Sleeper Cell - a mixed review

I came across this show a few days ago while flipping through the channels. It caught my eye, and with the magic of Rogers OnDemand, I caught up on the first 5 episodes.

The story is about an under-cover, "devout" (I'll explain later why that's in quotes) Muslim FBI agent --Darwyn Al-Hakim-- who has infiltrated a terrorist cell operating in L.A. His mission is to help the U.S. bring down the cell. Al-Hakim is played by Micheal Ealy (Barbershop 1 & 2).

My first impression was, "Oh great, another tv series to make Muslims look bad."
The show is full of things that will only make the average trigger-happy American's paranoia even more deep-rooted. At the same time, as a Muslim, I find the show to be interesting because deals with Muslims and their interactions with non-Muslims, problems between the terrorists and the West, as well as conflicts amongst Muslims...which do somewhat hold true to reality.

As can be seen on the picture in my last post, the caption reads: Friends. Neighbours. Husbands. Terrorists.
This sends the message that even the average Muslim guy living next door to you... whom you've known for so long, could be plotting a terrorist attack. Sure enough, in the show, Abdallah "Bobby" Habib (a member of the group) has lived next door to Gayle (an American) and they've known each other for a long time.
Constantly showing the terrorists performing Salaah in various settings, and even doing wudhu in the washroom of a bowling alley, will only arouse suspicion and fear the next time someone witnesses this in real life.
That can be a problem, because having participated in Dawah & Tabligh, I know that we would sometimes stop to pray at a service center or a Tim Horton's en route to wherever it was that we were going. (My dad sometimes mentions an incident when he was in a similar situation back when Americans were taken hostage in Iran. The people observing them praying were frightened and called the cops, saying some of the "Ayatollah guys" are here.)

Farik al-Faris (played by Oded Fehr), the leader of the group is a businessman who goes by the name of Yossi. He passes himself off as a Sephardic Jew and also works at a synagogue so he can "get to know the enemy". (Sidenote: I think all the actors play their characters really well, especially Oded Fehr... seeing as to how he is Jewish in real life). Again, his character may create problems for Muslim businessmen who do not share his extremist views.

Even the homeless aren't left alone, because Farik's "superior" is shown as a Muslim with a big beard and raggedy clothing, sitting outside a homeless shelter. When Farik comes to see him, he's handed a USB disk containing blueprints and plans for attacking a sports stadium.

All of the members of the group are Muslims, fighting a "Holy" war for Islam, but don't seem too dedicated to the religion themselves (except for saying their prayers together). They won't drink alcohol or eat pork, but don't seem to have a problem with visiting strip clubs, child prostitution, or drugs. Even Christian, the French Muslim, scoffs at the idea of going to the Islamic Center of California to listen to a lecture. These portrayals may be a good thing, actually, because the people who know Islam's stance on these issues will be able to put A and B together and see that they don't add up. I would expect something different out of the under-cover Al-Hakim, since he is said to be "devout". He has a major issue with eating pork, since he runs to the bathroom and rinses out his mouth when he discovers there was bacon in his soup. He is also able to speak and understand the Arabic language, and can quote almost any Quranic verses off the top of his head. At the same time though, he doesn't see a big problem with fornicating with Gayle, because although he recognizes that it is a sin he doesn't seem to want to stop any time soon.

I find it interesting how they portray the conflicts among Muslims. When Sheik Zayd Abdal Malik from Yemen arrives to L.A. to issue a fatwa condemning the terrorists, Farik has a counter-fatwa issued from his superiors to have Abdal Malik killed. I liked how Abdal Malik instantly converts a jailed jihadist by simply asking him "What is the Greater Jihad?" (...to which the answer is: the jihad against your own desires) and recalls the well-known story of Ali in battle with a non-Muslim.

It was also interesting to see the conflict erupt between Farik's group and a Bosnian mujahid who refuses to join with the cell. The Bosnian says only military targets are legitimate but Farik dismisses that by asking "what about the innocents in Chechnya, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq?". Then they argue about who of the two is interpreting the Quran incorrectly. A fight ensues and the Bosnian is killed. Farik suggests burning his body in a barrel of diesel, but a member of the group protests, saying that he's a martyr and deserves a proper burial. And so, they give him all the proper burial rights, shroud & bury him, and then perform the funeral prayers.

These conflicts represent a very real problem amongst Muslims. The terrorists, in retaliation for the atrocities in Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan and Iraq against innocent people, justify the killing of innocent American civilians. Another group (the majority of Muslims) condemns the terrorists for their un-Islamic acts and perversion of the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah. In the show, the terrorists brand the Sheikh as an apostate. Then there's the Bosnian mujahid who fights in the name of Islam, but only against their enemy's military targets. He brands the terrorists as baghi (rebels), yet the terrorists still regard him as a martyr.

There's a lot of pluses and minuses about Sleeper Cell. I guess you can say I like and dislike the show at the same time. I've only seen 5 out of 10 episodes so far, and it will be interesting to see how the other half of the series unfolds.

Now I end with some quotes from the show:
(paraphrasing some of them)

"He's not Muslim, he's Sikh. They're like the Crips and Blood. They've been slaughtering each other for 300 years."

"We're Americans, we can spy on whoever we want."

1: "Eating pork is against my faith."
2: "What did your prophet have against pigs?"

"In 620, Mecca was run by infidels. Mark my words, in 50 years every school in America will be closed for Ramadan."

"He used to be a skinhead. Then he found your prophet instead of Jesus."

(conversation between two of the guys on an airplane, after one of them orders a Kosher meal):
1: "Kosher, because it's closest to Halal?"
2: "No, because they serve you first, and it tastes better than the airline crap. It just goes to show how even in the little things, the Jews always come out on top."