History Main / MistakenforTerrorist

* ''Literature/HighSchoolDxD'': [[spoiler:Arjuka Beelzebub]], One of the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Four Great Satans]], is accused of being one in Volume 6 as a direct result of [[spoiler:Diadora Astaroth]]'s actions and [[spoiler:Diadora]] joining the [[ChaosIsEvil Khaos Brigade]].

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD'': [[spoiler:Arjuka Beelzebub]], One of the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Four Great Satans]], is accused of being one in Volume 6 as a direct result of [[spoiler:Diadora Astaroth]]'s actions and [[spoiler:Diadora]] joining the [[ChaosIsEvil Khaos Brigade]].

* This is the origin of Simon Baz. He was just a low-level car thief who, at random, picked a car with a bomb in it. When he was pulled over, of course, the cops jumped to the conclusion the Lebanese-American was a terrorist. As it happened, he got a Franchise/GreenLantern ring and was able to prove the real bomber was the car's owner...a suburban white man who was a member of a Neo-Nazi force. To his credit, the head agent apologizes to Simon and notes that if he was a real terrorist he A) would be using the ring for destruction and B) the ring would never have picked him in the first place.

* Happens to a young Arabian man in a issue of ''ComicBook/PowerGirl'' as the plane he is in starts to fall from the sky [[spoiler:as he uses his super powers to save the plane and its passengers. He mentions that the reason he never used his powers before was because he knew they would consider him a terrorist. Even worse, the government keeps him locked up (even disallowing him the chance to visit his dying father) ''because'' they want to set a precedent for a super-powered terrorist, and him bursting out of detention to see his father would do just that]]. Franchise/{{Batman}} makes sure that this ends up being exposed in the end, however.
* [[Comicbook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan]] doesn't want to go public with her superhero identity because she fears this could happen to her friends, family, and mosque.
* An entire ''ComicBook/DylanDog'' is based on the idea of a high school student named Ahmed being for a suicidal bomber because of his Middle Eastern origins and having his high school project in a suitcase (that his teacher declared a bomb without even looking inside the case)-and not noticing the panic because [[BlindWithoutEm that day he forgot his glasses at home]] and everyone he tries to ask runs at the supposed terrorist, with the police and the British Army ''[[EpicFail missing three actual terrorists because they were busy searching for Ahmed]]''. In a variant, [[SuperDickery the reader too is led to mistake him for a terrorist]], as Ahmed is first seen playing a video game based on the 9/11 attacks, and it's only when Dylan (who has met his parents while searching for him) tells him what's happening that is clear he's not.

A character is mistaken for a terrorist while acting suspiciously, usually [[OverreactingAirportSecurity in an airport or on a plane]]. Most of the time it's a misunderstanding. Something or other will be MistakenForEvidence (for example, the suspect will say something like "This party is gonna be the ''bomb''!").

* A game called ''[[http://kotaku.com/the-fake-terrorist-conspiracy-game-that-fooled-people-f-1710418998 ALFA-ARKIV]]'' or, alternatively, ''Junko Junsui'' did something similar, and wound up being so effective that some of the material from the game was [[https://www.cnet.com/news/junko-junsui-and-alfa-arkiv-behind-the-curtain/ logged in intelligence databases]], the game's characters mistaken for actual terrorists. Some {{Conspiracy Theorist}}s also thought that the game was [[http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread1023320/pg1 a Russian psy-op]].

* ''Series/WithoutATrace'', "In Extremis." A Saudi Arabian doctor goes missing, and a lot of people automatically assume he's a terrorist. As it turns out, some of his acquaintances are, but he's trying to stop them. He's killed by a FBI sniper at the end of the episode as soon as they get a clear shot. [[spoiler: He was heard talking about blowing up a building by a passing woman, but he is actually talking about how the home stadium of the sports team he's talking about should be demolished because they never win.]]

** [[spoiler: Subverted when he actually turns out to be a traitor and working with the terrorists.]]

* In ''Series/EngineSentaiGoOnger'''s ''10 Years Grand Prix'' movie, the Go-ongers believe Hiroto attempted a suicide bombing to assassinate Minister Noizumi, and was killed. He was actually [[spoiler: trying to publicly talk Noizumi out of raising the Isolation Barrier, only to be caught up in an explosion when [=BearRV=] crash-landed to earth, and ended up on Junk World; then couldn't get back, due to the barrier having been raised.]]

* In one episode of ''Series/{{ALF}}'', the titular alien, concerned with [[ANuclearDisaster nuclear war]][[note]]a nuclear disaster being [[EarthShatteringKaboom what blew up Melmac]][[/note]], calls the Presidential party to voice his concerns. Unfortunately, [[ThatCameOutWrong he isn't clear on his point and sounds like he's making threats to use bombs]], resulting in Willie getting arrested.

* Torg from ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' gets sent to Guantanamo Bay after he [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20030817 runs past airport security shouting]], "Riff! Wait! [[ItMakesSenseInContext You don't have to blow them up! You don't have to kill everyone! You can just quit!]]" All the security guards hear is "''... bla, bla, bla'' '''Blow them up!''' ''bla, bla, bla'' '''Kill everyone!''' ..." Fortunately he was released when their caucasometer picked up his Viking heritage.

* Subverted in ''Webcomic/JackDavidHopkins''. One storyline deals with several recently dead spirits at the scene of a terrorist bombing trying to figure out which one of them was the culprit. One of them is an Arab and another spirit immediately starts making bigoted accusations at him. [[spoiler: Turns out he's right.]]

* A guy [[ThatCameOutWrong yelled a greeting to his friend Jack]] at the airport. OverreactingAirportSecurity tazed him. This can also be used as the setup for a riddle: "A man greeted his friend at the airport and was immediately arrested. Why?"

* A guy [[ThatCameOutWrong yelled a greeting to his friend Jack]] at the airport. OverreactingAirportSecurity tazed him.

--->'''Guard:''' Stop him! He's expressing his faith, [[CanadiaEh eh!]]

-->'''Guard:''' Stop him! He's expressing his faith, [[CanadiansSayEh eh!]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': In "[[Recap/SouthParkS11E4TheSnuke The Snuke]]", Cartman automatically assumes that a new boy at school is a terrorist because he's Muslim. [[spoiler: While there does turn out to be a terrorist plot going on in town, it is in fact it's a Russian working for the British.]]

* At the beginning of ''{{VideoGame/Infamous}}'', [[PlayerCharacter Cole MacGrath]] is tricked into opening [[MailBomb a mail package containing]] [[FantasticNuke a powerful bomb-like weapon]] called the Ray Sphere; which produces an explosion that destroys a large portion of Empire City, killing tons of unlucky innocent people as a result. After information about Cole's (accidental) involvement in causing the Blast is revealed to the public, he is now feared and hated by almost everyone around him, as if he had intentionally committed mass murder. He even starts narrating with the line "Ever been called a terrorist?", while describing how he became scapegoated for the whole tragedy.

* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/{{Infamous}}'', Cole [=MacGrath=] is tricked into opening a mail package containing a powerful bomb-like weapon called the Ray Sphere; which produces an explosion that destroys a large portion of Empire City, killing tons of unlucky innocent people as a result. After information about Cole's (accidental) involvement in causing the Blast is revealed to the public, he is now feared and hated by almost everyone around him, as if he had intentionally committed mass murder. He even starts narrating with the line "Ever been called a terrorist?", while describing how he became scapegoated for the whole tragedy.

* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/{{Infamous}}'', Cole MacGrath is tricked into opening a mail package containing a powerful bomb-like weapon called the Ray Sphere; which produces an explosion that destroys a large portion of Empire City, killing tons of unlucky innocent people as a result. After information about Cole's (accidental) involvement in causing the Blast is revealed to the public, he is now feared and hated by almost everyone around him, as if he had intentionally committed mass murder. He even starts narrating with the line "Ever been called a terrorist?", while describing how he became scapegoated for the whole tragedy.

* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/Infamous'', Cole MacGrath is tricked into opening a mail package containing a powerful bomb-like weapon called the Ray Sphere; which produces an explosion that destroys a large portion of Empire City, killing tons of unlucky innocent people as a result. After information about Cole's (accidental) involvement in causing the Blast is revealed to the public, he is now feared and hated by almost everyone around him as if he intentionally committed mass murder. He even starts narrating with the line "Ever been called a terrorist?" while describing how he became scapegoated for the whole tragedy.

* ''Film/MyNameIsKhan'' features a main character named Rizwan Khan, a Muslim American with Asperger's Syndrome living in post 9-11 America. He says to another character that he wants to tell the President, and the people, of the United States that his "name is Khan and that [he] is not a terrorist." When he repeats this to himself in a crowd gathered to meet President Bush, he is arrested, imprisoned, and tortured as a terrorist suspect. A FunnyAneurysmMoment occurred when Shahrukh Khan, the actor who played Rizwan was detained by Immigration offers at Newark Airport on August 14, 2009 and questioned for two hours.

A character is mistaken for a terrorist while acting suspiciously, usually [[OverreactingAirportSecurity in an airport or on a plane]]. Most of the time it's a misunderstanding. Something or other will be MistakenForEvidence (for example, [[WhatAnIdiot the suspect]] will say something like "This party is gonna be the ''bomb''!").

* Early on in ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'', [[HeroWithBadPublicity Saitama]] gets mistaken for being a member of the [[BombThrowingAnarchists Paradise Group]] due to his {{bald|OfAwesome}} head (all of the Paradisers are {{bald|OfEvil}} or shaved their heads, to copy the appearance of their leader Hammerhead). Cue scared civilians misidentifying Saitama as a "terrorist", much to his frustration. Even [[ProfessionalKiller Speed-o'-Sound Sonic]] mistakes Saitama for a Paradiser, and then attempts to fight him due to Sonic having been hired to eliminate the entire organization.

This trope has existed for decades as the examples below will show, but it took off in popularity post-9/11 on American television in particular, with a more specific plot outline: A OneShotCharacter is introduced who is Middle Eastern and/or Muslim--or just assumed to be, perhaps overlapping with InterchangeableAsianCultures. The majority of the cast welcomes this new character with open arms, except for one. He's convinced that this new character is a terrorist, and will do whatever it takes to show the rest of the cast that his suspicions are correct. In doing so he invades the new character's privacy, and eventually learns AnAesop about being considerate of other cultures.

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD'': [[spoiler:Arjuka Beelzebub]], One of the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Four Great Satans]], is accused of being one in Volume 6 as a direct result of [[spoiler:Diadora Astaroth]]'s actions and [[spoiler:Diadora]] joining the [[ChaosIsEvil Khaos Brigade]].

* In ''Film/PansLabyrinth'', Captain Videl's men capture to poachers, a father and son, and suspect they may be rebels against the regime. When the son tries to protest his father's innocents, Videl smacks him in the face with a bottle before eventually shooting them both out of boredom and pleasure. When it's revealed that the two men were innocent, rather than feel regretfully, Videl instead chastises his men for wasting his time and telling them to make sure they find ''actual'' rebels next time.

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode "Homeland Insecurity" when ultra-conservative Stan Smith assumes the new Iranian neighbors are terrorists. He turns his house into a detention camp where he puts the Iranians and eventually all of the other neighbors into captivity. And a bit later, Stan mistakes ''himself'' for a terrorist when he finds his car crashed into the town's energy plant (it was actually Roger who drove it).
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "The Snuke." Cartman automatically assumes that a new boy at school is a terrorist because he's Muslim. [[spoiler: While there does turn out to be a terrorist plot going on in town, it is in fact it's a Russian working for the British.]]

** "Mypods and Boomsticks". Similar to ''South Park's'' "The Snuke", Homer assumes Bart's new Muslim friend (even sharing the same last name as you-know-who) and his parents are terrorists. It doesn't help that his father [[spoiler:plans to blow up the Springfield Mall...after taking proper safety precautions to ensure nobody gets hurt by the controlled demolition he was contracted to perform.]]
** In the episode "Midnight Rx", Homer takes Ned Flanders and Apu (who is Hindu) across the border to Canada to pick up some medication. On the way back, Apu takes a sip of some very hot coffee, and burns his tongue. Ned then gives him a wet towel to wear around his head, which, combined with Apu's now unintelligible screams, gives the wrong impression to the border guards.
** This is the point of "Homerland", where Lisa suspects that Homer has been brainwashed when he starts acting polite, resists pork and beer, is seen praying faux-Muslim and takes a mysterious device in to the power plant. When Lisa and the FBI confront him, it turns out Homer was turned by eco-activists who convinced him to go vegetarian, went through an alcohol detoxication, was doing exercise on a rug they gave him (his "prayer" was "Ow, this rug hurts my knees"), and was doing a nonviolent attack on the power plant (stinking it up so badly that nobody would go there anymore; this failed because the plant doesn't have air conditioning).
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Minoriteam}}'' featured the group going on a trip in their civilian identities. The Indian Dave Raj, however, slept in, and was forced to transform into his super-powered self, Nonstop, and hop on his flying carpet to get to the airport on time. Nonstop wears a turban and has a long beard. You can probably figure out the rest on your own.
* The ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' episode "The Accidental Terrorist", Hank recruits a trio of teens to get back at an HonestJohnsDealership for ripping him off, but when they blow up several cars, Hank is blamed because he was the only one who showed up in the security footage (due to the teens wearing black clothes and lying down on the pavement as camouflage).
* The title character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' naturally assumes that a turbaned Middle-Eastern man is the suspect (just moments after dismissing the German with the eyepatch as [[WrongGenreSavvy "way too obvious"]]). It's pointed out that the guy is [[{{UsefulNotes/Sikhism}} a Sikh]].
-->'''Archer:''' Oh, so if he's not a Muslim he just gets a pass? Well, that's called profiling, mother, and [[HypocriticalHumor I don't do it]].
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MrMagoo'' short "The Explosive Mister Magoo", Magoo is outraged that the local paper ran his picture in the newspaper without his permission (it was actually a photo of a bowling ball) and goes to complain to the editor. On the way, he buys a wind-up toy (thinking it's a clock) from a street vendor, so when he presents himself to the receptionist, she notices the ticking package and thinks it's a time bomb. Magoo shouting things like "I'll blow this paper wide open!" doesn't help matters any.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BigMouth'' episode Everybody Bleeds, Jay, an aspiring magician of Middle Eastern descent, is captured by security guards during a field trip to the Statue of Liberty after they overheard and misunderstand his plan to "make the Statue of Liberty disappear". They later release him when impressed by his tricks.