Fighting stories with stories

Scott Atran is an anthropologist who studies the kids who keep Al Qaeda and its spinoffs going. When Atran went back to Washington...

Scott Atran is an anthropologist who studies the kids who keep Al Qaeda and its spinoffs going. When Atran went back to Washington to brief National Security Council and Homeland Security staff in January this year, he went armed 8212; with comic books. He wanted to show that nothing cooked up by the Bush administration8217;s warmongers and spinmeisters comes close to delivering the kind of positive messages you can find in a commercial action adventure series called 8220;The 998221;, with hulking fighters and sultry enforcers.

Did I mention that these are Muslim superheroes?

A graduate of Tufts University8230; with a triple major in clinical psychology, English literature and history, the 37-year-old Al-Mutawa also has a keen sense of symbols. Mainstream comics in the West have drawn heavily on Judeo-Christian narratives and iconography, he says. Why not create a cast of characters whose powers echo Muslim history and traditions? The core conceit of the series is that when the Mongols sacked8230; Baghdad in A.D. 1258, their main target was its magnificent library. They 8220;planned not only to conquer the greatest empire the world had ever known, but to eradicate its hope 8212; its potential 8212; thereby destroying its future,8221; the narrator tells us in boldface block letters. 8220;That would require more than sword and club, sinew and blood. That would require destroying the empire8217;s true base of power8230; that would require destroying its knowledge.8221; The essential conflict in the story is an X-Men-like rivalry between Dr Ramzi, who wants to gather together the Noor Stones and their bearers to do good, and Mughal, who wants to gather them together for, ahem, world domination.

In fact, these comics are tapping into many of the same themes exploited by bin Laden8230; The message that Islamic civilisation once was a mighty realm of learning and science is dear to jihadi firebrands8230; 8220;The 998217;8221;s circulation is in the tens of thousands at this point, while bin Laden8217;s violent message gets out to billions. But comic books are 8220;likely to be a lot more helpful than our bullets and bombs in attracting young people away from jihadi cool,8221; says Atran. They might even help convince Washington that 8220;knowledge is the true base of power.8221; But maybe that8217;s hoping for too much.

Excerpted from Christopher Dickey8217;s 8216;Jihadi Cool8217; in the latest Newsweek