While a Senate Subcommittee plans to hold hearings next week on how to protect the civil rights of American Muslims (following last week’s hearings by Congressman Peter King on investigating radicalism among Islamic peoples in the U.S.), the questions of “racial profiling” and ”Islamic identity” again dominate the airwaves and print media.

However, Islam, like Christianity, does not refer to any ethnic group or nationality. And, like Christians, Muslims come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

As largely promoted by Hollywood, the “typical” Muslim male is depicted as a Middle Easterner or South Asian with a skin complexion ranging from olive to dark brown (plus the obligatory moustache and beard), dark brown/black hair and dark brown/black eyes. Also, he wears “typical” Muslim headdress, ranging from anything from a turban to a Mufti.

He also speaks in a funny foreign accent.

The typical Muslim woman wears a hijab or perhaps a veil covering her entire body and shuns anything too Western or liberating.

While there are indeed many Muslims who fit these descriptions, they are hardly exclusive to the practitioners of Islam.

Indeed, there are Black Muslims, there are Muslims who have blonde-hair and blue eyes, and there are even Chinese Muslims.

Thus, the very notion of “Muslim identity” would seem to be ludicrous.

Here are some photos of Muslims from around the world who don’t “fit” the stereotype: