Islamophobic Bus Ads in US Revamped with Marvel's Kamala Khan

San Francisco: Disparaging advertisements targeting Muslims are being covered with pictures of Marvel's famed Muslim superhero on San Francisco buses, a report published on  ToyBox said.

Advertisement campaigns promoting hatred against certain groups or a particular gender category are not news to the majority in the United States, but those who were under the impression that comics have no social or empirical advantage should think twice.

Posters carrying slogans about "Islamic-Jew Hatred" have been plastered with messages of acceptance and courtesy on behalf of Marvel’s signature Muslim superhero character, Ms Marvel.

The original posters put up on buses focus on what their campaigners consider "Muslim hatred" .

One of the ads equated Muslims with the Nazis as a photo on a poster showing Adolf Hitler in discussion with former Arab leader Haj Amin al-Husseini indicated.

The aid given to Muslims countries is also firmly condemned in one of the posters with text reading:

"Two- thirds of all US aid goes to Islamic countries. Stop Racism. End all aid to Islamic countries."

The group behind the adverts is the American division of the Freedom Defence Initiative who are notoriously labeled as a “Hate Group” especially in the United Kingdom.

One of the posters reveals blatant support of the group for Israel in its war against Palestine with the punchline of a poster reading in bold words: "Support Israel, Defeat Jihad".

In San Francisco, a city celebrated for its liberal values and tolerance towards minorities, hate campaigns are rarely successful.

This particular campaign saw its end with the arrival of Kamala Khan.

Kamala Khan is a Marvel character who came in the limelight for being the American publishing giant’s debut Muslim superhero and one who was titled “Ms Marvel” in 2013.

Writer of Ms.Marvel, G. Willow Wilson, also saw the advertisements:

Campaigns promoting intolerance against Muslims are on the rise, especially in Europe, after terrorists attacked the office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people, mostly cartoonists.

The Charlie Hebdo massacre has triggered fresh debates on global freedom of speech and the right to ridicule religious figures. Correspondingly, an overlay message on a hateful advert on a San- Francisco bus read: "Free Speech isn't a license to spread hate."

 


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Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
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