Well, we're talking about a Muslim-American character here, remember. There are Muslim communities all over the world, not just in the Mideast, and they're far too diverse to treat as a monolith. Like most Americans, Tomaz probably identifies as an American first and whatever other group second.
And it's only in some Muslim countries, like Saudi Arabia, where conservatism has taken the lead. After all, the whole reason for the current conflict in the Mideast is because reactionary fundamentalist Islam (and Islamism) is fighting back against progressive, modernizing Islam. That conflict is far from being decisively settled in either side's favor, which is why it's still so fierce.
The character Isis is Egyptian, I believe, not American--which is the reason why I made the specific reference to Egypt. In the fifties and sixties, Egypt and numerous other Arabic countries were in movements to "westernize" or to become progressive. Many women tossed away their hijabs and massive tourist campaigns to draw Europeans and Americans were launched. It was only after that repressive regimes put a stop to that mentality pretty much throughout the Arabic world and the African Muslim world as well. There are very few exceptions to this these days such as Lebanon and Turkey and some Eastern European nations.
Last edited: