UPF engages the Hollywood community through its initiative called MOST, Muslims on Screen and Television. MOST is a non-profit, cross-cultural resource center that provides complimentary research, information and expert consultations, to TV and film writers and producers on any of their characters or storylines regarding Muslims, Islam or the Middle East.
Started in 2007 by partners from the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute, Unity Productions Foundation, Gallup The Muslim West Facts Project, the Alliance of Civilizations Media Fund, and The Russell Family Foundation’s One Nation initiative, MOST has been meeting the research and production needs of entertainment writers and producers for eight years. We are here to meet the critical need for increased understanding and accurate representation, especially during this period of great tension and mutual suspicion between the United States and the Muslim World.
As Muslim themes and characters appear more often in television and film, writers and producers face a complex challenge: presenting multidimensional characters and stories that transcend stereotypes. MOST invites you to use our resources freely.
Our goals are to:
- Provide the Hollywood creative community with resources and accurate information on Muslims and regions with majority Muslim populations.
- Engage thought leaders and the entertainment community in an on-going dialogue about the United States and the Muslim world.
MOST has two key components:
- We staff a resource center available by Internet and telephone, which provides fast access to facts, polls, research, and experts-about Islam and the Muslim world. Our website features a frequently refreshed, searchable “Storybank” containing hundreds of curated stories from the press and reliable journals worldwide, providing writers and producers character-driven stories at the touch of a cursor free of charge.
- We host seminars and special events that bring key policymakers and opinion leaders together with writers, creative executives, agents, and actors to discuss issues related to the Muslim world.
To learn more visit Muslims on Screen and Television.
