MUSLIM leaders are urging Hollywood movie executives to retitle a new movie Towelhead starring Aussie actress Toni Collette because the word is "offensive and exploitative".
Los Angeles members of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) insist the derogatory term is offensive to American Muslims and Arab-Americans.
They go so far as to state the term
'towelhead' as "a racial and religious slur".
In a letter sent to Warner Bros. studio executives, the Islamic civil rights and advocacy group has asked that the film, directed by Alan Ball, be called Nothing is Private - a title previously used in some markets.
CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush writes, "The word is commonly used in a derogatory manner against people of the Muslim faith or Arab origin... We have no desire to inhibit the creative process or your right to produce any film you wish.
"However, I ask you to take the above concerns into consideration and examine the social implications of releasing the film under its current title.
"It is unfortunate that a major film studio would choose to exploit an ethnic slur as a sensational promotion for a movie. Mainstreaming a bigoted term in this manner will only serve to legitimize and normalize anti-Muslim prejudice in our society."
The film, starring Aaron Eckhart, Summer Bishil and Collette, is adapted from Alicia Erian's novel about a young Arab-American girl's struggles with life and sexual obsession.
The heroine of Erian's story is dubbed 'Towelhead' by some ignorant and bigoted Americans.
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24243731-5001021,00.html