![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
♠
Canadians are one-upping us again on multi-culturalism. They are airing a new show that apparently makes a combination of "All in the Family" and "Beverly Hillbillies" out of the experience of Muslims living in Western society titled "Little Mosque on the Prarie."
As I was reading about it, I was thinking they might be in for some serious confrontation from fundamentalist Muslims, and the article addresses that issue, and one hopes they are right that our concerns are misplaced, though our concerns are certainly not irrational given recent history.
___ ___ ___
TORONTO -- The bearded imam in traditional robe is railing against pop culture idols, warning Muslims to protect themselves from the evil influences of prime time.
" 'American Idol,' 'Canadian Idol,' I say all idols should be smashed," Baber tells a small congregation sitting on the floor of a makeshift mosque. " 'Desperate Housewives'? Why should they be desperate when they're only performing their natural womanly duties?"
Rayyan, a gorgeous young woman in a head scarf, whispers to her mother: "Hey, did you tape last night's episode?"
The scene is from the first episode of the CBC comedy "Little Mosque on the Prairie." (It airs tomorrow in Canada. Only some Americans in border states will be able to view it.)
The producers hope the topical humor about Islam and Christianity -- with a backdrop of bumbling buffoons and everyday cross-purposes -- will be as funny as it is fresh.
"To me, this is not a political show, this is not about the Iraq war, it's not about 9/11," said the show's creator, Canadian Muslim Zarqa Nawaz. "First and foremost, it's entertainment."
It may not be about 9/11, but it often feels like it. In the first episode, a handsome young Muslim man is dragged by police from an airport line after he barks into his mobile phone: "If Dad thinks that's suicide, so be it. This is Allah's plan for me."
He is talking about his decision to leave his father's Toronto law firm and become the spiritual leader of the small Muslim community in the fictitious prairie town of Mercy.
Another scene has a character named Joe stumbling upon the new makeshift mosque housed in the parish hall of an Anglican church, then rushing out to call the "terrorist attack hot line" when he sees the Muslims bowing to pray, "just like on CNN."
Nawaz noted that while the classic sitcoms "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" dealt with bigotry and racism for the first time on American television, their success was based on the hilarious delivery of those issues, not on preaching to viewers.
"If it humanizes Muslims, that's great," she said during a recent taping in a studio outside Toronto. "But we live and die by the ratings, and whether people find it funny."
In another scene from the first episode, the Muslims are arguing about the start of the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. The imam, Baber, insists Ramadan begins when the crescent of the new moon is observed with the eye.
But Yasir, a Lebanese Canadian construction company owner, suggests: "Why don't we just log on to Moonsighting.com and let the starvation begin!"
His wife then offers: "Why don't we just do what the Christians do: Pick a month and just stick to it? I mean, what's wrong with December? Shorter days for fasting and way, way better shopping."
While Nawaz and the executive producers don't want the show to be pegged as a Muslim comedy, they believe the time is right for TV to tackle the treatment of 800,000 Muslims in Canada and some 6 million in the United States.
"It really is a show that focuses on relationships and families; it's not about terrorism," said executive producer Mary Darling. "But we're not afraid of introducing those issues."
"Since 9/11, what we see on the news nearly every day portrays Muslims in terms of conflict," said Nawaz, the 39-year-old mother of four who dresses in jeans and sneakers, while covering her hair with a traditional hijab.
She moved from Toronto to the prairie town of Regina, Saskatchewan, a decade ago when she married. Much of the show reflects the conflict and humor she experienced in the more intimate and conservative mosque.
While some media have questioned whether the show might insult Islamic fundamentalists -- as did the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad -- Nawaz believes Muslims deserve more credit.
"This assumption in the media that Muslims are going to riot in the streets, freak out and get upset is ridiculous," she said. "It's just a comedy."
-- Beth Duff-Brown for The Washington Post
xXx
Canadians are one-upping us again on multi-culturalism. They are airing a new show that apparently makes a combination of "All in the Family" and "Beverly Hillbillies" out of the experience of Muslims living in Western society titled "Little Mosque on the Prarie."
As I was reading about it, I was thinking they might be in for some serious confrontation from fundamentalist Muslims, and the article addresses that issue, and one hopes they are right that our concerns are misplaced, though our concerns are certainly not irrational given recent history.
___ ___ ___
TORONTO -- The bearded imam in traditional robe is railing against pop culture idols, warning Muslims to protect themselves from the evil influences of prime time.
" 'American Idol,' 'Canadian Idol,' I say all idols should be smashed," Baber tells a small congregation sitting on the floor of a makeshift mosque. " 'Desperate Housewives'? Why should they be desperate when they're only performing their natural womanly duties?"
Rayyan, a gorgeous young woman in a head scarf, whispers to her mother: "Hey, did you tape last night's episode?"
The scene is from the first episode of the CBC comedy "Little Mosque on the Prairie." (It airs tomorrow in Canada. Only some Americans in border states will be able to view it.)
The producers hope the topical humor about Islam and Christianity -- with a backdrop of bumbling buffoons and everyday cross-purposes -- will be as funny as it is fresh.
"To me, this is not a political show, this is not about the Iraq war, it's not about 9/11," said the show's creator, Canadian Muslim Zarqa Nawaz. "First and foremost, it's entertainment."
It may not be about 9/11, but it often feels like it. In the first episode, a handsome young Muslim man is dragged by police from an airport line after he barks into his mobile phone: "If Dad thinks that's suicide, so be it. This is Allah's plan for me."
He is talking about his decision to leave his father's Toronto law firm and become the spiritual leader of the small Muslim community in the fictitious prairie town of Mercy.
Another scene has a character named Joe stumbling upon the new makeshift mosque housed in the parish hall of an Anglican church, then rushing out to call the "terrorist attack hot line" when he sees the Muslims bowing to pray, "just like on CNN."
Nawaz noted that while the classic sitcoms "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" dealt with bigotry and racism for the first time on American television, their success was based on the hilarious delivery of those issues, not on preaching to viewers.
"If it humanizes Muslims, that's great," she said during a recent taping in a studio outside Toronto. "But we live and die by the ratings, and whether people find it funny."
In another scene from the first episode, the Muslims are arguing about the start of the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. The imam, Baber, insists Ramadan begins when the crescent of the new moon is observed with the eye.
But Yasir, a Lebanese Canadian construction company owner, suggests: "Why don't we just log on to Moonsighting.com and let the starvation begin!"
His wife then offers: "Why don't we just do what the Christians do: Pick a month and just stick to it? I mean, what's wrong with December? Shorter days for fasting and way, way better shopping."
While Nawaz and the executive producers don't want the show to be pegged as a Muslim comedy, they believe the time is right for TV to tackle the treatment of 800,000 Muslims in Canada and some 6 million in the United States.
"It really is a show that focuses on relationships and families; it's not about terrorism," said executive producer Mary Darling. "But we're not afraid of introducing those issues."
"Since 9/11, what we see on the news nearly every day portrays Muslims in terms of conflict," said Nawaz, the 39-year-old mother of four who dresses in jeans and sneakers, while covering her hair with a traditional hijab.
She moved from Toronto to the prairie town of Regina, Saskatchewan, a decade ago when she married. Much of the show reflects the conflict and humor she experienced in the more intimate and conservative mosque.
While some media have questioned whether the show might insult Islamic fundamentalists -- as did the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad -- Nawaz believes Muslims deserve more credit.
"This assumption in the media that Muslims are going to riot in the streets, freak out and get upset is ridiculous," she said. "It's just a comedy."
-- Beth Duff-Brown for The Washington Post
