24

I don't write about television much, mostly because it is an escape for me. I don't take it too seriously. I do, however watch some. I like - not surprisingly, given the focus of this blog - shows dealing with ethical ideas crashing into reality. I like Law and Order, and its spin off Special Victims Unit. The other spin off, Criminal Intent, is too formulaic for my tastes. I also like Third Watch and have been enjoying Lost. I have seen small parts of past seasons of 24, but never got into it in a big way. This past weekend a new season of 24 began and thus far I'm inclined to say I might stick this one out. My only gripe so far is that there is too much infighting in Keifer Sutherland's anti terrorism unit. Teams don't fight among themselves like that when the heat is on. (when it's off, that's a different story). While watching the opening episodes I wondered what form the flak from the American Muslim community would take. There was never any doubt that they'd be up in arms. I wasn't wrong either:

"We thank Fox for the opportunity to address the Muslim community's concerns and for the willingness of network officials to take those concerns seriously in an atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation," said CAIR Communications Coordinator Rabiah Ahmed.

The show, which has a story line that runs the entire season, is based on 24 hours at a counter-terrorism unit.

In its fourth season, this year's story centers on a terrorist sleeper cell planning an attack on the United States.

CAIR is a spin-off of the Islamic Association For Palestine, a group identified by two former FBI counter-terrorism chiefs as a U.S. front group for the terrorist group Hamas.

Since 9-11, CAIR has seen three of its former employees indicted on federal terrorism charges.

Here's a handy formula when thinking about the portrayal of Muslims on television: Not all Muslims are terrorists, but if you are a terrorist, you are probably Muslim. The Islamic community would do well to ask why other people have this perception of them, and to ponder if there is anything they themselves can do to alter it.