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The Muslims
In General
- Arch-Enemy: The Aryans.
- Boxing Battler: They are very partial to boxing.
- Church Militant: Their default stance is non-violence, despite being one of the more powerful "gangs" in Em City. However, they train constantly for combat, and are always at the forefront when things go down.
- Evil Costume Switch: Downplayed. When Khan takes control of the Muslims, they all change their kufis to a black, red, and green color scheme. This is meant to symbolize the fact that Black Nationalism has taken precedence over Islam in their ideology.
- Malcolm Xerox: Kareem Said has elements of this in Season 1, but ultimately this trope is not in effect for the gang as a whole.
- Martial Pacifist: Compared to the street-brawling Homeboys, the Muslims seemed to be quite well trained. The times they put this training into use can be counted on one hand.
- Scary Black Man: Subverted. They have the look, but are actually quite peaceful. However, this rep earns them a lot of enemies.
- Token Good Teammate: For the gangs as a whole, as they are the least violent and have the most normal and level-headed members.
- Token Evil Teammate: Huseni Mershah.
Arif
Zahir Arif
Played By: Granville Adams
Said's second in command. While he shares Said's ideology, he lacks his intelligence and charisma, allowing him to be easily cowed and manipulated by more savvy inmates.
- Action Survivor: Manages to survive the whole series, something not even Said could manage.
- As the Good Book Says...: He's the most likely to be found quoting from the Quran. Unfortunately, he selectively quotes to support his own position, something for which Said does not hesitate to call him out.
- Commander Contrarian: One of his major roles in the show is to voice disapproval whenever Kareem Said goes off script.
- Heel–Faith Turn: According to his wife, he was a drug dealer before he found Islam.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: During his and Said's fight with the Aryans, Arif drops Schillinger with one punch. Meanwhile Said goes just a bit further with Robson...
- Noodle Incident: Arif has the strange distinction of being the most important character to not have a crime flashback. The supplemental materials reveal that he's in prison for assault and possession of stolen goods.
- Number Two: To Kareem Said.
- Took a Level in Kindness: He's far more loyal to Said later in the series.
- Unfit for Greatness: An utter failure both times he was the leader of the Muslims. The first time, he let himself get played by Adebisi and put the group in danger by trying to arrange the death of Supreme Allah. After Said's death, he fails at the book-binding business and lies to collect an insurance payout. He is beaten by the other Muslims for this and doesn't fight back.
- You Are in Command Now: He becomes the leader of the Muslims after Said is killed.
Khan
Hamid Khan
Played By: Ernie Hudson Jr
A tough, thoughtful Muslim whose uncompromisingly militant stance contrasts with Said's pragmatic non-violence. Despite his strong moral compass, he tends to let his prejudices get the better of him, which often causes him to butt heads with Said.
- Accidental Murder: During their boxing match, Cyril inadvertently leaves Khan brain dead.
- Badass Preacher: In terms of pure physical strength, he has Said outclassed several times over.
- Broken Pedestal: Said gradually becomes this to him because of his relationship with Tricia Ross.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: His boxing match with Kenny Wangler goes entirely in Khan's favor with Wangler only getting in a few punches that don't even phase Khan before being clobbered.
- Establishing Character Moment: His first scene has him dutifully listening to Said's plan to hold the prison accountable for the riot, and he mentions having read Said's books. Then Said mentions he's enlisted the aid of a Jewish lawyer, to which Khan expresses immediate and visceral disgust.
- Friendly Enemy: After taking over the Muslims, Said forgives him, admits it was his own fault, and expresses his respect for Khan. Khan is shown to reciprocate this, defending Said from the Aryans, and his family even has him attend Khan's euthanization to offer a final prayer.
- Good Is Not Nice: His moral compass is stronger than most, but he is so intensely prejudiced against anyone who is not a black heterosexual Muslim that it's difficult to see.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Immediately after his death, Cyril dreams of Khan's spirit confronting him over it. It's left ambiguous as to whether it was All Just a Dream or Khan's actual ghost.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Beats a scumbag rapist half to death. Gets 10 years for aggravated assault.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: On the receiving end of this at the hands of Cyril O'Reilly after his brother whips him into a frenzy. Khan doesn't survive.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Unquestionably a good guy, at least as unquestionably as possible in the world of Oz, but also an unapologetic racist, homophobe, and anti-Semite.
- Religious Bruiser: Genuinely pious and serious about his religion. He's also easily one of the strongest in Emerald City, among the likes of Cyril when he's in the right mood. and Pancamo.
- The Starscream: Not nearly to the extent of Mershah, but he does eventually covet Said's leadership of the Muslims. He eventually gets his wish.
Bismilla
Nacim Bismilla
Played By: Ra Hanna
A large, imposing man who serves as Said's main bodyguard. He rarely speaks.
- The Quiet One: Has no lines in Season One, and very few lines afterwards. But man, does he have presence.
- Beware the Quiet Ones: The Aryans find this out the hard way.
- Undying Loyalty: To Said. Bismilla is the only one who remains loyal to Said when his attraction to Tricia Ross comes to light. Even when Khan assumes leadership, he follows only reluctantly, and he beats Arif badly when he desecrates Said's memory by lying about the book-binding business.
Mershah
Huseni Mershah AKA James Monroe Madison
"Prayer isn't gonna be enough."
Played By: Roger Guenvuer Smith
A Black Muslim who had already converted before coming to prison, convicted of attempting to beat an Orthodox Jewish man to death.
- Big Bad Wannabe: He's set up as a major villain, but his attempt to kill Said and take over the Muslims fails miserably almost immediately, and his impulsiveness afterwards kill any chance of him ever being a significant threat.
- Disproportionate Retribution: What convinces him to turn on Said is him stopping Mershah’s from getting into a pointless brawl with the Aryans.
- Driven to Suicide: With no friends or allies in the toughest prison in the state, Mershah kills himself.
- Humiliation Conga: His effort to strong-arm his way to leadership of the Muslim gets him exiled from the group and ostracized by the other inmates. His attempt to get back at Said backfires, getting him kicked out of Emerald City and spat upon by the other prisoners on his way out. He becomes a pariah in Gen Pop, leading to his suicide.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Mershah's first response to everything is violence, even if it means charging in blindly. He only turns against Said because he prevents him from getting into a pointless fight with Ross.
- Never My Fault: He renounces Islam and blames his misfortunes entirely on Said, when it's entirely clear they were all caused by Mershah's impulsive decisions and attempts to overthrow Said.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Most of the inmates fit this in one way or another, but Mershah gets a special mention as being so violently anti-Semitic that he outshines many of the Aryans.
- Smug Snake: He has a very high opinion of himself, but he's nowhere near as smooth an operator as he thinks.
- The Starscream: Seems quite convinced that the Muslims would be better off with Said dead and him in charge.
- Token Evil Teammate: Acts more like a gangbanger in contrast to the other generally non-violent and socially conscious Muslims. Also seems dead-set on starting a "holy war" with the other gangs for no apparent reason. It's not surprising he was eventually kicked out.
Tidd
Leroy Tidd/Salah Udeen
Played By: Jacques Smith
A former lieutenant of Adebisi who fakes conversion in order to get close to Said. Over time, his acceptance of Islam becomes genuine, and he becomes deeply committed to the cause.
- Becoming the Mask: Tries to join the Muslims just to get a shot at Said. His conversion eventually becomes genuine.
- Heel–Face Turn: From one of Adebisi's lieutenants to a glorified hitman for the Aryans to pursuing honest redemption.
- Heel–Faith Turn: Despite originally joining the Muslims to assassinate Said, he eventually actually converts.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Goes out saving Said from an assassination attempt by the Aryan Brotherhood.
- Meaningful Rename: To Salah Udeen, meaning "Honoring the Faith".
- Redemption Equals Death: His conversion to Islam led to his task of eliminating Said being reassigned to another prisoner. Tidd's last act is to take the knife meant for Said.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For Junior Pierce, at least at first, serving as an equally nasty sidekick to Wangler's Suspiciously Similar Substitute Mondo Browne. This changes as he undergoes Character Development.
- Those Two Guys: With Mondo Browne until Keller kills the latter..
Lalar
Ahmad Lalar
Played By: Chris Gardner
A young member of the Muslims.
- Butt-Monkey: He spends a good chunk of his screentime getting bullied around by the other Muslims and is painfully murdered by Robson.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Robson slowly guts him with a razor.
- The Starscream: He tries to get Arif to help him depose Said until he can get over his inner demons, but gets shut down almost immediately.
