Little Mosque on the Prairie

Last week the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) premiered a new show called “Little Mosque on the Prairie“. I had heard about this show several months ago, but was under the impression it would be a reality TV show, but in the weeks before the premiere I realized it is actually a comedy.
The story follows the lives of a small Muslims community in a typical small prairie town. The first episode was laden with the typical “terrorist” jokes – which I believe were used for the laughs and also to point out the stereotypical belief by many non-Muslims. I do hope that in subsequent episodes they tone down the terrorist jokes.
I really enjoyed the show, especially the quirky sense of humour. It also had a lot of jokes that may not be obvious to the average Canadian who doesn’t know much about Islam. Thankfully I have my darling wife who was raised Muslim and can answer all of my questions about the religion 🙂
If you have access to the CBC [i.e. Canadian and northern States readers] check the show out. You might learn a thing of two 🙂

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4 Comments

  1. n&k

    I saw the last 10 minutes of the pilot in the Holiday Inn the night before I flew back to England. I really enjoyed it & I wish they’d bring that over here rather than ‘Intelligence’. I didn’t know Firda was raised Muslim – Nas is handy for that info too!

  2. When I watched episode 2, I was not impressed.
    Simply put, it portrays a fake version of Muslims, and I’ll give you some examples. In episode 1, the Old Imam was praying the salat wrong. In episode 2, they show a Muslim couple kissing in PUBLIC and in front of an Imam and their daughter, as if it was normal for Muslims to do that. Also, when they were in the mosque, a women pinched her husband in the butt and whispered some seductive words in his ear.
    fake fake fake!

  3. Alzabini: I think the instance of kissing in public and pinching her husbands butt where both done by Shelia McCarthy’s character (the white Muslim convert) who isn’t a typical Muslim to start with. I still enjoyed the show, even if it isn’t 100% accurate. Plus my Muslim raised wife enjoys it, which is good enough for me.

  4. n&k

    I’d also have to add that most television programs feature ‘fake’ versions of reality. ER? Not exactly yer local emerg – even if you live in the roughest area of Vancouver. My high school was nothing like ‘Degrassi Junior High’, let alone ‘90210’. And frankly, you can be a Muslim and do all of those things – surely ‘Muslim’ is no more homogeneous than any other identity.