I watched the premier of "Little Mosque on the Prairie" last night, arifsali, and was quite impressed with it. It promises to be a very good series. Lot of humour based upon how Muslims are feared, misunderstood, and viewed with suspicion. No laugh track, which was a real plus--I seldom watch sit-coms anyway and those with laugh tracks are unbearable.

There is quite a varied cast of characters, both non-Muslim and Muslim. There is a nice Anglican priest who rents the parish hall to a Muslim building contractor and then, when he learns that in addition to it being used as an office it has become a place of worship and fellowship for Muslims, supports the Muslim community instead of evicting...

I watched the premier of "Little Mosque on the Prairie" last night, arifsali, and was quite impressed with it. It promises to be a very good series. Lot of humour based upon how Muslims are feared, misunderstood, and viewed with suspicion. No laugh track, which was a real plus--I seldom watch sit-coms anyway and those with laugh tracks are unbearable.

There is quite a varied cast of characters, both non-Muslim and Muslim. There is a nice Anglican priest who rents the parish hall to a Muslim building contractor and then, when he learns that in addition to it being used as an office it has become a place of worship and fellowship for Muslims, supports the Muslim community instead of evicting them. A woman who formerly was a member of the Anglican parish before she married the contractor and converted to Islam works for the mayor, whose pretense of acceptance is disingenuous. On the other hand, there are several characters who represent the fearmongers and hatespewers, looking for suspicious behaviours and words, and jumping to erroneous conclusions about nearly anything and everything the Muslims say and do. As I witnessed the humorously portrayed insults, both subtle and overt, I often noticed myself wincing and grimacing with recognition and embarrassment on behalf of those who perpetrated the insults and on behalf of those who condoned these behaviours.

to be continued...

The Muslim characters were likeable, quirky, and comical, with a range from traditional to more unorthodox displays of culture and faith. The new imam, who arrives despite harassment due to suspicious misinterpretation of some comments he made while in line at the airport, is a young man with strong faith but a nontraditional outlook on life as a Muslim. He's very likeable, as are the building contractor and his wife and daughter. There are some characters who portray more traditional and/or stereotypical Muslims, like the colorful woman who insists on making and serving goat curry at a feast celebrating the new Mosque (unlike the contractor's wife who brings cucumber sandwiches, just as she...

The Muslim characters were likeable, quirky, and comical, with a range from traditional to more unorthodox displays of culture and faith. The new imam, who arrives despite harassment due to suspicious misinterpretation of some comments he made while in line at the airport, is a young man with strong faith but a nontraditional outlook on life as a Muslim. He's very likeable, as are the building contractor and his wife and daughter. There are some characters who portray more traditional and/or stereotypical Muslims, like the colorful woman who insists on making and serving goat curry at a feast celebrating the new Mosque (unlike the contractor's wife who brings cucumber sandwiches, just as she did as an Anglican). Accents, clothing, and mannerisms are all strongly Muslim and are gently overdone for a comedic effect.

I am looking forward to watching the remaining episodes in this series, and I hope that you get to see this series, too.