POLL: Should JJ Abrams cast a Muslim in STAR TREK 2?

I ask for this reason: Roddenberry deliberately created STAR TREK to depict a future where Russians, Americans, blacks, whites and even our former enemies the Japanese could all work together as equals, as respected colleagues. It was a bit of a morality play, not at all dissimilar to the way Serling used science fiction allegory on TTZ to address larger social issues that would have been difficult to talk about on network TV otherwise

Roddenberry wanted to show that in the future, we've moved past all the petty hatreds of the present. Humanity is post war, post poverty, post race and post nation state.

Now, I never really watched that much STTOS. I've only ever really gotten into STTNG and STDS9 in depth, but from what I understand: in the future, religion doesn't exist anymore -- at least on earth. People no longer care about the dogmas of the past.

I wonder, in this age of dispiriting racist rhetoric towards Muslim Americans (and muslims in general), would it be a good idea for JJ Abrams to use his STAR TREK sandbox as a soap box of sorts to foist a Muslim hero on America?

I think it's exactly what Roddenberry would have done.

Is it more important to merely "reboot" existing characters in slavish tribute to a cult TV show, or to build on that foundation in a way that makes STAR TREK not only relevant again but culturally important?

When the actress who played Uhura was considering quitting the show, MLK called her up and told her to reconsider: it was critical for America to see here there on the ship working alongside white men

I wonder, if the director of PARK 51 could be reached for comment on the matter, would he perhaps endorse a Muslim recruitment drive for Starfleet?

Now, I know most people on CHUD are pretty enlightened. However, I can forsee alot of fanboy angst if Abrams were to force the existing crew to share the spotlight with a new cast member. They could well feel that one of their favorites was getting sidelined in order to give a (gasp!) new character screen time

What say you?

PS I'm aware of Dr Bashir but that was a long time ago and quite frankly I didn't even realize Alexander Siddig was Sundanese till a few years back

That is pretty much meaningless today though. Where was the whole "ground zero mosque" thing when STIV came out? It would only be worthwhile if we're talking about a current blockbuster. Remember, just last year we had Jake Gyllenhal as the Prince of Persia. Trek should show that it walks the walk

I think featuring a Muslim at this point in American history would be a powerful gesture, since ST2 will be a movie that many many people will see including young folk -- who are the future, don't you know

Right, I'm not asking for someone to unfurl a prayer rug on the bridge and ask the computer which way is mecca; I'm merely saying that TREK should cast a visibly middle eastern looking person. To the people who take issue with Muslim Americans, showing them that someone with dark skin and those features can still fight with the good guys would I think be a worthy thing to do

And.. TREK is still essentially about Roddenberry's vision. TREK still did well in part in 2009 because of Obama optimism and the bright vision of the future TREK represents

Now as the country and it's politics sink into tribalism, I think pulling a Roddenberry with the next film's casting could be a brilliant move

I thought of him, but he's on screen for merely a minute or so. Enough to demonstrate that yes, in the future there are middle eastern people in Starfleet, but not enough time to force middle America to grudgingly learn to like and respect a Muslim in a traditional 'good guy' role. I'm talking about creating a new cast member to be a main driving force in the story as much as Uhura, Scotty or Chekov. Once the public is in the theater to watch your TREK movie, you should make that captive audience sit through fight scenes ETC where a muslim is fighting with the crew and has their back

And it wouldn't be against cannon because of the whole 'alternate timeline' thing

Devin said the exact same thing. That the fact the film was embraced by the public had to do partly with the national mood which was optimistic after the election/Inauguration. It's not an absurd statement by any means

And no but thanks always nice to hear!

There would be no need to dwell on the fact he's muslim, he'd be just like any other character.

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I'd have to disagree. Trek's always made room for extra characters. You could have the movie be about some super secret mission, in which case you'd need more people if you were to split the crew up with some people going on an away team
No, assuredly not
It's not any more "on the nose" than ensign 'Chekov, Pavel Andreivich' was in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis
I'd be down for that... if the actor who played said Romulan was of middle eastern origin. Actually, I think that would be really cool. Good idea, Neoolong.

I'm by no means a TREK expert, but I'd very much doubt Islam still exists in the 24th century (or christianity either for that matter). Too much scientific progress would have been made for any human to actually take the bronze age religion seriously.

When I said "muslim", as I explained before I was basically talking about someone who is demonstrably middle eastern looking

The people who protested PARK 51 did not disgtinguish between Muslims and "muslim looking" people. I read a story about how there were christian Americans of middle eastern descent who were chased away with screams of "GO HOME!" when they tried to protest against the mosque

If Abrams were to cast someone whom the tea party crowd would look at and think "Muslim" even if the actual character he was portraying was someone who grew up in an age where religion has died out, I think it would be a bold move

It's not the crew members of the enterprise who need a lesson about working with arabs/persians/ETC, it's the audience. Just have the crew working with one like it's no big deal, and make the bigots at home adapt to the fact that someone with those features is a trusted officer well liked by Kirk and the others

... though I also really like Neoolong's idea, should they choose to be more 'on the nose' about it

Because while of course anyone could convert to Islam, that's obviously much different from casting a middle eastern actor given the fact that middle eastern people are the center of much anxiety in America's psyche. Educated people know that not all muslims look the same, but we're making our point to less than educated people so you have to be clear with your visuals - it's a movie after all

This is a lovely technicality, but if you showed an indonesian person to most of the people who are protesting PARK 51, they'd have no clue he was Muslim. Just like Chekov was a broad stereotype of a Russian, in order to make the Muslim thing clear to ignorant America, you cast a middle eastern actor.

You're right, talking out loud about an islamic heritage would be horrible and feel shoe horned in. Therefore the only way to make the point is by casting with an ethnicity that Americans universally identify as "Muslim"


I addressed him in my first post.

Rath I agree you'd need to be careful about how you introduce him into the narrative, that's kind of a given. I'm not advocating turning TREK into an afternoon special on race relations. There are so many scenarios in TREK possible that I'm sure you can come up with a new cool character. It's been done before

You're probably right too that something along the lines of the Jefferson Bible would endure as far as current religions go, a 'just the non psychotic philosophy' edition. I assume it would be applied to peoples lives that way though, according to cultural traditions: as philosophy and not religion.

And.. I don't think the Vulcans as Jews thing ever really made sense outside of this current reboot. Keep in mind Vulcan's relationship with Romulus, ETC. It just doesn't fit. Vulcans were pretty much one of the supreme species in the galaxy who went about introducing themselves to new cultures and helped them advance. (though obviously the holocaust allegory now makes sense in the new series)

PS Glad you like my idea in general
He was actually one of my favorites on DS9, I'm just saying that a character on a little watched TV show from 15 years ago is different from a new character in a current blockbuster.


EDIT: And Neoolong, as I said I'd give him* equal screen time to everyone else, or nearly so

*I think it would be important for the character to be male, because America is terrified of 20 something Arab men, and that makes for the most potent imagery

"Should JJ Abrams cast a middle eastern looking person in STAR TREK 2?" is a horrible thread title. I'm trying to be punchy with my titles. Then I explain my point in depth in my post.


PS The stone cutters would never have survived WW3, what with the loss of their sacred text in the mid 1990s

That's not what it's about. It's about going with the strongest possible image for the film. For most of the past decade, when Americans have seen 20 something men of middle eastern descent in movies, they've been playing terrorists. To have one on screen in a Star Fleet uniform is a powerful symbol

I don't know how to explain myself any more plainly than that, so I'll just stop talking I guess. Suggesting that it would somehow be more correct to go with an Indonesian because of that nation's status as the most populous muslim country is just missing the point though IMHO. The goal should be to dispel racial hatred towards middle easterners, not give rednecks a lesson in demographics.

I feel like people are not reading anything I write. I explicitly stated that I wanted to simply do exactly what You've said. Cast an actor of middle eastern descent, make no mention of his racial background overt or otherwise, and make him a main character next time out.

I went as far as to suggest that I don't think Islam even exists in the TREK verse, so I don't know how you could believe that I'd desire any showing of "tenets of faith". Jiminy Cricket, I said that they should just cast a person who is obviously muslim (As in, Middle eastern) and not say a darned thing about it! How much more subtle can you get? You're the one who suggested an entire war on terror parable with the Romulans.

Great news, Devin! Thanks for the heads up.

Would you care to weigh in on this TREK debate we're now engaged in?