ABC’s New ‘Quantico’ Takes on Terrorism and Offends Religions

By Nathan Glover --
29 Sep 2015 --

Mormons, Jews and Muslims are hurt by their portrayal in the TV show ‘Quantico.’

ABC’s new show Quantico premiered on Sunday night. The show tries to solve the mystery of an FBI “inside job” terrorist attack that leaves the landmark Grand Central Station in New York in bits and pieces. The first episode flashes back and forth between the training of some new FBI recruits and the ghastly terrorist attack on the Grand Central Station.

As the story unfolds, the audience is introduced to some of the key characters, including the main character, Alex Parrish, a role played by Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra. The episode goes on to show that Parrish has been framed for the heinous terrorist attack and she escapes to find out the real culprit. According to The Wrap, Priyanka Chopra described her character as a “female Jason Bourne,” referring to The Bourne Identity franchise.

Mormons, Jews and Muslims are hurt by their portrayal in the TV show ‘Quantico.'[/tweetthis]

On a different note, it was seen that the show might not have sat well with many religious organizations who found the portrayal of certain characters in the show to be in bad taste. These characters happen to be the other FBI recruits in the series and include a Mormon named Eric Packer, an openly gay man named Simon Asher who hails from a Zionist Jewish family and a Muslim character named Nimah Amin, who is a strong-willed woman clearly subservient to the religion that controls her.

Quantico storyline has nothing great to offer. Nothing unique. Seen similar plots in our Hindi films. Here it's religion,there ethnicity.
— FantasiaFairy (@namratagogoi) September 28, 2015

According to an article in The Salt Lake Tribune, the Mormon character Packer was shown in his underwear, something that many Mormons find offensive. It is said that the character Packer is shown in a bad light and as that of a “huge hypocrite.” However, it seems that as the story unfolds “huge hypocrite” seems only an understatement for the character of Packer, who had previously impregnated a 14-year old Malawi girl while on a mission, and when he took her for an abortion, the procedure killed her. It is clear now why Mormons are against the show, given their staunch discipline and way of living life.

#Quantico is a very intentional about showcasing race & religion. A Muslim woman, a Mormon man… Interesting
— *Lauren Gallaway* (@LaurenGallaway) September 28, 2015

However, when looked at closely, Quantico is clearly a work of fiction and in no way does it try to portray any of the characters by their stereotypes. On the contrary, the show brings out the most unrealistic characteristics in each individual and molds it in a different way altogether. This portrayal shows a clear intention of not falling for the stereotypical characters but making people wonder, what actually makes a person, is it their religion, faith, gender, upbringing or their nationality? It shows that a person cannot just be identified by their religion, as there is much more to them than just their faith.

A person cannot just be identified by their religion. There is more than just their faith.[/tweetthis]