Think About It! (Critical Thinking Piece)

     This film represents several different identities in the Muslim culture. One character that stood out to me was Murad (played by Anthony Azizi). Throughout the entire movie, he just sat in Habibi’s Café, watched the news, and complained about how awful America was and how badly they were being treated because of their culture and heritage due to 9/11. What I found pretty ironic was that while Murad was belligerent about American’s treatment of his people, he looks as though he’s forgotten what it means to be Muslim. He looks completely “Americanized” in his doo-rags, New Yorker jerseys, oversized pants and “gangster” gold chains, all the while condemning and accusing America of giant government conspiracies against his culture.

     It wasn’t even just Murad’s appearance that made it seem like he was more “American” than Muslim, it was his attitude. He was loud and disrespectful and swore in front of children, while Mustafa was quiet about everything. At the same time that Murad is trying to portray what a vigilante he is and how informed he is of current events regarding Muslims, he seemed ignorant of his own background and culture. Mustafa didn’t seem like a fighter for justice, like Murad supposedly was, but was very adamant about not straying from his cultural roots, which made him into the quiet hero of the movie.