A spoof commercial advertising a magical new chewing gum that promises to cure people of their prejudices is going viral online.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations created the mock promo for "Islamophobin" gum to raise awareness of the rising number of Islamophobic attacks in the U.S.
Watch the commercial here:
The spot opens with Muslim Americans being feared by their neighbors. One non-Muslim man imagines that a nearby Muslim resident is an extremist fighter. Elsewhere, a couple refuse to take a cab over the fear the Muslim driver is a terrorist.
But within five minutes of chewing the gum, it starts to relieve their bigotry and intolerance.
Users are warned of potential side effects, including "fondness, brotherhood, acceptance, loss of bigotry, increase in rationality and possible denouncement of superiority."
"Islamophobin worked for me," one man says after sampling the gum.
The council, which is the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the U.S., posted the video to YouTube on Wednesday and Facebook on Thursday. It's since gotten hundreds of thousands of views.
"We believe that a little humor goes a long way," the council wrote on a new website dedicated to spreading the powerful message behind the fake drug. "With Islamophobia on the rise in the U.S. and other parts of the world, what better way to help dispel the bigotry and stereotypes about Islam and Muslims than through satire?"
It added that it developed the gum to help cure the rampant pandemic. "Help us chew away at Islamophobia by sharing Islamophobin with everyone you know," the council added.
Packs of the mock medicine, which The Washington Post reports is actually just green gum, are available to buy via Amazon for $1.99 each.
The council hopes people will help promote acceptance of religious diversity by handing out packets in public areas and talking about the issues they've encountered.