Modern media still equates Muslim male violence with frustrated sexual desire and celibacy

Evidence

The innate violence among Muslim men is a common Islamophobic myth, one found in a number of cultural spaces, including entertainment. In the March 19, 2004, episode of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, the host theorized that terrorism was caused by the celibacy inherent in Muslim culture, once again equating sex with violence in constructing a Muslim “identity.” In his words, “Have you ever wondered why the word from the Arab street is always so angry? It’s because it’s a bunch of guys standing in the street! Which is what guys do when they don’t have girlfriends, when they’re not allowed to even talk to a girl. Of course they want to commit suicide! Unlike this country where it’s the married guys who want to kill themselves… . But here we always have hope. You can at least talk to a girl. And one might be crazy enough to go for you. Or you could get rich and buy one, like people do in Beverly Hills. But the connection between no sex and anger is real. It’s why prizefighters stay celibate when they’re in training, so that on fight night, they’re pissed off and ready to kill.” Maher regularly singles out Islam in his monologues. — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 780