Batman, Islam, and Right-wing Bigots

This morning I rose at my usual time, performed wudu, and then prayed – nothing new there. And of course the next thing I did was immediately turn on my laptop and head straight for email, Facebook, and Twitter…you never know when something exciting might pop up! And this morning I came across a couple tweets that caught my attention and gave me an idea for a short blog post today:

Apparently, Batman has a Muslim ally.

Nightrunner is the alter ego of Bilal Asselah, who is a 22-year-old Sunni Muslim from Clichy-sous-Bois, a tough Paris suburb where urban unrest sparked riots in immigrant districts across France in 2005. A Frenchman of Algerian origin, he became caught up in that unrest; at one point he and his friend were beaten by police who mistook them for rioters. The friend later reacted by burning down a police station only to be killed by police. Bilal however rejects hate and fear thanks largely to the influence of his pious Muslim parents. When Bruce Wayne and Dick Greyson begin recruiting allies into Batman Incorporated, Bilal is chosen to be the protector of Paris.

Well, right-wing US bloggers are having a field day over DC Comic’s choice of a Muslim superhero. Here are just a few examples of what they have to say:

~ ‘Nightrunner the Muslim sidekick will have strange new powers to bury women to their waists and bash their heads in with large rocks.’

~ ‘If you’re as sick and tired of this IslamiCrap as I am, be on the lookout for my upcoming graphic novel, The Infidel, which features Pigman, an ex-Muslim superhero who is the jihadist’s worst nightmare.’

~ ‘Unfortunately, readers of Batman will not be helped to understand what troubles are really besetting France. In this age when Muslim youths are terrorizing the entire country, heck in this age of international Muslim terrorism assaulting the whole world, Batman’s readers will be confused by what is really going on in the world. Through it all DC makes a Muslim in France a hero when French Muslims are at the center of some of the worst violence in the country’s recent memory. Apparently Batman couldn't find any actual Frenchman to be the 'French saviour'.’

~ ‘How about that, Bruce Wayne goes to France where he hires not a genuine French boy or girl with a real sense of justice, but rather, an "oppressed" minority who adheres to the Religion of Peace. And this is a guy whose very parents were murdered at the hands of a common street thug!’

Hmm…racist much?

I really don’t understand what the issue is here. One blogger wrote, ‘Batman’s readers will be confused by what is really going on in the world.’ As if the world of Batman is reality. I doubt most readers of the comic believe Bruce Wayne and Batman Incorporated are real. If they do, they have some problems they need to work on. Even if it were reality, I highly doubt Batman would pick a terrorist to help defend the city of Paris. It just doesn’t make sense.

Another blogger wrote, ‘Apparently Batman couldn't find any actual Frenchman to be the 'French saviour'.’ So the millions of French citizens who of North African descent are not ‘actual Frenchmen?’ According to this writer, I guess not.

Most of these bloggers are attacking Muslims, calling them all jihadists and so on. Therefore they say Batman shouldn’t have a Muslim ally. They are all terrorists, so how can a Muslim be portrayed as someone good, as a crimefighter?

However, the backstory on Nightrunner explicitly states that he rejects hate and fear because his mother is a pious Muslim. Like Batman, Nightrunner wants to set things straight and fight for what’s right, not kill the infidels. What’s wrong with that?

I personally think it’s a great idea. Lots of people in the world read Batman comics. This is a chance for them to see that not all Muslims are out to convert everyone and kill those who choose not to. Muslims have a bad reputation these days simply because people like to stereotype. Not all Muslims are so called ‘jihadists.’ In fact, the vast majority are strongly opposed to what the true jihadists are doing.

I commend DC Comics on their choice, and I hope they continue with Nightrunner despite what the right-wing blogging bigots say!