The Impact of Portrayals of Muslims in Entertainment
By Erum Ikramullah
Mar/Apr 26
Research shows news media coverage of Muslims is biased and linked to increased anti-Muslim attitudes and support for anti-Muslim policies. Little is known about the impact of entertainment media coverage of Muslims on intergroup attitudes and support for anti-Muslim policies though. Muslims, a highly targeted group in the United States, are often depicted as villains (e.g., terrorists, chauvinists) in entertainment. There is a dearth of research on the consequences of such tropes on people’s attitudes toward Muslims or the influence such tropes have on people’s support for policies that affect Muslims.
The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) conducted a recent study examining the effects of exposure to depictions of Muslims in television shows on people’s support for policies that are broadly undemocratic or specifically anti-Muslim. Some of the results of that research are discussed below.
Research Methodology
The research team, led by University of Illinois Chicago’s Assistant Professor of Psychology Sohad Murrar, PhD, ran an experiment in which participants were randomly assigned to watch either a positive or negative depictions of Muslims in entertainment media to assess the effects of this media on support for various policies, intergroup attitudes toward Muslims, and perceptions of Muslims as a whole.
American non-Muslim participants were recruited through CloudResearch Connect, an online research platform for participant recruitment, from Nov. 5, 2024 to Jan. 16, 2025. All potential participants were prescreened to ensure they had no prior history of watching any of the shows used in the study. To ensure a representative sample of the U.S. population, 747 participants were recruited to match U.S. Census demographics proportionally on race, sex, and age. Of these, 73 people did not complete any of the outcome measures following episode viewing and were thus removed before analysis. This yielded a final sample of 674 people.
Murrar’s research team completed an extensive TV show sourcing and coding process to select positive and negative representations of Muslims. Shows featuring Muslim characters were gathered through crowdsourcing from Muslim Americans and evaluated based on criteria including screen time for Muslim characters, ratings, and show origin dates (i.e., U.S. shows produced after 2006). After elimination, 32 shows remained.
Episodes were systematically coded along 13 dimensions representing common tropes (e.g., family relations, violence/terrorism, occupations) with four possible valences: positive, negative, mixed, or neutral. Episodes were selected based on the highest total positive or negative codes and pilot tested for comparable entertainment value.
All measures used in the study were validated in prior research and had strong reliability. The study included measures for anti-democratic policy support, anti-Muslim policy support, positive treatment of Muslims, social distancing from Muslims, intergroup anxiety toward Muslims, warmth toward Muslims, symbolic threat from Muslims, identification with Muslims, Islamophobia Index, pro-diversity beliefs, passionate hate scale, and Muslim homogeneity.
Results
The final sample included 674 participants, with 330 men, 340 women, and four participants who chose another gender identification. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 84, with most of the participants being 25 to 34 (24%). Racially, the sample was predominantly white (73%). In terms of education, nearly half of all participants carried a four-year college degree (45%).
To analyze the data, the team compared responses of participants who viewed the positive depiction of Muslims (“9-1-1: Lone Star,” season 1, episode 3) and the negative depiction of Muslims (“Criminal Minds,” season 2, episode 10) on all the outcome measures. The team used linear regression models to test the effects of experimental conditions on the outcomes.
Outcomes
Anti-Democratic Policy Support
Viewers of positive Muslim representation showed significantly lower support for anti-democratic policies compared to those who viewed negative representation.
Anti-Muslim Policy Support
Those who viewed positive Muslim representation were significantly more opposed to anti-Muslim policies than those who viewed negative representation.
Positive Treatment of Muslims
Viewers of positive Muslim representation were significantly more supportive of positive treatment of Muslims compared to negative representation viewers.
Social Distancing from Muslims
Those who watched positive representations had significantly lower desires to socially distance themselves from Muslims compared to negative representation viewers.
Intergroup Anxiety toward Muslims
No statistically significant difference was found between positive representation viewers and negative representation viewers regarding intergroup anxiety toward Muslims.
Warmth toward Muslims
Viewers of positive Muslim representation reported significantly higher warmth toward Muslims compared to those who viewed negative representation.
Symbolic Threat from Muslims
Those who viewed positive representations reported a significantly lower perceived symbolic threat from Muslims compared to negative representation viewers.
Identification with Muslims
Viewers of positive Muslim representation showed significantly greater identification with Muslims compared to negative representation viewers.
Islamophobia
No significant difference in Islamophobia score was found between positive representation viewers and negative representation viewers.
Pro-Diversity Beliefs
No significant difference in pro-diversity beliefs was found between positive representation viewers and negative representation viewers.
Passionate Hate
No significant difference in passionate hate score was found between positive representation viewers and negative representation viewers.
Muslim Homogeneity
No significant differences were found in perceived homogeneity of Muslims between positive representation viewers and negative representation viewers, likely because the selected television shows focused on individual Muslim characters rather than the broader Muslim community.
Analysis
ISPU found that positive depictions of Muslims in entertainment media led to greater opposition to anti-democratic policies when compared to negative depictions. Similarly, the study found positive depictions of Muslims led to more opposition to anti-Muslim policies than negative depictions. Critically, these findings demonstrate that the way Muslims are represented in entertainment media shapes Americans’ views on political policies that impact all Americans regardless of their faith.
The study also shows that positive depictions of Muslims in entertainment media can lead to more positive intergroup attitudes and perceptions of Muslims. Watching a positive depiction of Muslims leads to more support for treating Muslims positively, less of a desire to socially distance from Muslims, and greater warmth toward Muslims compared to watching a negative depiction of Muslims. These findings may in part be because, as we observed in our study, viewing the positive depiction leads to lower perceptions of symbolic threat from Muslims and greater identification with them compared to viewing the negative depiction.
On the flipside, negative depictions of Muslims actively lead to worse intergroup attitudes and perceptions of Muslims. While these findings demonstrate that positive portrayals of Muslims can encourage better intergroup outcomes and opposition to harmful policies, the limited presence of such portrayals in the broader media landscape make it unlikely that these positive effects will manifest widely in the public. Thus, it is critical for entertainment media creators to consider the implications of their creative choices and endeavor to represent Muslims and other minorities in a more positive light.
Erum Ikramullah is Senior Research Project Manager at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.
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