Yahoo News Bodyguard finale accused of Islamophobia by viewers
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Bodyguard episode 6.
Bodyguard has come under fire from viewers accusing the series finale of Islamaphobia.
In episode 6, Nadia – played by Anjli Mohindra – was revealed to be a major part in the bombings, working with Luke Aitkens and building all of the explosive devices. "I am an engineer. I am a jihadi," she said.
Although the twist attempted to subvert one particular stereotype about Muslim women, this problematic development served to reinforce other negative and extremely harmful stereotypes about Muslims. And there were many people, who pointed this out on social media.
"The worst part is I bet those minds involved in this 'surprising' finale thought they were being really smart by 'challenging' the stereotype of oppressed Muslim woman by instead depicting her with er... another stereotype of being a terrorist. No. Just no," said author Shelina Janmohamed.
The worst part is I bet those minds involved in this “surprising” finale thought they were being really smart by “challenging” the stereotype of oppressed Muslim woman by instead depicting her with er... another stereotype of being a terrorist. No. Just no. #Bodyguard @theriztest
- Shelina Janmohamed (@loveinheadscarf) September 23, 2018
Quite annoyed with the #Bodyguard finale tbf. Just feels like lazy writing. Inevitably perpetuating the same stereotype we thought it was shattering and further fuelling islamaphobia / hatred towards Muslims and (by extension) the entire South Asian community. Nice work.
- Antonio Aakeel (@AntonioAakeel) September 23, 2018
IMO, many Muslim women I know say they feel oppressed and hurt after being publicly harassed and called terrorists and other horrible things. Making the Muslim woman a terrorist, I feel, gives white nationalists and radicals even more fuel and “examples” #bodyguard
- Ingrid (@ingridgc92) September 23, 2018
The disgraceful and dangerous portrayal of Muslim women as manipulative terrorists in BBC's #Bodyguard should not go unchallenged. It is lazy representations like this which create and sustain Islamophobic violence against Muslim women.#bodyguard
- Michael Mumisa (@MichaelMumisa) September 23, 2018
Digital Spy has reached out to the BBC for comment.
Mohindra recently defended the way Nadia is written, calling her a "multi-layered" character.
"This character felt real – she wasn't a plot device. I was able to give her a personal backstory which I then felt compelled to bring to life," she said. "The role wasn't black or white (or even brown) – it was multi-layered and complex. Just like life."
Creator Jed Mercurio also discussed the character of Nadia a few weeks before the finale's twist aired, telling viewers to "watch the whole drama for a comprehensive idea of who is plotting to do harm and who is responsible for the terror event".
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