--- title: The Happy Muslims Who Confuse You | TIME description: When columnist Mona Eltahawy talks about the Islamic world, she often has to compete with the usual stereotypes canonical: https://time.com/video/UzWTZ1Pg/ og:title: The Happy Muslims Who Confuse You og:description: When columnist Mona Eltahawy talks about the Islamic world, she often has to compete with the usual stereotypes og:url: https://time.com/video/UzWTZ1Pg/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/UzWTZ1Pg/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Happy Muslims Who Confuse You twitter:description: When columnist Mona Eltahawy talks about the Islamic world, she often has to compete with the usual stereotypes twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/UzWTZ1Pg/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # The Happy Muslims Who Confuse You > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: The Happy Muslims Who Confuse You [Watch (HLS stream): The Happy Muslims Who Confuse You](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UzWTZ1Pg.m3u8) (3:01)  _Published 2009-04-13. When columnist Mona Eltahawy talks about the Islamic world, she often has to compete with the usual stereotypes_ --- Jul 27, 2023 1:08 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Female Muslim Athletes Paving the Way](/video/YgpXHji5/) ### Female Muslim Athletes Paving the Way [A Muslim Miss USA: Bikinis and Bombshells](/video/vMp36sd9/) ### A Muslim Miss USA: Bikinis and Bombshells [Muslims Online Encourage Debate, Not Hate](/video/JhnpcAF8/) ### Muslims Online Encourage Debate, Not Hate --- ## Transcript >> There's something wrong with the pictures coming out at Pakistan these days. Ever Since Pakistani president, Asif Ali Zardari, reinstated the country's chief justice, I've been trying to figure out what it was, and then it hit me. Happiness, joy, celebration-- How often do we see pictures of happy Muslim men? And what a relief too that they were from Pakistan. I've developed a theory about the Muslims we see in the media who are usually from Pakistan, angry bearded Muslim men is the favorite. Whenever the Muslim world is supposed to be upset or offended, invariably, that story is illustrated by images of angry bearded Muslim men, marching, usually in Pakistan, shouting, fists raised in righteous anger and burning something, an American flag and Israeli flag, preferably both. His female counterpart is covered in black, Muslim woman. She seemed never heard. Visible only in her invisibility under that black chador, burqa, face veil, etcetera. In these images, you've conveyed everything you want to say about Muslims. The men are angry, dangerous and want to hurt us. The women are just covered in black. Well, there are some Muslim men and women who fit both such descriptions. They are by no means the majority, and they are utterly insufficient in describing the diversity of views, appearances, and attitudes among Muslims. They make for sexy television, and enticing photos, and they're my biggest competitors and nemesis when I give lectures and appear on television. >> The O'Reilly Factor. >> My first US TV appearance was on FOX News' The O'Reilly Factor, talked about trial by fire. -[ unk ], how should America deal with the Arab world? >> After the usual back and forth yelling, some viewers sent me email asking, " Are you sure you're a Muslim? Where is the head gear ?" Others wanted to know why I spoke English so well. Clearly, I was not delivering on a covered and black Muslim woman that central casting usually offers to viewers, which brings me back to the happy Pakistanis, men and women in on newspapers these days. While I'm the last person to deny the dangers of radicals in the Muslim world, I also enthusiastically fly the flag for those of us who call ourselves liberal secular Muslims. In other words, I live to confuse you by subverting the stereotypes of Muslims you see and hear from. Go on, take a look at me. 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