Ben Shapiro, pro-Israel blogger and co-founder of the far-right news site The Daily Wire, announced the trailer for his new film, Run Hide Fight: Infidels, describing it as the “biggest, most audacious, funniest and most kickass film” his outlet has ever released. Shapiro posted on X that “the threat of radical Islam is real” and accused Hollywood of having “refused to tell that story for three decades.”

However, critics argue that Shapiro’s claim overlooks Hollywood’s long history of portraying Muslims negatively. Since before the 1990s, films have often depicted Muslims as terrorists. For example, the 1994 film True Lies features Arab terrorists plotting to detonate a nuclear weapon in the United States, while Executive Decision (1996) shows Muslim terrorists redirecting a plane and associates Islamic prayer and Quranic imagery with terrorism.

In 2003, American writer Jack Shaheen published Reel Bad Arabs, a study reviewing over 900 films featuring Arab characters, documenting persistent negative stereotypes.

The trailer for Run Hide Fight: Infidels centers on a college campus overtaken by “radical Islamic terrorists” who seize a Gaza solidarity encampment, establish a so-called “makeshift caliphate,” impose “Sharia law,” and execute “infidels.” The film also juxtaposes ISIL (ISIS) imagery and 9/11 footage with scenes from 2024 college protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza, framing a real political movement alongside fictional extremist violence.

An American Muslim woman and movie-goer described Shapiro’s statement as “pretty delusional,” noting that Hollywood has long portrayed Muslims as villains. She also referenced Shapiro’s past inflammatory remarks about Arabs.

This development highlights ongoing debates about representation and the political framing of Muslim characters in American media.

Sources