Art imitates life.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (the group responsible for this, this and this) is ragging on 24 for allegedly feeding prejudice against Muslims. Why? Because Season 6 begins with a an 11 day terror spree by Islamist fundamentalists. The notion that extremist Muslims could advocate mass bloodshed is apparently very offensive.

Once again, CAIR has no idea what the hell they're talking about. First of all, FOX and the producers of 24, if anything, have gone out of their way to avoid categorizing one group. They've toed a thin line, considering the show debuted immediately after September 11, 2001. Cochran and Surnow have put together an ethnically diverse rainbow of bad guys for Jack Bauer to do battle with: Mexican drug cartels (Season 3), Serbian assassins (Season 1), Americans (every season), Russian separatists (Season 5), Germans (Season 2), even an English guy who just didn't like us for some unexplained reason (Season 3). You seen any British terrorists outside of a James Bond movie? I know haven't. Seasons 2, 4 and 6 have focused on Islamic fundamentalists, but in a show about terrorism, it's more than a little difficult to avoid Muslim extremism. At the end of the day, 24 could not remain credible if it avoided the 800 pound gorilla in the room.

Second of all, whenever Islamic fundamentalism is at issue, the writers are careful to condemn prejudice and destroy preconceived notions in the story line. Season 2 involves a terror cell in possession of a nuclear weapon. Instrumental in the search to find the weapon is a diplomat from an unnamed Muslim nation (again, because the writers avoid stereotyping--you rarely hear the word "Muslim" either). And while the writers imply throughout the season that a young Arab man named Reza is a part of the plot, the viewer ultimately discovers that his young, white, blonde fiancee is the true conspirator. You're backhanded for assuming that the mysterious young man with the accent is responsible. In the present Season 6, while a Muslim terror organization has detonated a suitcase nuke in suburban Los Angeles, Jack Bauer cannot prevent more attacks without the help of a former terrorist named Assad.

The writers' intent is clear: while they are not going to sidestep the contemporary issue of Islamic terrorism, they do destroy the misguided notion that a person's skin color or religion makes them a terrorist or extremist. CAIR misses this point entirely: while Islamic terror is a part of our lives, the key to destroying misconceptions and battling extremism lies in the hands of moderate Muslims willing to do something about it. CAIR is not such a group. It apparently would rather confront a fictional TV character than real bad guys.

It is an indisputable fact that Islamist terror is on the rise in the world. An unfortunate consequence of terrorism is a fear of groups associated with terrorism. If you're a member of such a group who wants to destroy these sterotypes, your beef shouldn't be with people who acknowledge that there is a problem, like the creators of 24. It should be with the people who are hijacking your religion in the first place. Treat the disease, not the symptoms.