Boreal

Little Mosque On The Prairie Reviews

Season I

The Little Mosque Lie

Judging from the warm and fuzzy feelings reflected in countless letters to the editor after only one episode of the Little Mosque On the Prairie, the Canadian Islamic Congress may want to consider making another run at bringing the Sharia to Canada thanks to the CBC’s less than honest portrayal of those who choose to live their lives according to the Koran and the Prophet Muhammad's example.

One writer praised the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's production Little Mosque On the Prairie for the "learning experience."

You can learn things from a lie only if you know it's a lie. An example; in the second episode the character Rayyan justifies her actions saying it's in chapter 115 of the Koran. There is no chapter 115, the Koran stops at chapter (surah) 114. If you don't know this, then this is an "insider" joke at your expense.

The Little Mosque On the Prairie is both an insider joke and a piece of sophisticated propaganda. I will will attempt to explain these insider jokes, both the small and the more sophisticated, and look beyond the propaganda to make the Little Mosque On the Prairie a true learning experience.

The production value of Little Mosque on The Prairie is high i.e. is well done, a lot of thought effort and money obviously went into its production making it even more important that the message is sincere for the quality of the production makes it so much more believable.

I know it’s quite a leap, but Little Mosque on The Prairie reminded me of the NAZI propaganda surrounding their model concentration camp Theresienstadt (Terezin). They even managed to fool the Red Cross into thinking that the camps into which millions of Jews were being herded were idyllic communities like Theresienstadt ostensibly set up to protect Jews from anti-Semitism not to exterminate them. Many Jews went to the gas chamber thinking they were going to a camp like Theresienstadt.

Maybe after testing the waters, the CBC will be a little bolder and more forthcoming and the fictional little town of Mercy Saskatchewan will become more of an example on how believers and non-believers can get along by being honest with each other rather than by pretending we all share the same values. Then, and only then, can the Little Mosque on The Prairie become more than an exercise in wishful thinking.

***

To you whose opinion I value above all others, I am sorry if you feel the comparison to Terezin is unfair, but I believe it needs to be made if only to alert those who, often with the best of intentions, as is perhaps the case with this CBC production, do not realize that their actions can have unfortunate, predictable consequences if they are not careful.

The Little Mosque is proof that bad taste knows no ethnical, cultural, religious or linguistic barrier.

4 Swimming Upstream

The New Separatists and the Making of the Invisible Woman

5 The Convert

Apostates

6 The Archdeacon’s Visit

The Unkindness Cut Of All

7 The Mother-in-law

Polygamy and Gay Marriages

Little Mosque on the Prairie was a pleasant surprise this week. Not because it has stopped being a piece of propaganda in the tradition of Father Knows Best, as one visitor remarked.

8 Playing With Fire

The Sin of Khalwat and Who Gets Your Women

And the insanity continues...

Season II

1 Grave Concern

The CBC said it changed the entire writing team for the second season of Little Mosque On The Prairie, and it shows in this episode. The characters seem more incline to make fun of themselves instead of making fun of others... continue reading

2 Public Access

A promising beginning, and it's back to normal... continue reading

3 Ban The Burka

There's trouble in Mercy when a mystery woman shows up at the mosque wearing a face veil [niqab]. CBC

Not to quibble, but the niqab-burka combination of the mystery woman in this episode is not quite up to the standard. The slit over the eyes is too large, you can see the eyebrows. According to the Prophet, a single strand of a woman’s hair could cause a man to have impure thoughts and therefore should be covered and that includes, for most women who chose to wear the niqab-burka combination, the eyebrows.

The Face Behind The Veil is about my encounter with a properly niqab-burka attired figure.

4 Lucky Day

Sarah's habit of buying lottery tickets runs her afoul of both Islam and her daughter. Meanwhile Amaar struggles to hipify Muslim youth day by re-branding it "Islamapalooza." Islam forbids all gambling and games of chance even when there is no risk of actually losing or winning anything of value because the enjoyment of the game might cause you to forget to worship Allah.

5:90 O believers, wine, gambling, idols and divining arrows* are an abomination of the Devil’s doing; so avoid them that perchance you may prosper!

5:91 The Devil only wishes to stir up enmity and hatred among you, through wine and gambling, and keep you away from remembering Allah and from prayer (italics mine). Will you not desist, then?

This general prohibition in conservative Islam against having fun, if it is a distraction from the veneration of Allah, means that for many, Islam is the religion where fun went to die.

There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humor in Islam. There is no fun in Islam. There can be no fun and joy in whatever is serious.

Ayatollah Khomeini

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* Arrows used by pre-Islamic Arabs to cast lots. Divining arrows were strips of wood without points usually marked with values, inscriptions or symbols. These arrows were usually thrown haphazardly to divide the spoils, to foretell the future, to know the opinion of gods and so on. The most extraordinary use of divining arrows mentioned in the Koran is the enigmatic verse where Allah reveals that lots were cast to see who would look after the soon-to-be-single-mother of Jesus:

3:44 This is part of the tidings of the Unseen which We reveal to you. You were not in their midst when they cast their pens (casting lots) to see who will take charge of Mary, and you were not in their midst when they were disputing.

4 Swimming Upstream

Swimming Upstream is a repeat from season one.

5 Mercy Beet

Except for the imam’s comment to Rayyan that a Muslim can not earn money from interest but it's OK for a Muslim to invest in the stock market, this episode has nothing to teach us about Islam... continue reading