US broadcasting company CBS released a trailer for its new sitcom United States of Al earlier in March, only for it to be greeted by a wave of criticism across social media.
The show, created by David Goetsch and Maria Ferrari, known for their work on The Big Bang Theory, tells the story of Afghan interpreter Awalmir, or "Al", who starts a new life in America and moves in with Riley, a combat Marine he worked with in Afghanistan.
Watch the trailer in full:
A spate of backlash was unleashed this weekend on the series, which is due to be released on Thursday, April 1.
In particular, people commented on the fact a non-Afghan actor was taking on the lead role. Adhir Kalyan, who plays Al, is South African of Indian descent. He has starred in a number of sitcoms since he bagged his first role in 2004, famously playing Timmy Patel in CBS' Rules of Engagement.
Executive producer Reza Aslan, who was born in Iran and moved to the US with his parents in 1979, was quick to defend the show, which he said "you can't judge" simply by watching the 30-second trailer. "Well, you shouldn't, at least," he wrote on Twitter.
Aslan – who is also a scholar, writer and TV host, with HBO's The Leftovers and documentary series The Secret Life of Muslims under his belt – replied to a flood of comments about the lack of authentic representation.
"There are five Afghan characters in the show and four of them are played by Afghans," he wrote in a tweet. "We saw 100 Afghan leads, but sitcom is a specialised genre and it’s very tough to play. But we also have four Afghan writers / producers on the show who’ve done a great job helping Adhir."
On another thread, Aslan writes: "Because it’s my show, I can make sure that it is written and produced by Afghans and Muslims. That it uses the format to reframe the perception that people have of both. That it portrays a Muslim Afghan protagonist in a true and honest light."
In reply to this, General Hospital actress Maysoon Zayid, an American who is of Palestinian descent, said: "Why not authentically cast?", also accusing the show of playing up to "white saviour stuff".
"You had the power to say no and didn't. I crave Muslim content, but this is offensive," she added.
Aslan, however, refers to the series as a "brown saviour show", while replying to one Twitter user who said they were "disappointed in both the trailer and your response so far".
“I’m just OK with your opinion,” he replied to another critic. “Just wish it was based on facts not feels. I get it. My whole life I’ve been misrepresented on TV. That’s why I came to Hollywood to change that.”
Another critic said the show "romanticises forces which killed, tortured and unlawfully imprisoned thousands of Afghan civilians".
Aslan, however, says the storyline is based in reality. “You are literally talking about a true story," he replied. "There are dozens and dozens of Afghan interpreters living with US soldiers. We know 'cause we actually spoke to them. This is literally their story.”
To prove his point, Aslan retweeted an article by The Washington Post, shared by non-profit No One Left Behind, about thousands of Afghans and Iraqis who are under threat for helping Americans, and who are hoping President Joe Biden will resettle them in the US. These are citizens who jeopardised their safety to work with the US military as interpreters during the war. Under US law, they are eligible for special immigrant visas, but only 50 are available per year, and so many have been left behind.
In an interview with the University of California, Riverside, where Aslan is a professor of creative writing, the producer said the US had "absolutely abandoned these interpreters to their fate, many of whom have since been killed by Al Qaeda or the Taliban". He added that in Afghanistan, there are between 17,000 and 25,000 interpreters who have applied for the visa "that we promised them, and who have heard nothing yet”.
Aslan said he believes that, apart from bringing this visa programme to light, United States of Al also highlights issues of racism and xenophobia towards immigrants prevalent in America today.
Joining the discussion on Twitter, fellow executive producer Mahyad Tousi said the show's characters and their stories have been "mined from deep research and interviews with dozens of folks who have walked in these shoes – in order to make nuanced commentary on how war affects people".
Starring alongside Kalyan in the show is Parker Young, who plays US Marine Riley. Dean Norris plays the soldier's father, while Kelli Goss is Vanessa, Riley's estranged wife.
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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Juvenile arthritis
Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Bullet%20Train
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
