Research

A study conducted by researchers at Columbia University measured Arab media portrayals before and after 9/11 in a effort to compare the media's climate toward the Arab community. In "Muslim Americans in the News before and
after 9-11," Brigitte L. Nacos and Oscar Torres-Reyna note that negative stereotypes originated well before the events of September 2011. This consider this so important that they hypothesize that Arab presence in the media post-9/11 actually had a net-positive effect on existing stereotypes. Specifically, the report states that media outlets tended to emphasize the need for understanding of the Muslim American culture and "assurance that most Muslims have nothing to do with terrorism and that Islam does not preach violence."
I enjoyed that this report tended to pay more attention to the optimistic side of things. It seems to look forward to a brighter future for Arab media portrayals.

Here, Danny Pudi portrays Abed Nadir, a Polish-Palestinian/American character on NBC's Community.

Next, I read a chapter written by Evelyn Alsultany about Arab American portrayals in the media. In her piece, The Prime-Time Plight of Arab American Muslim Americans after 9/11, she explore the boom in coverage that occurred after 9/11. She focuses the growth of the Arab American portrayals, as opposed to what had previously been mostly Arab portrayals. Her chapter proceeds to analyze in detail specific examples across many types of media and from many different networks. One main point is the idea that the media tends to hide behind the notion of imminent danger in order to justify racist prejudices.
I like how she appropriates a large amount of influence to the media. She recognizes the importance of 'how' things are talked about to people.

Amir Saeed's article, "Media, Racism and Islamophobia: The Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Media," provides an international perspective on the issue of Muslim media portrayals. He explores the prevalence of Muslim coverage in British press. His deems that, for the most part, the British engage in "othering" Arabs, claiming them to be "un-British". He goes on to contrast how the media considers the Arab community against how the Arab community consider themselves.
This international perspective really demonstrates that this issue of negativity in media coverage is not an isolated incident.

This video shows a light-hearted, comedic portrayal of Arab Americans in the media.