Dahlia is the first prominent Muslim character shown in the television series. She is shown to be a faithful friend to all and an excellent surgical intern. Her headscarf is a symbol of her Muslim religion as she does not speak about it much in the show. In season 14, Dahlia used her head scarf to save a child's life. In the episode, she is shown tying the headscarf around the child’s leg to help stop the leg from bleeding out. The doctor helping this child along with Dahlia commented on her removing her headscarf and she responded with “Well, I mean it’s a symbol of my faith, but my faith is about service and compassion, and he was bleeding really fast.” Shonda Rhimes portrayed Dahlia as just like anyone else in that hospital to exploit the terrorist and alien remarks about Muslim stereotypes and for the audience to have an open mind about this religion (Moustapha).