What Does It Take for Religious Minorities in the US to Be Accepted?

The Takeaway

This week on The Takeaway, we’ve been talking about the representations of different religions in the media: the controversy surrounding  Lowe’s pulling their ads from the TLC reality show “All-American Muslim,” and America’s fixation with the Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. While extremism isn’t exclusive to any group, those who practice outside of the “mainstream” – be they Mormon or Muslim – are frequently labeled as such. Does it simply take a version of “The Cosby Show” to break down these stereotypes, or is there something more? Doctor Naif Al-Mutawa is a clinical psychologist and he’s also one of the co-creators of “The 99,” a comic strip depicting Islam-inspired super-heroes. He talks about  what it takes for religious groups to overcome the stigma of being “outsiders” and gain widespread cultural acceptance in the U.S.

Are you with The World?

The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.