public sphere can lead to challenging stereotypes and even to a process of talking back in the most committed and conscious cases. Little Mosque on the Prairie has undoubtedly succeeded in making comedic history. When considering the weaknesses and limitations of the series, one needs to recognize that the emergence of alternative Muslim stories in the Western media is a recent phenomenon, and that a new genre of representations emerged following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Little Mosque on the Prairie constitutes a remarkable debut for the insertion of different images of Muslims in popular television. The television show has gained a monumental degree of access, in comparison to other cultural works from the ethnic margins. However, one must note the constraining nature of the medium of television for the circulation of alternative messages, as it represents an unlikely channel of communication for alternative media. Reading this media text from today’s context, with the rise of the far-​ right in Europe and North America, along with increasing Islamophobia, it becomes important to question notions of “coexistence” that do not call for at the same time equal access to full citizenship for the entire populace. In the continuum of racism and sexism, which starts with stereotypical representation, some of the most extreme effects of race thinking and sexist thinking are hate crimes and femicides for women. What permits racial profiling, discriminatory laws, and inhuman treatment, are seemingly banal stereotypical representations. However, when examined closely, they provide the very language of dehumanization. This book therefore has taken interest in assertions in language that counter dominant discourses, and the levels of their intelligibility and capacity to unsettle dominant assumptions.

Notes 1 As indicated on WestWind Pictures official website, Little Mosque won the following awards: “2011 Seoul International Drama Awards Seoul, Korea Nominated (Best Drama Series); 2009 INPUT Poland Official Selection; 2009 Rose D’Or Switzerland Nominated (Best Sitcom); 2009 CFTPA Ottawa, ON Canada Nominated (Best Comedy); 2009 Dawn Breakers International Film Festival Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Official Selection 2008 INPUT South Africa Official Selection; 2008 The New York Festival New York, New York, USA International TV Broadcasting Situation Comedy Award; 2008 Gemini

Transitioning to the Mainstream in Television  111 Awards Toronto, ON, Canada Nominated (Best Director in a Comedy Series, Best Wardrobe); 2007 Gemini Awards Regina, SK, Canada Canada Award, Nominated (Best Direction, Best Writing); 2007 Cologne Comedy Festival Germany Selected to screen at Best of TV Comedy; 2007 Cinema Tout Ecran Geneva Audience Award for Best Series, Special Jury Mention; 2007 Roma FictionFest Rome, Italy Maximo Award, Teleplay Award, Best Screenplay; 2007 Rose D’Or Switzerland Nominated (Best Sitcom); 2007 Banff Television Awards (Rockies) Banff, AB, Canada Nominated (Best Comedy); 2007 Media Awards (The Muslim Public Affairs Council) Los Angeles, CA, USA; Voices of Courage & Conscience Award (Zarqa Nawaz); 2007 Chris Awards Columbus, OH, USA Bronze Plaque; 2007 Yorkton Film Festival Yorkton, SK Canada, Best Comedy” (retrieved April 22, 2012, from www.westwindpictures.com/​site/​our-​work/​ scripted/​little-​mosque-​on-​). 2 Considered a significant Muslim and military leader in medieval history, Salahuddin was the Sultan of Egypt and Syria. He led the Muslim opposition against European crusaders. Most notably, he recaptured Jerusalem in 1187 for the Muslims. He gave free pardon to the Christians, for whom Jerusalem had been the Holy City, when he recaptured it. 3 The video can be accessed here: www.youtube.com/​watch?v=​dJif838YPiQ. 4 See the Introduction for more detailed explanation of the concept of self-​representation.

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Conclusions

It is the power to define that is the core issue, for how Others are defined influences how they in turn define themselves. Yasmin Jiwani, Discourses of Denial: Mediations of Race, Gender, and Violence

In this book, I have sought to explore the possibilities of constructing discourses of resistance to domination. My central research focus has been to examine the different ways in which North American Muslim women artists talk back to dominant discourses. Taking my lead from bell hooks’ (1989) work on acts of “talking back” that reflect attempts to move from an object (e.g., from being represented as an “Other”) to a subject position, my intent has been to analyze the ways in which the selected media interventions challenge dominant representations and propose an alternative language to recodify Muslim women’s identity in North America. I have focused on the artistic contributions of three exceptional women: Iranian-​ American visual artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat, Palestinian-​American stand-​up comedian Maysoon Zayid, and Pakistani-​ Canadian filmmaker television creator Zarqa Nawaz. Each one has made a groundbreaking contribution in her area and has achieved the status of a public figure. My selection of case studies has hence included contemporary interventions in cinema, stand-​up comedy and performance, and television. As part of this research, I have also cited selected examples of other alternative self-​produced North American Arab and Muslim media works. My selected examples can be defined as constitutive “moments” for the emergence of alternative discourses. They allow me to advance a working definition for my integrating concept of “assertions of unintelligibility,” which I have defined as the statements that marginalized people make in support of their rights, in the face of prevalent hostility, and in an effort to talk back to dominant discourses. I have identified three mechanisms of silencing dissent: (a) silent speech, which is only communicable through death; (b) speech constructed as insane, which dominant patriarchal culture defines as nonsensical as a strategy for neutralization; DOI: 10.4324/9780429292927-6

116 Conclusions and (c) punishable speech, which is contained through various forms of censorship and control, ranging from intimidation, imprisonment, to public executions. By “assertions of unintelligibility,” I do not mean that such statements are powerless, but that they only find resonance among particular “interpretive communities” (Fish, 1980) and subaltern counterpublics (Fraser, 1990) who share the same experiential realities. Formulating this argument does not simultaneously embrace a celebration of identity politics. Rather, it points to the ways in which it is the “common contexts of struggle” (Mohanty, 1991) that may lead to the forging of alliances for effecting meaningful socio-​political change across various points of marginalization and subalternity. My starting point for the selection of these case studies was my commitment to the call for self-​representation. I have underscored the call of several scholars, including Ginsburg (1995), Juhasz (1995), Rodríguez (2001), Shohat and Stam (1994), and Trinh (1989), for the self-​representation of marginalized communities. I have argued similarly that there is an imperative of taking voice by those who have been historically silenced. I situate the narratives that the selected artists present as not only “personal,” but as also reflective of a position of shared marginality. I additionally selected these case studies because they represent different forms of talking back (visual communication, magic realism, humor and comedy, and television). Furthermore, I selected these case studies because they constitute long-​term interventions based on the assumption that for change to be long-​lasting, interventions must be “consistent and persistent in challenging dominant definitions” (Jiwani, 2006, p. 85). Long-​term involvement in the field of alternative media offers unique insights into processes of talking back. Finally, I selected these case studies on the basis of their popularity –​they benefit from a wide reach within particular “interpretive communities” (Fish, 1980). The selected media interventions are talking back to a common stock of knowledge –​dominant colonial, orientalist, Islamophobic, and gendered representations that carry significant implications and material consequences. Muslim women in particular have been represented in negative and limited ways in dominant media (Abu-​Lughod, 2002; Ayotte & Husain, 2005; Butler, 2004; Hirji, 2014; Jiwani, 2006; Khan, 1998; Macdonald, 2006; Nayak, 2006; Parameswaran, 2006; Razack, 2008; Todd, 1998; Vivian, 1999; Yeğenoğlu, 1998). The scholarly literature on representations of Muslim women indicates that the main tropes in North American and European media revolve around the representation of Muslim women as oppressed and in need of saving, and their representation as exotic beings (e.g., belly dancers, seductresses from the East) (Oumlil, 2013). These negative representations have real implications as they serve as a justification for discriminatory policies and measures against Muslim populations in the West and abroad (Razack, 2008). Whereas negative stereotyping of Muslim women in Western media has been ongoing, specific representations

Conclusions  117 fluctuate and are invoked strategically according to the political needs of the moment (Jiwani, 2010). The conjuncture of September 11, 2001, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks against the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, has paradoxically increased interest in Islam, the Arabic language, and the Middle East North Africa South Asia (MENASA) region.

Talking Back In response to the reductionist and negative representations outlined in postcolonial research and summarized in the first part of this book, the selected artists described in my case studies deploy a variety of tactics as interventions. What the marginalized can do to challenge structures of domination depends on the tools available to them. I endeavored to seek out ways of “making do” (to borrow De Certeau’s terminology) at the level of language. I identified several tactical interventions discussed in alternative media research, postcolonial theory, cultural studies, and gender studies, including rectifying the erasure of history, promoting positive images, using spectator positioning, infiltrating mainstream media, reviving oral stories, bearing witness, and resignifying. Furthermore, discursive resistance, from a gendered and feminist perspective has meant putting emphasis on the role of other axes of identity (e.g., race, class) and deploying specific methods for undertaking feminist media analysis (Stillman, 2007), namely the diagnostic (naming and shaming), theatrical, and archeological (digging for lost stories) methods. Despite differences in the choices of media and genres of these case studies, this analysis has identified similarities at the level of tactics used for generating alternative discourses. First, the three artists position themselves as presenting alternative, counter-​current texts that attempt to rectify erasures of narratives and voices, and to strive for talking back and embracing feminist agency. They clearly demonstrate a commitment to self-​representation, as they all lament both the negative portrayals of their identity, and the under-​representation of the perspectives they aim to highlight. The case studies displayed similarities in terms of discursive tactics deployed as interventions: archiving dismissed stories, revalorizing native languages, activating the variegated cultural heritage of Islam, and deploying resignification. All these media texts significantly re-​ center gender –​by referencing the workings of patriarchy, positing women heroines at the center of their narratives, portraying lead female and feminist characters, and resignifying dominant representations of Muslim women. But they do not just celebrate and tell stories about womanhood, they emphasize the ways in which gender intersects with race, religion, and disability. Their very presence in the public sphere challenges the notion of passive Muslim women in need of saving. In various ways, they attempt to make stereotypes “uninhabitable” (Hall, 1997) in order to perform momentary culture jamming (Branwyn, 1997; Carty, 2002) in the public sphere.

118 Conclusions While speaking against Islamophobic discourses, the selected media interventions also engage in acts of denouncing the responsibility of marginalized communities in sustaining regimes of oppression, such as patriarchy, as well as oppressive practices in their countries of origin. For example, Shirin Neshat condemns the absence of individual freedoms and the rampant censorship in Iran. The artists themselves demonstrated a commitment to showcase the intersectionality of identity, by speaking to multiple communities at once, and showcasing the ways in which gender intersects with race, religion, or disability. They have furthermore contributed to shaking current evaluations of aesthetic merit. Shirin Neshat’s visual innovations have attracted worldwide attention. Juxtapositions of the veil and playing with binaries constitute the material richness of her artistic contributions. Neshat’s film Women without Men (2009) is composed of memorable tableaux –​artistic stills in the illusionary shape of paintings. Neshat has turned around the dominant binaries of East/​West and Man/​Woman to offer a new visual language aimed at highlighting the constructed nature of these binaries. Her visual innovations enable her work to speak without words. Zayid and Nawaz have endeavored to explain Islam through edutainment, intending to humanize their own community by adopting a tactic of normalization. Usdin et al. (2004) have defined “edutainment” as entertainment education (also called “edutainment”), defined as the process of purposely designing and implementing a media message to both entertain and educate, in order to increase audience members’ knowledge about an issue, create favorable attitudes, shift social norms, and change the overt behavior of individuals and communities (Singhal & Rogers, 1999; Singhal & Rogers, 2002). (p. 155) As a strategic communication tool, edutainment (also referred to as infotainment) aims to educate audiences while providing entertainment and diversion. The selected artists insert their native language and cultural/​religious metaphors into their works. They thus have contributed to redefining canonical forms of creative expression. The stylistic features of their craft are increasingly gaining recognition as valid and compelling ways of making art. Zayid’s use of the Arabic language during her performances and her explanations of Islam redefine Muslims. Nawaz’s productions infiltrate Canadian television language by inserting Arabic and Quranic references. Through these discursive tactics, the artists have aimed to rupture the hegemony of dominant discourses. Their mediated interventions, therefore, momentarily reverse commonsensical understandings of identity. I have been mostly interested in how they discursively create or sustain a differential understanding of reality. Similar to Hall’s (1997) emphasis on the material implications of language in popular culture, Jiwani’s (2006)

Conclusions  119 previously mentioned research regarding the cultural struggle over meaning, and Alsultany and Shohat’s (2013) highlighting of “the persistent struggle over representation,” this analysis revealed an ongoing cultural struggle over perceptions of reality. In Chapter 2, I discussed the ways in which Neshat’s video installation Turbulent (1998) provides a striking visual metaphor for a Muslim woman’s struggle to take voice, by staging in a double-​screen installation a woman who is singing with great difficulty to an empty auditorium, opposite a man who sings effortlessly in front of a large audience composed of men. Similarly, Nawaz and Zayid have both faced moments when their perspectives became threatened with being either co-​opted or contained. Based on this difficulty of finding resonance in the public domain, I have situated these acts of talking back as assertions of unintelligibility. My understanding of hegemonic culture includes how it attempts to contain a particular type of speech in order to render it unintelligible. In Neshat’s video Turbulent, the impossibility for the woman’s voice to come across as intelligible illustrates one of the manifestations of what I have called here “assertions of unintelligibility” (i.e., speech constructed as insane, dismissed, and rejected as not making sense, though not literally insane). I have tried to pinpoint in this book two other ways of containing speech that is threatening to the dominant social order: silent speech (utterly inaudible speech, only possible by “speaking” through dying); and punishable speech (punitive consequences silence difference and expressions of dissent). Assertions of unintelligibility present an unwelcome discursive rationality in the public domain. In this book, I sought to highlight the ways in which the selected media examples gain access to the public sphere and challenge dominant notions about their identity.

Conditions of Emergence of Alternative Discourses Taking interest into how alternative media alters the circulation of culture in the realm of the popular, my intent was additionally in this book to examine the conditions of emergence of alternative discourses. In the process of conducting the analysis of my selected case studies, it became apparent that the post-​September 11, 2001, context has provided opportunities for the mediation of North American Arab and Muslim works. The climate of 9/​11, paradoxically, generated war and repressive policies, but also a renaissance of Arab, Muslim, South Asian, and Middle Eastern cultural works. In Chapters 3 and 4, I have described a “9/​11 genre” of media productions in which North American Arab and Muslim artists took on themes of racial profiling, discrimination, terrorism, and media stereotypes. The post-​9/​11 world carries the traces of ongoing racism and Islamophobia, evident in hate crimes, the media coverage of Afghan women’s oppression with the resurgence of the Taliban in 2021, and the continued prevalence of biased representation, to name only a few examples.

120 Conclusions Neshat, Zayid, and Nawaz’s particular standpoint as Muslim women circulating art in the public sphere, and their own performances of identity, have challenged the dominant view of Muslim women as passive victims in need of saving. It is indeed through the performativity of identity that the selected artists take voice. While they mobilized identity to intervene, they were trying to step out of the imposed vocabularies inscribed on their bodies. Shirin Neshat, for example, paints Farsi on the bodies of the Women of Allah photograph series. In her Ted talk, Neshat (2010) described herself as the representative of her “people.” Yet she pointed to the contradiction of assuming this role when she said that “oddly enough,” she doesn’t live in Iran. Zayid’s 2019 New York City performance in the Town Hall on Broadway disrupted and subverted dominant scenarios about disability and Muslim women through her embodied participation that challenged dominant scripts. In the case of Nawaz’s Little Mosque on the Prairie, the performativity of identity has involved the use of reductionisms and generalizations about Muslims, with simplified portrayals of religious life and a reliance on the tactic of using positive images to serve the pedagogical function of educating about Islam in television –​the mainstream medium of television presenting its own constraints for the circulation of alternative discourses. The selected media interventions have hence mobilized various avenues and modes of expression. Zayid and Nawaz have relied on the use of humor to dilute the threat of divergent messages. The use of magic realism, deployed in Women without Men, aims to transport viewers into another realm of possibility for women’s empowerment. While representing different styles of communication, humor, comedy, and magic realism permit divergent messages to find resonance, as they cannot be subjected to strict burdens of proof. Results from the analysis support the theoretical framework for the study, which includes cultural studies, postcolonial theory, gender studies, and alternative media research. My selected media examples have been subjected to vulnerabilities of containment and neutralization, including cyber-​bullying, online harassment, and death threats, reflecting the fluid movement of culture and a Gramscian conceptualization of hegemony “as a moving equilibrium” (Hall & Jefferson, 2006). Although secured via coercion and economic domination, hegemony is always contested, and culture is a significant arena within which dominant powers attempt to win popular consent. The selected media interventions emerged in the cultural margins, speaking to subaltern counterpublics (Fraser, 1990) and in counter-​public spheres. However, they have increased their reach to extend their communication to audiences outside of the immediate borders of their ethnic and religious communities by building on their “common context of struggle” (Mohanty, 1991) to forge alliances across different positions of marginalization. I have used in this book the terminology of marginalization,

Conclusions  121 rather than subalternity, considering Spivak’s clarification of the distinction between the two different positionings in society in relation to their agency. For Spivak (2005), subalternity is “to be removed from all lines of mobility” (p. 475). Dabashi (1997) furthermore questions whether artists like Neshat can indeed be considered marginal, because they have had access to upward mobility. Thus, I have used in this book the terminology of marginalization regarding cultural production, because the analysis revealed significant pressures to contain these women artists’ voices and the perspectives they represent. My argument has been for the recognition of the material consequences of what we have relegated to the realm of the symbolic. Dominant media, typically dismissed as unbiased and inconsequential, have provided a powerful avenue for the spread of symbolic violence against marginalized communities. Acts of silencing voices that present counter-​narratives impose “symbolic” violence. In Chapter 3, I have engaged with some of the literature that deconstructs the negative socio-​psychological impact of violence. Bourdieu’s (1977) “symbolic violence,” Williams’ (1991) “spirit murder,” and Wing’s (1990) “spirit injury” present important concepts for making sense of violence, with the two latter concepts pointing further toward the materiality of “symbolic” violence. I have argued that backlash against unacceptable speech, what I have referred to in this book as assertions of unintelligibility, constitutes a form of symbolic violence. Alternative media that expose discourses of domination and render visible “discourses of denial” (Jiwani, 2006) are vulnerable to containment, appropriation, and repression. Indeed, the artists I discuss in this book were subjected to harassment, hate speech, and personal attacks (Zayid and Nawaz). Such attacks raise serious concerns regarding the survivability of these interventions. The backlash against these women artists appears through the obstacles they have faced in the process of circulating their work, as well as the challenges they have encountered with the emergence of their oppositional assertions. The selected artists have faced harassment, hate speech, and personal attacks, constituting strategies to silence their voices and neutralize the potential of their interventions to create socio-​political change. The conditions of emergence of their works and the need for survivability (i.e., maintaining a presence in the public sphere) shows indirect backlash (e.g., lack of opportunities). As Lind and Salo (2002) demonstrate, backlash against feminists may take the form of demonization and lack of representation, and hence serve to discourage people from embracing feminist goals. Furthermore, Chao (2015) posits that cyber-​attacks against Muslims fuel the phenomenon of Islamophobia in the United States and can incite discourses of hate toward Islam. In thinking about the circulation of culture in the media and physical performance spaces like theaters, comedy clubs, and town halls, Habermas’ conceptualization of the public sphere is an inescapable starting point for the analysis of dynamics of meaning making and contestation. Fraser’s

122 Conclusions (1990) concept of “subaltern counterpublics” underscores the importance of alternative discursive spaces where subordinated social groups articulate and circulate oppositional understandings of their identity. In the continuing scholarly project of conceptualizing the public sphere, Downey and Fenton (2003) indicate that Habermas has revised his initial public sphere thesis since approximately a decade before the date of their publication (2003) to include an acknowledgment of the capacity of the public to challenge dominant logic and discourse, and the existence of alternative public spheres. Downey and Fenton (2003) argue for adopting the terminology of the “counter-​ public sphere,” rather than “autonomous public sphere,” as the former aims to challenge the dominant public sphere. They further claim that “in fact a degree of interaction with the mainstream media may be one of the criteria for successful political intervention” (Downey & Fenton, 2003, p. 193). Indeed, other studies (e.g., Kenix, 2011) suggest that exploring spaces within mainstream media might be an effective tactic for alternative media practitioners. Similar to the usefulness of thinking of the Internet as composed of the dominant public sphere in flux with counter-​public spheres, my argument has been that it is still useful to retain the terms “alternative discourses” and “alternative media,” for the important function of attesting for the need to circulate divergent perspectives that fall well outside usual mainstream norms. Pointing to the material effects of dominant discourses, the notion of “alternative media” presents a reminder of existing power imbalances and the difficulties for alternative voices to emerge in the public sphere. However, the celebration of alternative media as an uncontested avenue for the pursuit of a social justice agenda needs to be less categorical given the existence of right-​wing public spheres (Downey & Fenton, 2003) and right-​wing radical alternative media (Atton, 2006; Downing & Husband, 2005). Today, the extreme right is also exploiting the Internet to advocate for racism, anti-​immigrant sentiments, and Islamophobia. Speaking against right-​wing discourses, Zayid and Nawaz adopted a tactic of infiltrating mainstream media and aimed to “normalize Muslims.” Their interventions, however, were subjected to a vulnerability of co-​ optation through the lack of self-​representation. For Nawaz’s Little Mosque on the Prairie, greater access to the mainstream diluted the show’s potential for Muslim self-​representation. In the process of transitioning to mainstream media, Little Mosque on the Prairie became further mediated by non-​Muslims. Zayid’s deal for her show Can Can with ABC fell through due to her dissatisfaction with the Orientalist turn that the series took during the development stage. Indeed, Zayid and Nawaz have clearly expressed their intent to “mainstream” and “normalize” Muslims. The tactic of normalization, which in essence aims to humanize marginalized groups, has been adopted in other creative works. Alsultany (2016) shows, for example, how the reality television series All American Muslim adopted the tactic of normalization and attempted to depict Muslim Americans in a positive light.

Conclusions  123 This research revealed that the artists are trying to gain visibility in order to intervene to challenge dominant representations at the same time that they are trying to extricate themselves from the “burden of representation” (Mercer, 1990). Mercer documented the “burden of representation” for filmmakers of color as early as the 1970s. As mentioned earlier, the artists whose work I discuss in his book have clearly stated their commitment to self-​representation, because the groups they “represent” are still relegated to the cultural sidelines. In the process of representing themselves, they have experienced the burden of being asked to represent their entire communities, showcasing the central colonial trope of constructing racialized people as belonging to one monolithic group. The artists were furthermore burdened with the pressure from their own communities to represent them in a positive light. Hall (1997) rightly contends, however, that we may destabilize limited and negative representations through increasing the diversity of images, rather than relying on an over-​emphasis on positive images. The narrative of the exceptional artist, or ambassador of culture, should not be applied to my analysis of these artists. Oppressive circumstances can also stifle creativity. Drawing from Berlant’s (2011) concept of “cruel optimism,” through which she condemns extant metaphors of upward mobility, as fantasy-​making and idealistic conceptual mechanisms, I wish to recognize that unthinking celebrations of exceptional upward mobility may effectively deny structural barriers that impede marginalized groups in society from achieving equal citizenship status. In this book, I have tried to show some of the ways in which alternative media works of art give access to voices and perspectives that are generally dismissed in mainstream media. These works have contributed to sustaining an alternative consciousness that promotes a social justice agenda. However, given their recent emergence, it is important to situate any critique within the context of the very recent history of self-​produced North American Arab and Muslim media. Looking at the mediated racial progression of other ethnic groups in North America sheds light onto the ways in which changes in representation evolve gradually, while they also fluctuate according to the socio-​political needs of the moment, which at times may push them to return to taking on an essentialist stance. This dynamic movement of culture has represented the struggle over representation that is at the center of this book.

Future Directions We must hope that the possibilities of talking back to discourses of domination will inspire the continuation of studies that research vernacular media productions from the cultural margins. Ongoing questions and concerns are related to the ability to archive them, support their distribution, and increase academic interest in alternative media, while offsetting the material and incapacitating impact of symbolic violence, containment, and recuperation.

124 Conclusions In moving this research agenda forward, conducting a reception analysis of how such media texts are used and interpreted would shed light on their role in influencing changes in perception and mobilization. The research I have conducted has indicated that the theoretical linkages between self-​ representative creative expression and the literature on collective action and political organizing need to be further explored. First, regarding future directions for research, this study points to a need to further investigate how particular “interpretive communities” (Fish 1980) assess the artists’ media texts and “identity” work. Although this study has referred to audience responses that have been posted in the public domain, including film reviews, blogs, and online videos, in-​depth audience analysis would highlight the collective experiences of particular communities in order to explore interpretation, changes in perception/​mobilization, and perhaps even socio-​political transformation. The circulation of alternative perspectives in popular culture might be most interesting in relation to popularizing critical consciousness and advocating for a social justice agenda that would include gender equality, anti-​ racism, and anti-​Islamophobia. Questions of impact point us toward further engagement with social movement media scholarship (see, e.g., Downing’s, 2010, Encyclopedia of Social Movement Media), as well as the recognition of individual initiatives that induce positive social change. Theorizing the concepts of affect and habit, Pedwell (2017) argues against a false divide between feeling and action and contends that social change is not always to be incapsulated in the sense of an affective rupture or revolution. In her view, the accumulation of affective responses is key to understanding dynamics of social change and socio-​political transformations. Second, another future project would expand the project that I have launched here of creating a feminist archeology and archiving alternative media contributions of North American Muslim women artists (see Appendix A). The data gathering for the alternative media resource guide included in this book revealed a wealth of artistic production from the cultural margins that still demands adequate academic attention. Locating case studies for analysis has been one of the major difficulties of doing this type of research work. Once located, getting access to the media texts for initial viewing or screening was also difficult. Through this research project, I started the process of collecting names of artists and their works with the idea of using archiving as an intervention and providing a resource guide for academics, journalists, artists, and curators. Leaving a material record of such media texts and bearing witness of their existence would increase their potential to induce concrete social change and increase their visibility. Third, another fascinating angle of the same research impulse concerned with the struggle over regaining some symbolic power would involve taking interest in media texts that do not clearly emerge in the public sphere or even in organized counter-​public spheres. Looking at unfinished and/​or dismissed

Conclusions  125 artistic contributions of Muslim artists would shed light on processes of gaining visibility, in relation to issues of marketability, temporality, and aesthetics. Fourth, further focus on the opportunities that digital media and social media open up for the airing of divergent views would shed light on the circulation of alternative media texts in the public sphere. Media texts of interest might include Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed and Zahra Noorbakhsh’s podcast #GoodMuslimBadMuslim, which present alternative facets of American Muslim women’s identity through humor. The web television series Ramy (2019–​), which portrays the spiritual journey of a first-​generation Egyptian-​ American young man living in New Jersey, gained unprecedented attention. Engaging in comparative analyses about the differential degrees of popularity, and the ways in which these media texts are gendered, would inform processes of media dissemination. The artists discussed in this book themselves capitalize on the potential of the Internet and social media to gain attention. For example, Zayid uses social media heavily, tests her jokes on Twitter, and advertises her upcoming events on her Facebook page and personal website. However, as discussed in Chapter 3, the artist describes the ways in which social media is also the location of bullying, cyber-​ harassment, and hate speech, illustrating the symbolic violence often rife in the digital world and the ways in which it could have a chilling paralyzing effect on counter-​perspectives and sensibilities. There is however indication that a younger generation of North American Muslim artists are using the Internet as an avenue for their voices to gain visibility. Fifth, looking into the transnational aspect of these mediated interventions would show the ways in which the artists themselves and their media are anchored and connected to socio-​political issues and dynamics beyond the borders of any nation-​state. Looking into transnational flows of information, and their potential for transformation, would better situate the mediated interventions in a global context. Connecting the diaspora to the homeland, while also speaking to connected interpretive communities would highlight what Mohanty (1991) has called a “common context of struggle.” Teasing out specific relationships between ethnic communities (similar to Lubin’s, 2014, study of Afro-​Arab connectivities and Feldman’s, 2011, analysis of Afro-​Arab diasporic culture) would also improve understanding of inter-​ racial communication and alliance-​building. Such research projects would continue informing the linkages between alternative creative expression and socio-​political transformation. Avenues for future research exploration that I have suggested here would enhance an understanding of the potential of such interventions to effect socio-​ political change. I underscore the materiality of these “symbolic” representations in this book as global and transnational tactics aimed at destabilizing domination by talking back and representing counter-​ perspectives, even if these statements in defense of the rights of marginalized people may be relegated as “assertions of unintelligibility” in the public

126 Conclusions sphere. This book hence contributes to the call for imperatively returning to the question of self-​representation and of sustaining alternative voices in the public sphere. The women whose artistic contributions I analyze in this book tell stories that make a claim for communities whose rights have been curtailed, if not completely smothered, and who have been subjected to all sorts of exclusions. They provide inspiration through their acts of claiming space within a symbolic sphere that has dehumanized and erased their stories as insignificant, nonsensical, and illegitimate. Their persistence to tell their own narratives in the face of adversity demonstrates the hopeful sensibility of their art, bringing to mind Gramsci’s (1971) fascinating statement about the resilience of the human spirit: “pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will” (p. 75). They remind us that even in the most impossible situations of oppression, the enslaved were singing songs of freedom and drawing objects, instruments, language, and gestures into a performance. As Mbembe (2003) asserts: “in spite of the terror and the symbolic sealing off of the slave, he or she maintains alternative perspectives toward time, work, and the self” (p. 22). The injustice that these women faced propelled them to create artistic mobilizations to counter the erasure and minimization of their stories. Their mediated contributions offer insights into tactics and processes of gathering momentum for social change through the means of alternative discursive expression. In talking back to dominant discourses, their heterogeneous expression dismantles the monolithic view of Muslim women as passive victims in need of saving. Their inspirational messages signal that despite the paralyzing and terrorizing effects of Islamophobic and gendered racism, they are implementing visions for a more just and equitable society. They offer radical pedagogies of hope.

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Appendix: Resource Guide

Further Alternative and Activist Media Resources: An Introductory Guide This resource guide to North American Muslim women artists who have created alternative media, is meant for artists, activists, scholars, students, and curators. It does not claim completeness or list awards.

A Abdulhadi Sundus Writer • •

Links: https://​sundusah.tumblr.com/​ www.wearethemedium.com/​sah Work: - Founder of We are the Medium, a global interdisciplinary artist collective - Take Care of Your Self: The Art and Politics of Care and Liberation (2020) - The Flight Series (2011–​2012) - Arab Winter Exhibit (2011–​2012) - Warchestra (2007–​2010) - Visual artist for Euphrates (2003–​2005)

Abdulhadi Tamara Photographer • •

Links: www.wearethemedium.com/​tam www.tamarabdulhadi.com/​ Work: - Picture an Arab Man - founding member of RAWIYA Collective, a photography co-​ operative of female photographers in the Middle East.

Appendix  131 Abi-​Nader Elmaz Author, poet, performer, and English professor • •

Links: https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Elmaz_​Abinader https://​elmazabinader.com/​ Work: - This House, My Bones (2014) - Co-​founder of the Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation (VONA) - Country of Origin (2009) - 32 Mohammeds (2005) - Ramadan Moon (2000) - In the Country of My Dreams… (1999) - The Children of the Roojme, a Family’s Journey from Lebanon (1997)

Ahmed, Tanzila “Taz” Essayist, poet, podcaster, and screenwriter • •

Links: www.goodmuslimbadmuslim.com/​ www.tazzystar.me Work: - host, with Zahra Noorbakhsh, of the podcast #GoodMuslim BadMuslim

Amani Al-​Khatahtbeh Author and tech entrepreneur •

•

Links: https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Amani_​al-​Khatahtbeh http://​amani2020.com/​index.php/​about-​me/​ https://​muslimgirl.com/​ Work: - Founder and editor-​in-​chief of MuslimGirl.com, a blog for Muslim women. - MuslimGirl: A Coming of Age (2016).

Agjee Zahra Visual artist •

Links: www.andalsotoo.net/​people/​zahra-​agjee/​ https://​ n owtoronto.com/​ a rt-​ a nd-​ b ooks/​ a rt/​ c ollecting-​ p ersonal-​ archives-​gardiner-​museum/​

132 Appendix

•

https://​ e bosscanada.com/ ​ y oung- ​ t oronto- ​ m uslim- ​ w omen- ​ t urn- ​ a rt-​ better-​representation/​ www.facebook.com/​tndproject/​ Work: - Self Study Series - Founder of the Truth & Dare Project

Alhassen Maytha International journalist, poet, and scholar • •

Links: https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Maytha_​Alhassen www.mayalhassen.com/​ Work: - Editor of Demanding Dignity: Young Voices from the Front Lines of the Arab Revolutions (2012) - A Poem for Syria: Beyond a Geography of Violence (Ted)

Ali Samina Author, curator, and activist •

•

Links: https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Samina_​Ali https://​saminaali.net/​ http://​muslima.globalfundforwomen.org/​about/​curators-​statement Work: - curator of Muslima: Muslim Women’s Art and Voices, a global, virtual exhibition for the International Museum of Women (IMOW). - co-​founder of American Muslim feminist organization Daughters of Hajar - Madras on Rainy Days (2004)

Al-​Jurf’s Soha Writer •

•

Links: www.criticalmuslim.io/​author/​soha-​al-​jurf/​ www.amazon.fr/​E ven-​M y-​Voice-​S ilence-​P alestinian-​A merican/​ d p/​ 1466345543/​ http:// ​ l egalpronegotiator.com/ ​ s oha- ​ a l- ​ j urf- ​ f inding- ​ p eace- ​ a s- ​ a -​ palestinian-​american-​woman/​ Work: - Even My Voice Is Silence (2012) - Pressing Beyond In Between

Appendix  133 Al Mansour Hend Visual artist and physician •

•

Links: https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Hend_​al-​Mansour www.hendalmansour.com/​ https://​ w eb.archive.org/ ​ w eb/ ​ 2 0070930162004/​ w ww.hend-​ a lmansour.org/​ www.mprnews.org/​story/​2014/​02/​05/​hend-​al-​mansour Work: - The Great Mother of Islam (2014) - How to Be a Feminist Artist (2014) - Fatimah in America (2007)

Alsalman Hala Filmmaker • •

Links: https://​graceraih.wordpress.com/​2014/​12/​02/​hala-​alsalman-​vimeo/​ www.wearethemedium.com/​hala Work: - she co-​wrote the feature film Haifa Street (2015) - she wrote and directed PHATWA (2008)

Azzam Zeina Poet, editor, and community activist •

•

Links: http://​arabcenterdc.org/​staff_​members/​zeina-​azzam/​ https://​brilliantbaltimore.com/​bbfauthor/​zeina-​azzam/​ www.splitthisrock.org/​poetry-​database/​poem/​leaving-​my-childhoodhome www.heartwoodlitmag.com/​my-​fathers-​hands Work: - Her poems have appeared in Mizna, Sukoon Magazine, Split This Rock, and the edited volumes Bettering American Poetry (2019), Making Mirrors: Writing/​ Righting by and for Refugees (2019), The Poeming Pigeon (2017), Write Like You’re Alive (2017), Gaza Unsilenced (2015), and Yellow as Turmeric, Fragrant as Cloves (2008)

134 Appendix

B Ben Youssef Nabila Comedian and humorist •

•

Links: https://​fr.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Nabila_​Ben_​Youssef www.nabilarebelle.com/​ www.youtube.com/​channel/​UCZUDAHEjPsyzuurVYWx1DDg Work: - Drôlement Libre (2011–​2014) - Arabe et cochonne (2008–​2010)

Boundaoui Assia Journalist and filmmaker •

•

Links: https:// ​ f ilmmakermagazine.com/ ​ p eople/ ​ a ssia- ​ b oundaoui/ ​ # .X2TR ddJKjcs www.feelingofbeingwatched.com/​team www.imdb.com/​name/​nm5447510/​ https://​vcfa.edu/​filmmaker-​and-​journalist-​assia-b ​ oundaoui-​joins-​film-​ faculty/​ Work: - The Feeling of Being Watched (2018)

E Ebrahimji Maria Writer and editorial executive •

•

Links: www.shondaland.com/ ​ i nspire/ ​ b ooks/ ​ a 19608198/​ m uslim-​w omen-​ authors-​every-​person-​should-​know/​ www.wisemuslimwomen.org/​muslim-​woman/​maria-​ebrahimji/​ www.c5collective.com/​maria-​bio Work: - I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim (2011), edited by Maria Ebrahimji and Zahra T. Suratwala

El-​Husseini Eman Comedian •

Link: http://​emantertainment.com/​

Appendix  135 •

Work: - Unveiled - The El-​Solomons: Marriage of Convenience, with Jess Salomon

Elhillo Safia Poet • •

Links: https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Safia_​Elhillo https://​safia-​mafia.com/​bio Work: - Home Is not a Country (2021) - The January Children (2017)

Essaydi Lalla Photographer and painter • •

Links: https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Lalla_​Essaydi http://​lallaessaydi.com/​1.html Work: - Harem Revisited (2012–​2013) - Bullets Revisited (2012–​2013) - Harem (2009) - Les Femmes du Maroc (2005–​2006) - Converging Territories (2003–​2004)

F Farsad Negin Comedian, writer, actor, and director • •

Links: http://​neginfarsad.com/​ https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Negin_​Farsad Work: - How to Make White People Laugh (2016) - The Muslims Are Coming! (2013)

H Hassan Jamelie Visual artist, independent curator, and activist •

Links: www.jameliehassan.ca/​

136 Appendix

•

http://​ccca.concordia.ca/​bios/​hassan_​bio.html https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Jamelie_​Hassan www.cacnart.com/​jamelie-​hassan Work: - Nur (Qur’an, sura 24:35; The Light Verse) (2015) - The Films of Jamelie Hassan (2010) - The Oblivion Seekers (1985, 2008, 2009) - Jamelie Hassan, Because … there was and there wasn’t a city of Baghdad (1991) - Midnight’s Children (1990) - Common Knowledge (1980–​1981)

Hami Tissa Stand-​up comedian and speaker •

•

Links: www.ibisconsultinggroup.com/​who-​we-​are/​team/​tissa-​hami/​ www.imdb.com/​name/​nm2631911/​ www.pbs.org/​weta/​crossroads/​about/​show_​standup_​film.html Work: - The Coexist Comedy Tour (2012) - Stand Up: Muslim-​American Comics Come of Age (2009)

Hammad Suheir Poet, author, performer, and political activist • •

Links: https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Suheir_​Hammad www.ted.com/​speakers/​suheir_​hammad Work: - Breaking Poems (2008) - Zaatar Diva (2005) - Drops of This Story (1996) - Born Palestinian, Born Black (1995)

Haydar Mouna Rapper, poet, and activist •

•

Links: https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Mona_​Haydar https://​peaceisloud.org/​speaker/​mona-​haydar/​ www.npr.org/ ​ 2 018/ ​ 1 1/ ​ 0 4/ ​ 6 63534196/ ​ m ona- ​ h aydar- ​ o n- ​ h er- ​ n ewalbum-​barbarican Work: - Barbarican (2018) - Hjabi (Wrap My Hijab) (2017)

Appendix  137 Helal Marwa Writer • •

Links: http://​marshelal.com/​bio/​ https://​poets.org/​poet/​marwa-​helal Work: - Invasive Species (2019) - I Am Made to Leave I Am Made to Return (2017)

Hilal Dima Poet and writer • •

Links: http://​dimahilal.com/​bio.htm Work: - Hilal’s work appears in Scheherazade’s Legacy: Arab and Arab American Women on Writing, edited by Susan Muaddi Darraj (2004) - It also appears in The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology, edited by Nathalie Handal (2001)

K Kahf Mohja Poet, novelist, and professor • •

Links: https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Mohja_​Kahf www.poetryfoundation.org/​poets/​mohja-​kahf Work: - Hagar Poems (2016) - The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf (2006) - E-​mails from Scheherazad (2003)

Kahraman Hayv Painter and sculptor •

•

Links: https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Hayv_​Kahraman https://​ h yperallergic.com/ ​ 5 15592/ ​ h ayv- ​ k ahraman- ​ n ot- ​ q uite-​ human-​interview/​ https:// ​ j ackshainman.com/ ​ u ploads/ ​ 3 300033/ ​ 1 581708155813/​ Kahraman_​Press_​Kit-​compressed_​2.pdf Work: - Not Quite Human (2019)

138 Appendix Kameelah Janan Rasheed Visual artist, writer, and educator •

•

Links: https://​nomegallery.com/​artists/​kameelah-​janan-​rasheed/​ https:// ​ f uturegenerationartprize.org/​ e n/​ h istory/​ 2 017/​ k ameelahjanan-​rasheed www.dennistonhill.org/ ​ c alendar/ ​ 2 019/​ 1 0/​ 9 /​ e xodus-​ c ommission-​ kameelah-​rasheed https://​hyperallergic.com/​258968/​an-​artist-​talks-​about-​the-​trouble-​of-​ flying-​while-​muslim-​in-​the-​us/​ https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Kameelah_​Janan_​Rasheed Work: - How to Suffer Politely (And Other Etiquette) (2014) - Tell Your Struggle with Triumphant Humor (2014)

Karuna Riazi Author and online diversity advocate •

•

Links: www.shondaland.com/ ​ i nspire/ ​ b ooks/ ​ a 19608198/​ m uslim-​ w omen-​ authors-​every-​person-​should-​know/​ www.karunariazi.com/​aboutme Work: - The Gauntlet (2017)

Khan Hena Author • •

Links: www.henakhan.com./​ www.youtube.com/​watch?v=​Sf5XyPUvHGA Work: - Under My Hijab (2019) - Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets: A Muslim Book of Shapes (2018) - Amina’s Voice (2017) - It’s Ramadan, Curious George (2016) - Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors (2015)

Khan Zehanat Ausma Novelist and author of crime and fantasy novels •

Links: https://​en.wikipedia.orelg/​wiki/​Ausma_​Zehanat_​Khan

Appendix  139

•

www.shondaland.com/ ​ i nspire/ ​ b ooks/ ​ a 19608198/​ m uslim-womenauthors-every-​person-​should-​know/​ www.ausmazehanatkhan.com/​a-​deadly-​divide.html Work: - A Deadly Divide (2019) - A Dangerous Crossing (2018) - A Death in Sarajevo (2017) - Among the Ruins (2017) - The Bloodprint (2017) - The Language of Secrets (2016)

L Lalami Laila Novelist and essayist •

• - - - - - -

Links: https://​lailalalami.com/​?doing_​wp_​cron=​1590615593.346077919006 3476562500 https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Laila_​Lalami www.npr.org/​2019/​03/​30/​707340939/​we-​are-​all-​the-​other-​americans Work: I’m a Muslim and Arab American, Will I Ever Be an Equal Citizen? for The New York Times (2020) Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America (2020) The Complicated Truth About What U.S. Citizenship Means Today for Time Magazine (2020) The Other Americans (2019) Love and Betrayal in America for The New Yorker (2017) Islamophobia and its Discontents for The Nation (2012)

M Moezzi Melody Author, speaker, and activist •

•

Links: www.melodymoezzi.com/​ https:// ​ r eligion.blogs.cnn.com/ ​ 2 013/ ​ 0 6/​ 0 5/​ o pinion-​ a -​ p lea-​ f rom-​ an-​exhausted-​muslim-​woman/​ Work: - The Rumi Prescription: How an Ancient Mystic Poet Changed My Modern Manic Life (2020) - Haldol and Hyacinths: A Bipolar Life (2013)

140 Appendix - -

A Plea from an Exhausted Muslim Woman for CNN (2013) War on Error: Real Stories of American Muslims (2007)

N Nashef Rolah Director, screenwriter, producer, and multimedia artist • •

Links: www.rolanashef.com/​ https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Rola_​Nashef Work: - Detroit unleaded (2012)

Nasser Diaz Yasmine Multidisciplinary artist •

Links: www.yasminediaz.com https://​arabamericanmuseum.org/​exhibition/​soft-​powers/​

•

Work: - Soft Powers (2020) - Dirty Laundry (2019) - Exit Strategies (2018)

Neshat Shirin Visual artist • •

Links: www.gladstonegallery.com/​artist/​shirin-​neshat/​ https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Shirin_​Neshat Work: - Looking for Oum Kulthum (2017) - Women Without Men (2009) - Fervor (2000) - Rapture (1999) - Soliloquy (1999) - Turbulent (1998) - Women of Allah (1993–​1997)

Appendix  141 Noorbakhsh Zahra Feminist, comedian, writer, and actor •

•

Links: https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Zahra_​Noorbakhsh www.zahranoorbakhsh.com/​ https://​zahracomedian.com/​ www.shangrilahawaii.org/​residencies/​artists-​in-​residence/​taz-​ahmedand-​zahra-​noorbakhsh/​ Work: - Co-​ host of the #GoodMuslimBadMuslim podcast (2016–​ 2019), with Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed - On Behalf of All Muslims (2019) - All Atheists Are Muslim (2011)

S Sadiq Sabeen Comedian and writer •

•

Links: www.sabeensadiq.com/​ www.desicomedyfest.com/​sabeen-​sadiq https://​ v olumeone.org/ ​ a rticles/ ​ 2 019/ ​ 0 7/​ 1 1/​ 3 0590_​ s abeen_​ s adiq_​ graces_​the_​plus Work: - Wallah She’s Funny (2019), with Atheer Yacoub, Zainab Johnson, and Yasmin Elhady

Selbak Rolla Filmmaker • •

Links: www.imdb.com/​name/​nm1672060/​ www.rollaselbak.com/​ Work: - Choke (2018) - A Day With a Muslim (2016) - Three Veils (2011)

Sikander Shahzia Visual artist •

Links: www.shahziasikander.com/​

142 Appendix

•

https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Shahzia_​Sikander www.skny.com/​artists/​shahzia-​sikander?view=​slider#6 www.youtube.com/​watch?v=​wWjkul7Oflo www.youtube.com/​watch?v=​FlhfBvNzVQ8 Work: - Portrait of Malala Yousafzai (2018) - Perennial Gaze (2018) - Fatima Mernissi (2018) - Parallax (2016–​2017 & 2013) - No Fly Zone (2002–​2003) - Sly Offering (2001) - Pleasure Pillars (2000–​2001) - Maligned Monsters (1999–​2000) - The Many Faces of Islam (1997–​1999) - Uprooted Order Series (1995) - A Slight and Pleasing Dislocation (1993) - Who’s Veiled Anyway? (1989–​1997) - The Scroll (1989–​1990)

Y Yacoub Atheer Comedian and writer •

•

Links: www.muslims4peace.org/​the-​mus www.atheeryacoub.com/​about.html www.atheeryacoub.com Work: -​ The No Fly List podcast, with Leila Barghouty and Amamah Sardar (2018–​2020) -​ Muslim Girls DTF: Discuss Their Faith (2019)

Z Zayid Maysoon Actress and comedian •

•

Links: https://​maysoon.com/​ https://​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Maysoon_​Zayid www.ted.com/​speakers/​maysoon_​zayid Work: - Find Another Dream (2019) - I got 99 problems… palsy is just one (2013)

Appendix  143 - -

Little American Whore (2008) Zayid’s comedy is featured in the Arab American Comedy Tour DVD (2006)

Zawahry K. Iman Producer and director •

•

Links: www.jou.ufl.edu/​staff/​iman-​zawahry/​ www.hercampus.com/​school/​ufl/​meet-​filmmaker-​iman-​zawahry-​one-​ uf-​s-​inspirational-​women https://​theplaylist.net/​director-​iman-​zawahry-​podcast-​20190216/​ Work: - UnderCover (2010) - Tough Crowd (2008)

Zomorodinia Raheleh Photographer and multimedia artist • •

Links: http://​rahelehzomorodinia.com/​ www.acreresidency.org/​artists/​flatfile/​raheleh-​minoosh-​zomorodinia/​ Work: - Jump (2016) - Resist (2016) - After Marilyn Monroe (2015) - A Week Living Art (2015) - Resist; Air, Water, Earth (2013)

Index

Note: Page numbers in italics indicate figures. 9/​11 117; Arab-​American Comedy Festival 78; cultural renaissance 92–​93; dominant representations 21; fear and hatred 1, 2, 3; genre of representations 2, 90–​92, 107–​108, 110, 119; “good” vs. “bad” Muslims 20–​21; Islamophobia 2; Muslim American comedy 64; self-​produced Arab and Muslim cultural works 7; veil 22; Zayid 76 Abdulhadi, Sundus 130 Abdulhadi, Tamara 130 Abel, E. 30–​31, 97 Abi-​Nader, Elmaz 131 Adamson, W. L. 55 Afghanistan: US withdrawal 2; war 1; women’s oppression 119 Agjee, Zahra 131–​132 Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud 44–​45 Ahmed, Ahmed 64–​66, 76, 78, 93, 107 Ahmed, L. 2, 22, 43 Ahmed, Tanzila “Taz” 125, 131 Al Mansour, Hend 133 Alarcón, N. 33 Algeria 53 Alhassen, Maytha 132 Ali, Samina 132 Aliens in America 93 al-​Jurf, Soha 132 Al-​Khatahtbeh, Amani 131 Allah Made Me Funny Comedy Tour 76, 93 All-​American Muslim (2011–​2012) 92, 93, 108, 122 Alloula, M. 53 Alsalman, Hala 133

Alsalman, Yassin 93 Alsultany, E. 92, 93, 119, 122 alternative media 1, 5, 20, 36–​37; categorization difficulties 64, 90; collective action 34–​36; co-​optation 64, 83; counter-​hegemony 24–​25; discourses of denial 121; emergence 119–​123; interventions 26–​31; long-​ term involvement 116; public sphere 122; regressive uses 31; research 5, 117, 120; resource guide 130–​143; self-​representation 3, 9; transition to popular culture 34; unintelligibility, assertions of 13–​14 Amarasingam, A. 65, 92–​93 Amer, Mohammed 64, 76 America at a Crossroads (2008) 77 Anne of Avonlea (1990) 95 appropriation 26, 27 Arab Spring 12, 36, 93 Arab Winter 93 Arab-​American Comedy Festival 9, 61, 71, 74, 76, 78 Arab-​American Comedy Tour 7, 8–​9, 61, 66, 74–​75, 120 Arabs Gone Wild Comedy Tour 61 archeological approach, feminist media analysis 33, 37, 117 archiving 124 Ardekani, Tahmineh 44 Argentina 32–​33 assertions of unintelligibility see unintelligibility, assertions of Atton, C. 31 Australia 28, 30 Axis of Evil Comedy Club 76 Axis of Evil Comedy Tour 61, 93, 107

Index  145 Azari, Shoja 41, 54 Azeem 93 Azzam, Zeina 133 Bailey, O. G. 27 Bakhtiari, Abbas 51 Bani-​Etemad, Rakhshan 44 Barns, Larry 41 Bayrou, Francois 22 bearing witness 30, 117 Beavers, Louise 107 Behzad, Feryal 44 Ben Youssef, Nabila 134 Berlant, L. G. 34–​35, 123 Bhaduri, Bhuvaneswari 12 Bingham, S. C. 69 Black Lives Matter 68 Bogle, D. 52, 56, 106–​107, 110 Border, The (2008) 92 Borumand, Marziyeh 44 Bosnian War 12, 80 Bouazzizi, Mohamed 12 Boundaoui, Assia 134 Bourdieu, P. 79, 83, 121 Branwyn, G. 27 bricolage 26–​27 British National Party (BNP) 31 Brown, Jim 107 bullying see cyber-​bullying burden of representation 55, 95, 108, 123 Burkini 23 Buteau, Michelle 83n2 Butler, J. 13 Canada: 9/​11 genre 91–​92; Anti-​ terrorism Act 92; Bouchard-​Taylor Commission 21; cultural renaissance 93; Quebec City mosque shooting 1, 81; talking back 3; veil 43, 99; see also Nawaz, Zarqa Cañas, S. 95 Carroll, W. K. 29 Carty, V. 27, 30 censorship 13, 19; Iran 45, 49; Zayid 82 Césaire, A. 25 Chao, E. 121 Chechens 23 Cirksena, K. 74 Clinton, Hillary 35 clocked websites 31 Cold War 91

collective action 34–​36, 124 colonial discourses 10 colonial feminism 2, 22, 43 colonialism 8; alternative discourses 25; dominant representations 20, 23, 116; France 53; postcolonial theory 36; progressive realism 54; representations of Muslim women 43; “third world” media 28, 29; tropes 123; veil 23 comedy see humor common sense 13, 55 conceptual baggage 6 consciousness, packages of 19–​20 counter-​culture 34 critical feminist race studies 4–​5 critical race studies 10, 25, 31, 80 cruel optimism 34–​35, 123 Cuklanz, L. 74 cultural studies 117, 120 culture jamming 27, 69, 117 cyber-​bullying 120; Islamophobia 121; Zayid 71, 79–​81, 83, 125 cyber-​democracy 30 cyber-​racism 31 Da Costa, S. 76, 77, 81 Dabashi, H. 12, 41, 52, 121 Dadi, I. 41, 53 Dakroury, A. 95 Dance Educators of America 70 Daniels, J. 31 Darwish, Mahmud 36 Day I Became a Woman, The (2000) 47 De Certeau, M. 26, 27, 36, 117 death, speaking through 12; Neshat 46, 47–​48, 56 death threats 120; Zayid 81, 83 Debord, Guy 27 DeChaine, R. D. 26 democratic media activism 29 denial, discourses of 10–​11, 121 Derakhshandeh, Puran 44 détournement 27, 36 diagnostic approach, feminist media activism 32, 37, 117 digital media see Internet; social media disability: intersectionality 117, 118; taboos 9; Zayid 60–​62, 65–​66, 68–​73, 76–​77, 79–​83 discrimination 110; 9/​11 aftermath 76, 92, 119; disability 61, 71, 72; dominant representations 116;

146 Index Nawaz 96, 98; racial 66; spirit injury 80; Zayid 67, 77–​79, 82 dismissed artistic contributions 124–​125 Diva Citizenship 34–​35 Downey, J. 122 Downing, J. D. H. 24, 31 Doyle, Glennon 68, 83n2 Duranni, Sadiya 108 Ebrahimji, Maria 134 Eco, Umberto 27 edutainment 104, 118 Egypt 36 Eid al-​Adha 103 Elhillo, Safia 135 El-​Husseini, Eman 134–​135 emergence: conditions of 119–​123; Nawaz 102–​107, 109; Neshat 50–​56; in popular culture 33–​34 emigrants, Iranian 44, 49 erasure of history 28, 36, 117, 126; Neshat 49, 50 Essaydi, Lalla 135 eurocentrism 29 Facebook 125 far-​right movement 31, 122 Farrokhzād, Forugh 51 Farsad, Negin 65, 83n1, 135 fear 2, 3 Feldman, K. P. 125 feminicide 81, 83, 110 feminism: backlash 121; colonial 2, 22, 43; Iranian films 44; Kulthum 34; Nawaz 97, 98, 105; Orientalism 43; resistance 37; “third world” 32, 37; Together Live 68; Zayid 73 feminist media activism 32, 37, 117 feminization of the “Orient” 23, 43 Fenton, N. 122 Fetchit, Stepin 107 Filali, Amina 12 Finland 7, 90 Fish, S. E. 3, 4, 15n1, 26, 116, 124 Forleo, M. 71, 72, 80, 82 Foster, G. A. 44 Foucault, M. 11, 19, 56 France: Burkini ban 23; colonial postcards 53; dominant representations 21; Little Mosque on the Prairie 7, 90, 95; strike (May 1968) 27; veil 22, 23, 43 Fraser, N. 15n3, 121–​122

freedom, visions of 35 FUNdamentalist films 9, 88 Garcia Marquez, Gabriel 54 gender 5; discrimination, denial of 35; dominant representations 22, 116; equality/​inequality 13, 124; intersectionality 117, 118; Muslim American comedy 65–​66; Nawaz 75, 95, 97–​98; Neshat 48, 56, 75; Orientalism 43; postcolonial theory 25; racism 126; recentering 117; representations of Muslim and Iranian women 42–​45; resistance 31–​33; role disruption 13; Zayid 60, 62, 65, 69, 72–​76, 80, 82, 83 gender studies 5, 117, 120 gendered discourses 10 Ginsburg, F. 28, 116 Gitlin, Todd 30 Goldberg, Whoopi 107 good sense 13, 55 #GoodMuslimBadMuslim podcast 125 Gramsci, A. 6; common sense and good sense 13, 55; hegemony 4, 5, 13, 24, 36, 79, 120; organic intellectuals 93; resilience of the human spirit 126 Green, S. E. 69 Greifenhagen, F. V. 94, 95 Grossberg, L. 26, 33 Gulf War 23 Habermas, J. 121–​122 Hackett, R. A. 29 hajj 98 Hakkaoui, Bassima 35 Hall, S.: diversity in representation 28, 105, 109, 123; emergence in popular culture 33; hegemony 120; identity as socially constructed 42–​43; material implications of language in popular culture 118; stereotypes 65, 68; unsaid, relevance of the 5 Hallin, D. C. 20 Hami, Tissa 53, 64, 76–​77, 92–​93, 136 Hamilton, J. 27 Hammad, Suheir 93, 136 harassment 121; see also cyber-​bullying Hassan, Jamelie 135–​136 hate, hate crimes and hate speech 110, 121; 9/​11 1, 2, 119; social media 125; symbolic violence 81; Zayid 77, 81, 83, 125

Index  147 Haydar, Mouna 136 Hebdige, D. 26–​27, 33 Helal, Marwa 137 Hello Sunshine 73 hijab see veil Hil, R. 30 Hilal, Dima 137 Hirji, F. 102 Hirzalla, F. 65, 77–​78 hooks, b.: intersectionality 32; talking back 2, 3, 18–​19, 36, 42, 115 humor 106–​107; cultural renaissance 92–​94; feminist media activism 32; #GoodMuslimBadMuslim podcast 125; Muslim American comedy 62–​66; Nawaz 88–​110, 120; Zayid 60–​83, 120 identity politics 9 immigrants: Canadian 105; far-​right movement 122 imprisonment 13; Iran 49 indie culture 34 indigenous media 28 infiltration of mainstream media 10, 29, 36, 60, 64, 117; Nawaz 88, 90, 118, 122; Zayid 77, 83, 122 infotainment 104, 118 insane, speech constructed as 3, 12–​13, 115, 119; Neshat 48–​49, 56 Internet: activism 30; Muslim American comedy 65; potential 125; public sphere 122; Ramy 77; symbolic violence 80; Zayid 65, 67, 80, 81, 83 interpretive communities 3, 4, 10, 15n1, 124; sensibility 26; unintelligibility, assertions of 11, 116 intersectionality 5, 37, 117–​118; critical race and gender studies 32; Zayid 69 Iran: banning of Parsipur’s Women without Men 8; chador 53; coup d’etat 49; female directors 44; Hami 92; hostage crisis 92; Neshat 8, 41, 53, 55, 118, 120; oppressive practices 118; representations of Iranian women 44–​45; Revolution 44, 45, 91; stoning 44; and the US, relations between 8, 50; war with Iraq 53; women “fighters” 53; women’s ban from public singing 48–​49 Iraq: Australian anti-​war movement 30; Gulf War 23; war with Iran 53

Islamic State 2 Islamophobia 2, 8, 22, 110, 126; 9/​11 genre 119; anti-​ 124; consequences 63, 83; cyber-​attacks 121; dominant representations 116, 118; far-​right movement 122; Little Mosque on the Prairie 8, 90; Muslim American comedy 65; Nawaz 8, 90; Zayid 60, 61, 66, 68, 69, 82–​83 Islamophobia Studies Journal 2 Ives, P. 24 #Jan25 Egypt 93 Jefferson, T. 120 jihadists 23 Jiwani, Y. 10, 115; The Border 92; cultural struggle over meaning 118–​119; discourses of denial 10–​11, 121; Little Mosque on the Prairie 95, 105; long-​term interventions 116; Zidane’s head-​butt 21 Jobrani, Maz 76, 93 Jordan 60 Juhasz, A. 116 Kader, Aron 76, 78 Kahf, Mohja 137 Kahraman, Hayv 137 Kapchan, D. 18–​19 Karim, K. H. 23, 91 Karoui, Nabil 45 Keeling, K. 13 Kelley, R. D. G. 35 Kenix, L. J. 60, 64, 90, 96 Khan, Hena 138 Khan, Zehanat Ausma 138–​139 Khomeini, Ruhollah 45 Kirby, S. L. 6 Kress, G. R. 98 Ku Klux Klan Museum, Redneck Shop 31 Kulthum, Oum 8, 34 Lakhani, S. 99 Lalami, Laila 139 Landon, Michael 94 Lind, R. 121 Little House on the Prairie (1974–​1983) 94 Little Mosque on the Prairie (2007–​2012) 3, 7–​8, 9, 14, 88, 90–​106, 94, 108–​110, 120, 122 Looking for Oum Kulthum (2017) 8, 41

148 Index Loomba, A. 25 Lubin, A. 125 Madres de Plaza de Mayo 32–​33 magic realism 50, 54–​56, 120 Mahdawi, D. 69, 77 Mahdi, S. 51 mahr 74 Mahrouse, G. 21 Malak, Nasry 78 Mamdani, M. 20–​21, 104, 110 Mansour, Asmahan 99 marginalization 4, 9, 125; dominant representations 117; emergence of alternative discourses 120–​121; Nawaz 96, 101, 110; oppressive regimes and practices 118; sensibility 26; storytelling 32; unintelligibility, assertions of 3, 10–​12, 115; Zayid 82, 83 Marjan (1956) 44 Marx, K. 24, 36 masculinities, Muslim 23 Materazi, Marco 21 Matheson, S. A. 106 Maysoon’s Kids 61 Mbembe, A. 126 McKenna, K. 6 Me Before You (2016) 71 Me, the Muslim Next Door (2011) 92 Media Action Network for Asian Americans 20 media activism 30 media dissemination 125 Mercer, K. 55, 123 Meshkini, M. 47 Michael, J. 65–​66 Milani, F. 41 Milani, Tahmineh 44 Million Dollar Baby (2004) 71 Mirza, Shazia 53, 93 misogyny 44, 55 modernity 21, 22 Moezzi, Melody 139–​140 Mohanty, C. T. 31–​32, 116, 120, 125 montage 27–​28 Montagner, K. 30 Morocco: gender discrimination, denial of 35; rape law 12; women’s speech in Beni Mellal market 19 Moss, Preacher 64, 76 Mossadegh, Mohammad 49 Mulvey, L. 97

Muslims Are Coming!, The (2013 documentary) 61, 65, 77–​78, 83n1 Muslims Are Coming Tour 61 Naficy, H. 41, 44, 48 Najjar, M. M. 64 naming (feminist media activism) 32, 37, 117 Namira, Hamza, “Dream With Me” 36 Narcy 93 Nashef, Rolah 140 Nasser, Diaz Yasmine 140 Nawaz, Amna 69–​71 Nawaz, Zarqa 3, 9, 14, 88–​91, 107–​110, 115; 9/​11 genre 92; BBQ Muslims (1996) 88; The Changing Rituals of Death (1992) 88; cultural renaissance 93; Death Threat (1998) 88; edutainment 118; emergence 102–​107, 120; Fred’s Burqa (2005) 88; Laughing All the Way to the Mosque 90, 94–​95, 98, 102, 104; Little Mosque on the Prairie (2007–​ 2012) 3, 7–​8, 9, 14, 88, 90–​106, 94, 108–​110, 120, 122; Me and the Mosque (2005) 88, 95, 97, 105, 109; normalization of Muslims 95–​96, 122; photograph 89; Random Check (2005) 88; research methodologies 6, 7–​8; resignifying Islam 99–​101; resignifying Muslim women 97–​99; unintelligibility, assertions of 119; women’s rights advocacy 75 Neshat, Shirin 3, 8, 14, 41–​43, 115, 140; Art in exile TED talk (2010) 55, 120; awards 41, 57nn2–​3; collective action 36; emergence of alternative discourses 50–​56, 120; Expressing the Inexpressible (2004) 46–​47; Fervor (2000) 51, 57n1; The Last Word (2003) 57n1; Looking for Oum Kulthum (2017) 8, 41; marginalization 12, 121; moving-​ image work 41, 48, 53, 56, 57n1; oppressive Iranian practices 118; Passage (2001) 57n1; photograph 42; Possessed (2001) 57n1; Pulse (2001) 57n1; Rapture (1999) 8, 46–​47, 48, 57n1; research methodologies 6–​7; The Shadow Under the Web (1997) 57n1; Soliloquy (1999) 48, 53, 57n1; Tooba 51, 53; Turbulent (1998) 8, 41, 48, 50–​52, 56, 57n1,

Index  149 119; unintelligibility, assertions of 7, 45–​50, 56, 119; visual appeal 50–​52, 118; Women of Allah 8, 41, 50–​53, 56, 120; Women without Men (2009) 6, 8, 14, 41–​42, 46–​56, 47, 118; women’s rights advocacy 75 New Zealand 81 Newman, M. Z. 34 Nike 30 Noorbakhsh, Zahra 125, 141 normalization of Muslims 95–​96, 122 Nowrasteh, Cyrus 44 Obeidallah, Dean 64, 65, 77, 92–​93; Arab-​American Comedy Festival/​ Tour 9, 61, 66, 76, 78 Ochoa, S. 50 Offendum, Omar 93 Olbermann, Keith 71 Ong, W. J. 29–​30, 67 online harassment see cyber-​harassment optimism, cruel 34–​35 oral traditions 117; alternative media interventions 29–​30; magic realism 54; Zayid 67 Orientalism 8, 10, 63; alternative discourses 25; dominant representations 20, 21, 116; Nawaz 95; “Other” 80; postcolonial theory 36; representations of Muslim women 43; Shahs of Sunset 93; tropes 23; Zayid’s Can Can 122 Palestine: Darwish 36; Zayid 60, 61, 74, 75 Park, Kyong 41 parody 26, 27 Paronnaud, Vincent 45 Parsipur, Shahrnush 49; Women without Men 8, 49, 54, 55 pastiche 26, 30 patriarchy: global system 55; insane, speech constructed as 48; Iran 44; marginalized communities 118; Nawaz 95, 98; progressive realism 54; representations of Muslim women 43; “third world” feminism 32; “third world” media 28; women’s speech in Beni Mellal market 19; workings of 117; Zayid 66, 75, 76, 82 Pedwell, C. 124 performativity of identity 102–​104

Perkins, Rachel 28 Persepolis (2007) 45 personal attacks 121 playful sensibility 26 podcasts: #GoodMuslimBadMuslim 125; Uncomfortable 69–​71 Poitier, Sidney 107 polygamy 98 positive images, promotion of 28, 36, 117, 123; Nawaz 90, 96, 104–​105, 108, 109, 120; Zayid 70 postcolonial theory 5, 120; alternative discourses 25; dominant discourse 4–​5; hegemonic theory’s tropes 36; identity politics 9; mental decolonization and taking voice, stages to 4–​5; self-​representation 3, 9; tactical interventions 117 prejudice 83 progressive realism 28, 54–​55 public sphere thesis 121–​122 punishable speech 3, 12, 13, 116, 119; Neshat 49–​50, 56 Queen Latifah 81 queer punk music 26 race 5; denial, discourses of 11; dominant representations 21, 22; intersectionality 117, 118; symbolic violence 80 racial profiling 110; 9/​11 aftermath 76; 9/​11 genre 107, 119; Nawaz 96, 109; Zayid 67, 78 racism 1, 110; 9/​11 aftermath 76; 9/​11 genre 119; anti-​ 124; British National Party 31; consequences 63, 83; cyber-​ 31; far-​right movement 122; gendered 126; internalized 18; Nawaz 98; spirit injury 80; spirit murder 79; Zayid 69, 78, 80 Ramy (2019–​present) 77, 125 rape: Moroccan law 12; as war tactic 80; Zarin’s Women without Men 46, 51 Rapinoe, Megan 83n2 Rasheed, Kameelah Janan 137 Razack, S. 19, 22, 43, 80, 91 Redneck Shop, Ku Klux Klan Museum 31 representativity 11 resignification 30, 117; disability 68–​72; Islam 99–​101, 109; Muslim

150 Index women 72–​76, 97–​99, 108–​109; Nawaz 97–​101, 108–​10; Zayid 68–​76 Resistance Revival Chorus 68, 73, 83n2 reversals 30; Nawaz 98, 99, 104 Reza Pahlevi, Mohammed 91 Riahi, Shahla 44 Riazi, Karuna 138 Rice, Condoleezza 35 Rodríguez, C. 116 Rudolph Walsh, Jennifer 68 Russia 23 Sabry, S. S. 60, 69 Sadat, Anwar 81 Sadiq, Sabeen 141 Saffarzadeh, Tahereh 51 Sahebjam, Freidoune, La Femme Lapidée 44 Said, E. W.: dominant representations 20; Orientalism 43, 62–​63, 80, 99; US preoccupation with Islam 91 Sa’idi, Kobra 44 Sakamoto, Ryuichi 51 Salahuddin 100, 111n2 Salloum, Jacqueline, Planet of the Arabs (2005) 27–​28 Salo C. 121 satire 32, 64 Satrapi, Marjane 45 segregation: Nawaz 97–​98, 101, 109; signs 30–​31; spirit injury 80 Selbak, Rolla 141 self-​representation 9 Selim, F. A. 66, 78 sensibility 26, 36 Serbia 23, 80 Sex and the City 74 sexism 1, 8, 110; consequences 63; internalized 18; Nawaz 97–​98 sexualization of Muslim women 23, 43, 97 Shaheen, J. G. 20, 27, 29, 63, 67 Shahs of Sunset (2012–​present) 92, 93 shaming (feminist media activism) 32, 37, 44, 117 Shariaa 102 Shohat, E. 29, 116, 119 Siege, The (1998) 20 Sikander, Shahzia 141–​142 silencing 19 silent speech 3, 12, 115, 119; Neshat 45–​48, 56

sites of emergence 33 Situationist International 27 slavery 80, 106, 126 social justice 12, 65; alternative media 13, 31, 37, 122–​24; humor 65 social media: potential 125; Zayid 65, 79, 125 social movement literature 35, 124 Spectacle, The 27 spectator positioning 28, 36, 98, 99, 117 Spence, L. 28, 54, 104, 105, 109 spirit injury 79–​80, 83, 121 spirit murder 79, 83, 121 Spivak, G. C. 12, 23, 121 Stam, R. 28–​29, 54, 104–​105, 109, 116 Stand Up: Muslim American Comics Come of Age (2008) 61, 77 stereotypes 110; 9/​11 aftermath 76; 9/​11 genre 119; African-​ American 52, 56, 107; alternative media interventions 28, 29; black actors’ roles 107; challenging 35; diversity of images 105; dominant representations 20, 21, 23, 116; feminist media activism 32; Muslim American comedy 64, 65, 93; Nawaz 91, 94, 109; stand-​up comedy 61; talking back 18; uninhabitability 117; Zayid 60–​62, 64–​66, 68–​71, 74, 76–​79, 81 stigma 77 Stillman, S. 32–​33 Stoning of Soraya M., The (2008) 44–​45 storytelling: marginalized people 32–​33; talking back 19 subalternity 12, 116, 120–​121; counterpublics 122; Neshat’s Women without Men 46 subcultures: bricolage 26–​27; emergence in popular culture 33 suppressed knowledge 11, 19, 56 Swift, Taylor, “Shake It Off” 70 symbolic violence 121, 125; Zayid 79–​82, 83 Taliban 2, 119 Taylor, D. 7, 32–​33, 66 terrorism: 9/​11 genre 92, 119; dominant representations 22, 23; Muslim American comedy 65; Nawaz 94, 96; veil 43; see also 9/​11

Index  151 theatrical approach, feminist media activism 32–​33, 37, 117 “third world” feminism 32, 37 “third world” media: positive images 104, 105; progressive realism 54; subversion 28–​29 Together Live tour (2019) 67–​68, 70, 73–​74, 83n2 transnationalism 125 Trinh, T. M. 116 Trump, Donald: airport scrutiny procedures 1; fear, climate of 3; impeachment call 68; Muslim travel ban 92; symbolic violence 81 truth, regimes of 11 truth and reconciliation committees 30 Tunisia: Arab Spring 12; Persepolis airing 45 Twitter 125 unfinished artistic contributions 124–​125 unintelligibility, assertions of 115–​116, 125–​126; backlash as symbolic violence 121; defined 3; Nawaz 119; Neshat 7, 45–​50, 56, 119; symbolic violence 80; terminology 10–​14; Zayid 119 United Arab Emirates 7, 90, 95 United Kingdom 49, 50 United States: 9/​11 genre 91, 92; anti-​Vietnam war protesters 30; Arab-​ Americans 67; disability 71; fear, climate of 3; gender discrimination, denial of 35; independent cinema 34; and Iran, relations between 8, 50; Iranian coup d’etat 49, 50; Islam preoccupation 91; Islamophobia 121; Jim Crow era 30; Muslim American comedy 62–​66; PATRIOT Act 1, 92; reality television, Islam in 93, 108; “reel bad Arabs” in film and television 27–​28, 63; resignification 30–​31; talking back 3; veil 22, 43; see also Neshat, Shirin; Zayid, Maysoon unsaid 5 Usdin, S. 118 Usman, Azhar 64, 76, 93 Van Leeuwen, T. 98 van Zoonen, L. 65, 77–​78 veil 43; dominant representations 21–​22; Nawaz 97, 98–​99, 108, 109; Neshat 53, 56; Zayid 72–​73

visibility 125 Vivian, B. 22 Wambach, Abby 83n2 web resistance 30 Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy (2009) 106 Williams, P. J. 79, 83, 121 Williams, R. 24, 33 Wing, A. K. 79–​80, 83, 121 Witherspoon, Reese 73 Women without Men (2009) 6, 8, 14, 41–​42, 46–​56, 47, 118 World Economic Forum protests 30 xenophobia 63, 66 Yacoub, Atheer 76, 142 Yeğenoğlu, M. 25, 43 Yes Men Fix the World, The (2009) 29 “YouTube –​Dream With Me (Ehlam Ma’aya) –​25 Jan Revolution” 36 Zawahry, K. Iman 143 Zayid, Maysoon 3, 8–​9, 14, 60–​61, 64–​66, 142–​143, 115; Arab-​ American Comedy Festival/​Tour 7, 8–​9, 74–​75, 76, 78, 120; Can Can 78, 122; cultural renaissance 93; edutainment 118; emergence of alternative discourses 76–​82, 120; Find Another Dream 61, 65, 71; “I got 99 problems ... palsy is just one” Ted talk (2013) 7, 61, 70, 71, 76, 77; Laughing All the Way to the Mosque 7, 9; Little American Whore 9, 61; mainstreaming difference 77–​79; The Muslims Are Coming! 9, 65, 77–​78, 83n1; normalization of Muslims 122; performance of identity 66–​72; photographs 62, 63; research methodologies 6, 7; resignifying disability 68–​72; resignifying Muslim women 72–​76; social media 65, 79, 125; Stand Up: Muslim-​American Comics Come of Age 61; Together Live tour (2019) 67, 70, 73–​74; unintelligibility, assertions of 119 Zidane, Zinedine 21 Zimbardo, Z. 65 Zomorodinia, Raheleh 143 Zwick, Ed 20