There are 1.8 billion Muslims in the world with varied, rich, and compelling life experiences.
This Blueprint for Muslim Inclusion serves as a companion piece to the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative study Missing & Maligned: The Reality of Muslims in Popular Global Movies and draws from the real opportunity to engage Muslim communities further, unearth incredible stories, and ensure Muslims feel seen and empowered to tell their tales. Through extensive work with Muslim creatives and communities, Pillars Fund noticed a tremendous gap in the depiction of Muslims in the media and the daily experiences of Muslims. Pillars Fund partnered with the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, The Ford Foundation, and actor and activist Riz Ahmed and his production company Left Handed Films to release a study on the portrayal of Muslims in the 200 top-grossing movies released between 2017 and 2019 across the U.S., U.K., Australia, and New Zealand.
Out of 8,956 characters in these films, 1.6% were Muslim, highlighting a dire need to include Muslims in media. With this data in hand, a broad coalition of filmmakers, academics, community organizers, culture change strategists, actors, and producers came together to build a blueprint for inclusion that can fundamentally change the way Muslims are portrayed on screen, thereby influencing the way Muslims are perceived in their real lives. The coalition believes this blueprint can pave the way for a more inclusive and safer society for all, where diverse and rich life experiences are honored on and off the screen.