President Barack Obama, while referring to achievements of Muslims at a White House Eid reception, cited Kamala Khan, also known as Ms. Marvel, a comic book superhero created by a Pakistani-American writer Sana Amanat.
“By the way, I should mention that Muslim Americans aren’t just heroes in real life. One of today’s most popular comic book superheroes is a Pakistani American girl named Kamala Khan, also known as Ms. Marvel,” Obama said amid applause by a gathering of Muslim Americans.
“And I’m a comic book fan,” added the president, who earlier highlighted how Muslims enriched America by their work and achievements in wide-ranging areas.
Sana Amanat, the creator of Kamala Khan, grew up in New Jersey, presented a copy of Ms. Marvel to President Obama in March this year.
Obama, who was introduced by Amanat, had hailed Amanat as a real superhero at that event.
“Ms. Marvel may be your comic book creation, but I think for a lot of young boys and girls, Sana’s a real superhero,” he said at that time.
In his remarks on Thursday, Obama made the point that children learn about positive achievements of all Americans including Muslims.
“[But it’s important that our children see positive, rich portrayals of all people, including Muslims, from all walks of life — not just in the national security context. In the news and TV and movies, the diversity and depth of the Muslim American experience needs to be portrayed.”
