@poklpokl it's certainly true that the Muslm community has had their fair share of terrible leaders (like, what society/civilization/etc.-group of people hasn't had terrible leaders before?). but i think the problem with this character being portrayed as an aggressive and unreasonable leader is that he is the
first plot-relevant Muslim-coded character we've seen in the story so far. because he's the first, he leaves a stronger bad impression than if, say, we got to see other Muslim-coded characters who are written in a more positive light
alongside the envoy.
usually, comparison makes things look worse. but here, being able to see at least one other reasonable/kind/[insert positive character trait] Muslim-coded brown-skinned character would make it easier to attribute this envoy's attitude to his
character rather than as a reflection of the author's unconscious bias/racism.
glad to see there are some genuinely thoughtful discussions here. i don't think i'll continue reading this though. the story feels like it's strayed too far from the initial draw/premise and this new plot is making me 😑😴
