Dune: Prophecy (2024) premiered on HBO last night, November 18, with the context, set 10,000 years before the birth of Paul Atreides and "116 years after the end of the great machine wars."

This petition is calling for attention to the erasure of the Arab and Islamic influence as the moral center of the Dune series. Rather than accurately referencing the crucial canonical historical event, the Butlerian Jihad, the creators of Dune: Prophecy opted to use the vague term, "the great machine wars." This decision jeopardizes the audience's understanding of the Butlerian Jihad - as well as the anti-colonial nature of the Dune series itself. More importantly, neglecting to accurately represent the Butlerian Jihad contributes to anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia. 

The Butlerian Jihad is a historical event in the Dune universe that refers to the crusade against computers, thinking machines, and conscious robots. This event led to the establishment of a feudal-arranged galactic order comprised of several powerful groups such as the Spacing Guild – which holds a monopoly on space travel and is dependent on a single resource, spice. This is the context of the entirety of the Dune series.

The English translation of the Arabic word “Jihad,” is struggle. In Islam, Jihad has many interpretations, modern popular understanding primarily consists of the lesser Jihad, or the physical struggle against the enemies of Islam, commonly referred to as 'holy war.' The greater Jihad refers to the internal struggle of a believer to fulfill religious duties. Interpretation of the Butlerian Jihad as an act of holy war and/or as a social/philosophical movement is up to the audience.  The erasure of this term and its complexities creates a source of audience misunderstanding in the Butlerian Jihad, where the term Jihad and its multiple interpretations maintain an ambiguity around the canonical event. 

The erasure of the term Jihad in Dune: Prophecy is particularly destructive as Israel and the U.S. continue to enact genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, expand settler occupation in the West Bank, maintain carpet-bombing campaigns in Southern Lebanon, and execute targeted airstrikes in Syria, all of which has amounted to mass-destruction of life in the region and increased anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia across the world. This action perpetuates negative stereotypes and capitalizes on misplaced fear.

Following the near lack of Arab and/or Middle Eastern/North African cast members in Dune: Part Two, the erasure of the term Jihad in the subsequent production of Dune: Prophecy doubles down on the misappropriation of Arab and Muslim influences within the Dune series and is an assault against the memory of Frank Herbert himself, whose writing is inherently entwined with Arab culture and the religion of Islam.

Decades-long exploitation, colonization, and militarization of the Middle East by Western powers have made an Arab identity inherently political. Dune was groundbreaking in reflecting upon this and took direct inspiration from real anti-colonial movements. Herbert created the highly valuable resource “spice” as a direct analogy for oil in the Dune universe. He also incorporated rallying cries such as "Long live the fighters," – a reference to the Algerian War of Independence against the French, which is more accurately translated from Arabic to “Long live the martyrs.”

Restoring the use of the original term “Jihad” will restore the Arab and Muslim moral center and anti-colonial nature of the Dune series and serve as cultural recognition of Arabs and Muslims during a time of rising anti-Arab racism, Islamophobia, and increasing harm waged against Arabs and Muslims. Please sign this petition to preserve the Arab and Muslim influence, destigmatizing nature, and anti-colonial integrity of Dune. Bring Jihad back to Dune.