it was kind of cute, no laugh out loud moments, but no boring lulls either.

it wrapped up the lesson learned, and had the familiar respolution neatly tied up at the end, all in all a regular american sitcom experience.

welcome to america! land of bad accents and mediocre comedic talents!

i think the name itself is a deliberate provoker- because the kid isnt really that alien at all, is he? which i think is the point.

the accent couldnt have been too realistic though- it is not an easily discernible one to the dull american ear-

this is a sad but true comment on my own and my countrymens international deafness-

once i went to a khutba- and on the way out someone on the street asked me what it was about- i replied, “i dont know, it was in urdu.”
a gentleman behind me chided me and proclaimed- “no, it was in english!”

im glad the attempt was made, ive been saying for the longest that muslims need to take the reins and define themselves instead of letting others define them.

so heres to living and learning about our differences

I think it’s nice that you wrote this article. It’s clear your objective is to bring a fair view of all religions. It’s easier to hate something foreign than to get to know it and respect it.

I somewhat agree with the above post. They named the kid a hindu name and the accent that he has is TYPICAL of when someone with an American accent tries to do an Indian/Pakistani accent. Granted Indo-Pakistanis DO have accents, it’s just A LOT different than what Hollywood thinks it is. As for the Shahada, it was recited terribly. I think they even cut it off, but considering the kid isn’t Muslim to begin with, we should give him some credit.

At first I thought the idea of this show, along with it’s name (Aliens – implying something weird and scary), was a bad idea. However, after watching an episode because my husband made me, I have to say it’s not THAT bad. It’s the best we can ask for at this point. Coming from Canada, I find it quite amazing and scary how much the American media likes to protray anyone who isn’t a white American as bizarre and uncivilized. We don’t need to alienate ourselves from the rest of the world. We live in a Global community whether someone likes it or not.

Thanks for writing the article!
Best of luck!

The show is amazingly accurate in its Muslim details

Andrea,
I respect your take on this, but I take some umbrage at your characterization of this show. Most people I know take this to be yet another lame attempt at bringing Muslims to the screen– its more like Muslim lampoons to the screen.

I am not sure how you got the impression that it was “accurate”, considering that the show’s producers were not even able to put a Muslim name on the kid! By the way, Raja is a Hindu name.

Moreover, if you ask a Pakistani like myself, I found the whole cultural shtick and the odd moments not only NOT funny, but also unrealistic and stupid. Pakistanis don’t act this way… neither do they speak this way. So, when American kids do come across a “REAL” Pakistani exchange student, they won’t even recognize the connection. I also wonder how many kids will use the show to make fun of newly minted Pakistani schoolers in America.

My 2 cents.