I miss Dana ... I haven't seen her in a while ... since we got back from Kuwait actually, which was about 6 weeks ago.

Wondering who Dana is? She's my best friend ... almost my only friend. I hang out with people from college, we talk about everything and anything, still; I never consider any of them as true friends ... it's just Dana.

We grew up together in Kuwait, she's 18 months younger than I am, but ever since she was born we became practically attached to the hip. My father and her's were room-mates before they both got married, and they remained good friends afterwards. Throughout our childhood, from before we could even remember, we were inseparable, we'd go everywhere together, one of us was at the other's house all the time and we used to have sleep-overs when we were kids.

As we got a little older we began going to the same schools. Our school was an elementary-junior high fusion, and I always felt somehow responsible for here, like a big sister should be. I still remember her first day in 1st grade ... she was crying and following me everywhere ... it took me a lot to calm her down a bit, and I was only in 3rd grade! I never had any siblings so I acted as her big sister and I carried on this role with her younger brother and sister, who I absolutely love as if they were my own siblings ... we used to fight like siblings do, too.

It all started to go downhill when we were separated in high school, she went to public school, I went to the best private school in the country. Our weekly encounters dwindled down to just once a week ... then once every other week, we still talked on the phone, but we didn't have much to talk about, our lives were a little different now.

Years went by, and the moment finally came when I had to leave Kuwait for good to come here for college. I was ecstatic; my whole future is ahead of me, I did anticipate the anguish of leaving my parents behind, but it never occurred to me how painful it would be to leave her. She's not much of an internet person, so we only exchanged greetings through timed long-distance phone calls and then we'd tell each other everything else during vacations when she came here ... which were drastically short ... comparatively.

That only lasted 2 years thankfully, she then came for college. I was thrilled, we're going back to the good old days ... but alas ... she was stuck with a branch of electric engineering for a major in college. A stupid, difficult major with too many chauvinistic male students, cocky professors and impossible courses ... not to mention "antique" equipment! Her campus is too far, her schedule is messed up and to top it all off her grandma - whom she was living with - died last year.

Now, we talk to each other once a week, we see each other twice a semester, and even if we have a million things to talk about we either don't have the time to say them, or they're too specific for the other to understand ... we lead VERY different lives now!

I wish we could go back in time, to a moment in junior high when we were sitting in my room, hiding from the annoying bunch of women who were visiting and laughing our hearts out at that nasty word her goofy friend said at school ...

I just miss her you know ...

This is my first ever blog, until recently I didn't even know what "blog" means! Anyway, I'll cut to the chase.

American shows are very popular and prevalent all around the world, this is mainly because they're ... well, simply good. The United States is THE destination for every person who's ever dreamt of becoming a star. There are various human and economical resources available for the showbiz industry, along with a huge audience that makes a wide base of customers for advertisers ... eventually resulting in the financing of multi-million dollar companies who support the industry ... and the cycle goes on. My point being, American series can be very influential on the American audience and in other countries as well, which is why I care about how Muslims are being portrayed in them.

In general, Muslims are being incorporated into one of two not-so-different scenarios, the first being "the terrorist", the second being "victim of discrimination after being mistaken for a terrorist"!

I'm not in the context of debating the first scenario, I don't live in the US, and I don't know the nature of fear in their society caused by preconceived notions, planted by the exaggerating media and those murderous bastards who call themselves "muslims" where, in fact, they are servants of a political agenda hiding behind twisted interpretations of sacred texts ... in other words "the terrorists".

With that out of my system, I'll begin voicing my humble opinions, and objections regarding the second scenario.

I've seen many shows try to portray "moderate Muslims" and fail miserably, from an Islamic point of view. Many series like Bones, Without A Trace, Law & Order, and others, tried to deal with serious issues of discrimination and injustice to the Muslim and Arab members of the American population, many of these episodes were received well and appreciated by Americans. But the thing is, they all failed to portray the REAL moderate Muslim, and for me, as a self-proclaimed moderate Muslim, I didn't find their attempts satisfying.

Why does a Muslim have to mimic the American way of life in ALL it's aspects to be a moderate Muslim?! In every portrayal of "moderate Muslims" on TV they're doing something they shouldn't, drinking alcohol, smoking pot, having affairs, having sexual relationships without marriage ... REAL Muslims don't do that, all the above is forbidden in Islam. A Muslim has to stray by doing all of that to be considered "moderate" or "open minded" ?!! That's totally wrong, a "moderate Muslim" is a real believer who really has faith in the religion and follows it's instructions, however, a real Muslim also realizes that other people lead different lives, have different values and cultural influences, and he respects that and lives with it. THAT is a moderate Muslim.

Another thing that really bugs me in these presentations is the depiction of Muslim women. They usually stay clear of presenting women wearing "hijab" and restrict them to the background wearing tons of clothes and huge pieces of fabric on their heads, they're also usually very old or very poor looking. Muslim women who wear hijab don't all look that way, I wear hijab and I consider myself a very fashionable person, I wear things that look good in sync with my religious beliefs. Women are very powerful and appreciated members of the Islamic society, the fact that some ignorant men do their wives injustice does not reflect the real Islamic teachings. So why aren't Muslim women portrayed that way on TV

Last thing I wanna talk about is why restrict Muslim characters to just two scenarios?! Muslims constitute a significant part of the American society ... how about a fellow Muslim doctor on ER, or maybe a fellow professor at the Jeffersonian on Bones, or a firefighter on a show like Third Watch? Many Muslims in the US are well educated and do occupy such jobs. And what about Americans who convert to Islam? It's the fastest growing religion in the world, why can't we see what their lives are like ... especially after 9/11.

Although it's been a phenomenally long "blog", I only managed to say so little of what I have in mind. I hope whoever responds to this can be civil and open minded, and moderate, as much as they want Muslims to be.

Wa assalam alaikom wa rahmat Allah wa barakatoh.

(That is a highly appreciated greeting in Islam by the way)