bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

Muslims are facing increased threats in the United States after the release of the movie American Sniper, an American Arab organisation said in letters to director Clint Eastwood and star Bradley Cooper.
The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) said its members had become targets of "violent threats" since early last week, before American Sniper went into general release. The letter said Eastwood and Cooper, the film's producer and star, could bolster the ADC's message of tolerance.
"It is our opinion that you could play a significant role in assisting us in alleviating the danger we are facing," said the letter, dated January 21.
The film, a box-office hit, has been nominated for six Academy Awards, including best picture.
The ADC said it was working with the FBI and police to assess the threats.
The film tells the story, both at war and at home of Chris Kyle, a Navy Seal sniper.
His 160 kills in Iraq are considered the highest of any soldier in US military history.
Some critics have said the film glorifies war and sanitises Kyle, who called Muslims "savages" in his memoir.
Kyle was killed by a disgruntled US veteran at a Texas gun range in 2013.
ADC president Samer Khalaf said on Saturday that it did not make sense to call for a boycott given the film's box-office success. "If we boycott it, it will only cause people to want to see it more," he said.
The Washington-based ADC asked Arabs and Muslims to send them copies of threatening messages they had received.
More than 100 have been collected, all from social media. "Nice to see a movie where the Arabs are portrayed for who they really are - vermin scum intent on destroying us," said one Twitter post collected by the ADC.
Jack Horner, a spokesman for Warner Brothers, the studio releasing the film, said in a statement that the company, a unit of Time Warner, "denounces any violent, anti-Muslim rhetoric, including that which has been attributed to viewers" of the film.
He added: "Hate and bigotry have no place in the important dialogue that this picture has generated about the veteran experience."
Spokesmen for Eastwood and Cooper had no immediate response to requests for comment.
Reuters, Agence France-Presse


Muslims facing increased threats in the United States after release of American Sniper film

American Sniper is nominated for Oscar Academy Awards' Best Picture. Photo: AFP

Amid rising anti-Muslim sentiment, Germany must walk a fine line

Illustration: Lau Ka Kuen

There are nearly 4.8 million Muslims in Germany as of 2010.

News

World

Muslims are facing increased threats in the United States after the release of the movie American Sniper, an American Arab organisation said in letters to director Clint Eastwood and star Bradley Cooper.
