A Muslim Superhero Hits Comics

Here’s an innovative approach to improving relations between Islam and America: a new comic book superhero. The new creation is the brainchild of philanthropist Jay T. Snyder, whose nonprofit organization Open Hands Initiative brought together a group of disabled American and Syrian children last month to brainstorm new ways to reach out bridge the two cultures. Their idea, dubbed Silver Scorpion, is a wheelchair-bound Muslim boy who lost his legs to landmines and then gained the power to control metal. "As somebody who owns a lot of comics and has studied how they affect social change, it was fun to be part of an exchange that hopefully can do the same," said one Syrian teenager about the meeting. The first book will be launched in November, and Arab-language editions will be distributed throughout Syria and the Middle East.