Is Black Panther Islamophobic? A Somali Canadian Perspective

[Deeq A.]

Black Panther is beautifully made, cinematically powerful and the actors truly embody the iconic, larger than life superheroes many of us grew up with, but the caviar here is that they reflect so many of us who rarely see ourselves on the big screen. I have watched this movie three times now and every time, I leave the theatre thinking about what could have been if Africa was not colonized and exploited, including how past and current African leadership have consistently failed its people. What I have not considered though was the argument made by some Muslims about it being Islamophobic. Specifically, the opening scene of the movie, where Black American actor Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia and Zimbabwean actress Danai Gurira as General Okoye rescue young Black girls kidnapped by men who seem to be members of the notorious Boko Haram. The film clearly states that the scene takes place in the Sambisa Forest, which is believed to be where Boko Haram is hiding many of the girls it has abducted leading some to claim that it reinforces the negative stereotype about Muslims as inherently violent. One prominent Canadian Muslim figure stated the following:

Source: Hiiraan Online