For those unfamiliar, the Council on American-Islamic Relations typically doesn’t look favorably upon television programs, movies, books, and articles that address any connection between terrorism and radical Muslim extremism. With that in mind, Fox sent a statement to CAIR on Wednesday concerning recent and past episodes of the hit series “24” (hat tip to LGF):

24 is a heightened drama about anti-terrorism. After 5 seasons, the audience clearly understands this, and realizes that any individual, family, or group (ethnic or otherwise) that engages in violence is not meant to be typical.

The show takes great pains to ensure that all characterizations are seen in the overall context of the series. "Bad guys" may ultimately be good and those that seem to be guardians may in fact be the worst kind of criminals. Even the show's hero, Jack Bauer, is seriously flawed. It's that acknowledgement of the diverse nature of the show's characters that makes 24 such a compelling series.

Over the past several seasons, the villains have included shadowy Anglo businessmen, Baltic Europeans, Germans, Russians, Islamic fundamentalists, and even the (Anglo-American) president of the United States. Over the course of the series, no ethnic group has been singled out for persecution or blame. In fact, the show has made a concerted effort to show ethnic, religious and political groups as multi-dimensional, and political issues are debated from multiple viewpoints.