CAIR Gets Sand In Their Panties Over FX’s “Tyrant”

A few days ago, I saw a very slickly-edited teaser for an upcoming television show on the FX network called “Tyrant.” And where the movie “The Dictator” was purely satire, the dramatic dialogue and exotic settings promised “Tyrant” to be anything but and definitely worth my attention.  But to hear the ever-PC butt-hurt Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), this is nothing but a vehicle to further display muslim stereotypes to American audiences.

“Tyrant,” a 10-episode series from the FX network, tells the story of Bassam “Barry” Al-Fayeed (Adam Rayner) from a fictional war-torn Middle Eastern country.  Picture this: A successful pediatrician of Middle Eastern descent resides in picturesque Pasadena, CA with his wife, Molly, and their two children.  Barry happens to be the son of a despised Middle-Eastern dictator and has been in self-imposed exile in the U.S. for the past 20 years–something only his immediate family knows.  Just when life for the Al-Fayeeds is going well, family drama pops off when Barry agrees to attend the wedding of his nephew back in the ancestral homeland of Abbudin. It’s bad enough weddings bring out the crazy in people but this wedding brings out a special kind of crazy for Barry.  The ‘crazy’ pops off when Barry is unprepared for his father’s desire for him to step in and lead the family and the nation.  If the LA Daily News is to be believed, “Tyrant” could be the next must-watch TV series. Going from what I’ve read and seen I’m inclined to bet they are indeed right.

Enter the perpetually-offended, professional agitators over at CAIR.

It’s bad enough CAIR’s whining got Disney to cancel the pilot of what could have been a very good adventure television series. Now they are resorting to asking television critics to “report” Muslim stereotyping in “Tyrant.”  For what reason? To what end? Bully another network into caving to their PC demands?  Blacks, Latinos and other ethnic groups in America have had to put up with stereotypes in film and TV so what makes CAIR think Muslims have the right to not be offended by stereotypes?

“Tyrant”  has the potential to entertain Americans with powerful story-lines and engaging characters while enlighten Americans to the nuances of Middle-Eastern culture. However, it is counterproductive when groups like CAIR are seemingly hell-bent on screaming “Islamophobia” and “Muslim stereotyping” every time the entertainment industry seeks to bring that culture into American entertainment.  “Tyrant” has the capability to give us some good drama and solid storytelling. FX also happens to have another hit show called “The Americans” about two Russian KGB spies. I didn’t hear Americans of Russian background protesting that show.

I had already planned to be in front of my 60-inch HDTV with popcorn and my subwoofer blaring when this show premiers.  Hearing how much sand CAIR has up their panties over it just makes me want to watch it even more.  And you should too.  For America.

“Tyrant” premieres June 24th at 10pm on FX.