Should television dramas show Muslims as terrorists? In a divided world, do such series have a wider duty than merely to entertain?
These are among the questions being asked after the star of Homeland, Mandy Patinkin, said that the programme had made an 'error' in its coverage of Muslims so far.
Patinkin, who plays the CIA veteran Saul Berenson, explained: 'In all kinds of entertainment – movies, television – there are always the bad guys; the cowboys and Indians, then the Russians were the bad guys, the Nazis were the bad guys. Now it seems like Muslim "terrorists" are the bad guys'.
He added: 'So, inadvertently, because it's an action show, it's an on-the-edge-of-your-seat political drama that Homeland is, unintentionally we were not helping the Muslim community, and we take responsibility for it. And I know I can speak for the writers when they want to right that error that happened because of storytelling.'
The long-running Showtime drama, which is now in its sixth season, has long been accused of racism, Islamophobia and stereo-types about Islam and the Middle East, with Muslim characters commonly dividing into two categories: terrorist or US collaborator.
In the last series, a graffiti artist managed to sneak the phrase 'Homeland is racist' into the background of one of the episodes.
But whatever its faults, the show has been praised by viewers for being eerily realistic when it comes to its themes, which include the Syrian refugee crisis and terrorist threats in Europe.
The current season, which airs its finale on April 9, shows the troubled but brilliant CIA field operative Carrie Mathison (played by Claire Danes) back in the US after her posting in Germany (where, incidentally, she flirted with the Catholic faith). On home turf, she is now working with a foundation to provide aid to Muslims.
As a drama series, Homeland is not alone in its controversial portrayal of Muslims, and just as it appears to tone this down, another series is back on familiar territory.
The (even more) populist, post 9-11 show 24, which famously starred Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer and has been dormant for several years, is back – without Sutherland, but with Muslim terrorists as the bad guys.
The new hero of 24: Legacy is Eric Carter, played by Corey Hawkins, whose character has just returned from the Middle East after carrying out the assassination of a terrorist leader, Sheik Ibrahim Bin-Khalid. Now Carter, his family and his country face revenge attacks. Trying to stop these, as it happens, is the Homeland actress Miranda Otto, who plays the former head of the fictional CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit), Rebecca Ingram.
The decision by the writers of 24 to revert to an Islamist terrorist theme comes after years in which its producers, Fox – owned by Rupert Murdoch – came under fire for its crude portrayal not just of Muslim terrorists but also of the apparent success of torture.
Bauer, after all, tortured and killed countless enemies in 24. Some have joked that Donald Trump may have made his recent claim that torture 'works' as a result of watching too much 24.
In 2005, as Islamic terrorists attacked a nuclear power plant in the US, Fox ran an on-air disclaimer, reminding viewers that the Muslim-American community renounces terrorism.
To be fair to 24, it has used all kinds of backgrounds for terrorists, from Russians to Serbs to Africans to Americans themselves.
Now, though, the spin-off programme has relied on one of the old 24's most classic themes for twists and turns – potential turncoat traitors – and a Muslim is this time the target: a female aide to presidential hopeful John Donovan (played by Jimmy Smits).
This has led Vanity Fair to devote a lengthy article examining how 24 Legacy relates to Muslims against the background of Donald Trump's travel and migration ban. The article concludes that 'it might have been nice to see a Muslim who is neither a terrorist nor suspected of being one helping to make America safe again.'
For his part, Patinkin of Homeland fame encouraged Trump to be more accepting of immigrants from war-torn countries.
'He wants people to like him and to like America and to make America great again. America will be made great again by nourishing and encouraging people's moral and ethical nature. Encouraging their human-beingness, not their fear,' the 64-year-old actor said.
'I beg the leaders of the world, of the United States, of the European community, to stop being afraid, to start working together, to listen to the lives of these souls that are no different than your own family, who are desperately in need and to work in solidarity with their moral and ethical code and nature that I know they have.'
