page_title: MyPods and Boomsticks
section_title: Reception of theme
hierarchical_section_title: MyPods and Boomsticks / Reception / Reception of theme
caption_attribution_description: Shohreh Aghdashloo at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
context_page_description: "MyPods and Boomsticks" is the seventh episode of the twentieth season of The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 30, 2008.
  In the episode, Homer becomes suspicious of Bart's new Muslim friend, Bashir, and decides to invite his family for dinner. When Homer offends them, he goes to their home to apologize but discovers what he believes to be a terrorist plot to blow up the Springfield Mall. In the episode's subplot, Lisa gets a MyPod and racks up a large bill.
  The episode was written by Marc Wilmore and directed by Steven Dean Moore with Shohreh Aghdashloo of 24 guest-starring as Bashir's mother, Mina.
  It is the first episode of The Simpsons to have Islam portrayed in a large role. It was the most watched show on Fox on its original airing, and received fairly positive reviews from television critics.
  The episode's theme was praised by the Council on American–Islamic Relations and the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and Aghdashloo was given an award by the latter organization for her role.
context_section_description: The Simpsons is noted for its religious themes, primarily the Protestant faith of most characters, but has also featured episodes based around Judaism, Catholicism, Hinduism and Buddhism. However, this was the first to have a plot involving Islam. In 2000, Religion writer Mark I. Pinsky contacted the show's staff while writing The Gospel According to The Simpsons to inquire why there was not an episode involving Islam. He was told that this was because they did not know enough about the faith, but were intending to make an episode.
  In a June 2015 article for CNN after several controversies regarding depictions of Muhammad, Pinsky noted "MyPods and Boomsticks" as a satire of Islam that is "wise, and well within the show's tradition of portraying an unfamiliar faith in a knowing way, with a relatively light hand, while at the same time defanging a widespread religious prejudice".
  David Feltmate, a writer on religious topics, mentioned the episode in his book Drawn to the Gods: Religion in The Simpsons, South Park and Family Guy, alongside the South Park episode "The Snuke" and the Family Guy episode "Turban Cowboy". He wrote that all three of those animated sitcoms treat Islam in the same way as they do new religious movements, interpreting them through widely held stereotypes, in this case terrorism. However, in his opinion, "MyPods and Boomsticks" is the one example in which Islam is hated at the start of the episode but not at the end.
  The Council on American–Islamic Relations praised the episode and sent a commending letter to Matt Groening. The Council's Executive Director Nihad Awad wrote that "Because of its acceptance in popular culture, comedy is often one of the best vehicles for challenging stereotypes and intolerance. Fox and Matt Groening are to be congratulated for tackling the disturbing phenomenon of Islamophobia."
  In April 2009, The Muslim Public Affairs Council gave an award to Shohreh Aghdashloo, the voice performer of Mina. The organization said that "The episode sends a powerful message through humor about the danger of ignorance and prejudice rooted in false assumptions". Wilmore's writing of the episode was nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series at the 40th NAACP Image Awards. The award went to Erica D. Montolfo for the "White Coats and White Lies" episode of The Game.
caption: Shohreh Aghdashloo was given an award by the Muslim Public Affairs Council for her voice performance
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