This column was changed on Jan. 26 to include FOX's viewpoint.

Is Jack Bauer, who saves the world every year on "24," biased against Muslims?

Speaking for myself, as a rabid fan of the gripping action series—and for my many coworkers here at DiversityInc who also eagerly follow his every move—I hope not.

Here's the issue. For the second time in three years, Jack and his fellow Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) heroes are coming under fire for being prejudiced against Muslims and perpetuating stereotypes. Two years ago, Muslim groups protested that the hugely popular series (which debuted last week to more than 30 million viewers over two nights, including my family) cast a suburban Islamic family as terrorists who launched a nuclear attack on America. At the time, Kiefer Sutherland, who plays Bauer and co-produces the show, created a public service announcement saying that all Muslims were not terrorists and that "24" wasn't trying to stereotype. Last year, the Muslim image got a reprieve because the terrorists were Russian, aided by an evil and bizarre U.S. president.

But this time, the terrorists we've seen so far all are Muslim again and they already, in only two episodes, have succeeded in launching a nuclear attack on the United States. FOX issued a statement on issues raised by the Muslim community and the press about this: "'24' is a heightened drama about anti-terrorism."

"After five easons, 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 American businessmen, Baltic Europeans, Germans, Russians, Islamic fundamentalists, and even the (Anglo-American) president of the United States. The producers are sensitive to the fact that over the course of the series no ethnic group be 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."

In this season's early shows, a "nice white" family defending a suburban Muslim family accused by others of being terrorists sure learned their lesson. The young Muslim man they brought into their house to protect him was a secret terrorist who turned on them and tried to kill them. One might think that the Muslims shown here are deceitful and have no concern for innocent human life—but then again, so do all the villains on "24." There is one apparently Arab CTU agent, a new character, but some DiversityInc readers have suggested she will be the mole working for terrorists this year. And there's a terrorist who killed hundreds of Americans who now wants to help CTU—but who can trust him?

"The overwhelming impression you get is fear and hatred for Muslims," said Rabiah Ahmed, a spokesperson for the Washington, D.C.-based CAIR. "After watching that show, I was afraid to go to the grocery store because I wasn't sure the person next to me would be able to differentiate between fiction and reality," she said. Read her comments here.

"I think that TV has quite an effect on how people think," said Nadeem Mazen, past president of the MIT Muslim Association. "So much of what we hear on Muslims is hearsay—an expert opinion by people with a personal agenda and not necessarily motivated by truth. And then a show like this comes along that perpetuates the 'them' factor." Read more on this here.

Then there are the comments from the viewers. One blogger had this to offer: "Yes, all this is fanciful and prejudicial. '24' should have made it a band of Methodists. That would have been much fairer and more true to life." Read more here.

A TV columnist wrote this: "Part of me just worries that not all viewers will get this point and only see the bad. Some Muslims are bad and some are good, just like people in other religions, just like all people, for that matter. The difference between justice and injustice, is examining the facts and not making assumptions based on race, religion, or in Assad's case, one's past." Read more.

It's important to raise these issues so innocent people aren't stereotyped. "24" is fiction—great entertainment, without a doubt—but fiction that does overgeneralize to make a point.

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