Muslims complain of 'bad guy' movie image  By Paul Majendie
LONDON - Western movies from Raiders of the Lost Ark to Aladdin
promote negative stereotypes of Muslims by casting them all too
often as villains, a British Muslim pressure group said today.
"There is no such thing as a Muslim good guy," said Arzu Merali,
co-author of a report by the Islamic Human Rights Commission
that argued that movies played a crucial role in fostering a
crude and exaggerated image.  The commission's study, based on
soundings taken from almost 1,250 British Muslims, also found
that 62 per cent felt the media was "Islamophobic" and 14 per
cent called it racist.  "Cinema, both in Hollywood and Britain,
has helped to demonise Muslims. They are portrayed as violent
and backward. That reinforces prejudices," Merali told Reuters.
"This stretches back before the 9/11 attacks in the United
States", said Merali, head of research at the campaigning body.
The government has commissioned studies into attitudes towards
racial and religiou