Paper Example. Little Mosque on the Prairie, Lack of Innovation

Zarqa Nawaz created the Canadian television sitcom called The Little Mosque on the Prairie. The movie focuses on the Muslim society in the fictitious town prairie town of Mercy. The setting of the film features the community consisting of a local mosque, led by Amaar Rashid as the chief imam (Cañas, 2008). The mosque had its location in the parish hall of an Anglican church within the town. Besides, the city had its place between Fatima Dinssa’s café, who operated a downtown restaurant.

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The community paterfamiliases consisted of Hamoudi Yasir who characterized a construction contractor that initially fundraised money for the construction of the mosque. Baba Siddiqui also offered his services as an imam, despite his occupation as an economics professor, before the hiring of Amaar (Cañas, 2008). Mayor Ann Popowicz governed the town of Mercy in which Sarah Hamoudi (Yasir’s wife) worked as a public relations officer. The purpose of this paper entails an assessment of the television drama series titled Little Mosque on the Prairie.

Main Characters

One of the main characters in the television series, Amaar Rashid, depicted as an influential lawyer from Toronto. He receives a calling as an ecclesiastic and ended up becoming the Imam at Mercy’s mosque. His family does not support the move. However, he intends to champion his ideology of liberal movement within the Muslim society (Cañas, 2008). His advocacy puts him in conflict with the conservative Muslims. Amaar blames his sarcastic attitude on his profession as a lawyer. The lawyer has affluent parents who do not believe in religion and disapproves of his move to become an Imam.

Another character in the series includes Yasir Hamoudi, who operates his enterprise out of an outlet at the mosque. He believes in comprise under challenging circumstances. He commits to religion but takes advantage of situations. He has a membership card with the Conservative Party of Canada which he utilizes to champion his interests. Sarah Hamoudi, former Anglican, converted to Islam when she got married to Yasir (Chareyron, 2019). She struggles to adapt to Muslim traditions and regulations. She divorces Yasir and returns to her original life. Sarah undergoes a religious dilemma between being a Christian and a Muslim but eventually decides to remain Muslim.

The daughter of Yasir and Sarah, Rayyan Hamoudi, follows Islamic feminism, observes sartorial hijab, and have strong faith in Islam. She believes in Western medicine. Besides, Rayyan marries Amaar but remains insecure in her marriage. Baber Siddiqi exists in the series as a divorced college economics professor. He remains one of the most conservative members of the Muslim society in the Little Mosque of Prairie (Chareyron, 2019). Baber features as an Imam before the arrival of Amaar. He takes over again from Amaar as an Imam which puts him in conflict with the Muslim community.

Another character, Fatima Dinssa, a conservative Nigerian immigrant, owns a café within the town. Fatima divorced but remains devoted to her faith, enjoys debates, and has a crush on Fred Tupper. She gets Canadian citizenship, and her culinary competence creates a bridge over cultural barriers since most residents, both Muslims and Christians, acknowledges her talent (Chareyron, 2019).

Reverend Duncan Magee in the series remains the Anglican Church priest and a good friend of Amaar. Duncan and Amaar regularly consult each other regarding various issues affecting their society. Reverent Duncan seems liberal as he once offered to perform a gay marriage at the church. Mr. Amaar corrects church leadership whenever their decisions go contrary to the Christian values (Chareyron, 2019). He complains of the miserable condition of his church and congregation. Reverend William Thorne replaces him in season three. His character depicts the similarities between Anglican and Islamic faiths and the challenges religious leaders face.

Mayor Ann Popowicz supports Muslims to gain their support. She exists as the mayor of Mercy and has the ambition of increasing the benefits of her office and reducing her responsibilities. The series depicts her as a witty, lush, and blunt with significant dependence on Sarah. Sarah acts as her PR person. Fred Tupper exists as the host of a local radio station who usually relates Muslims to terrorists (Chareyron, 2019). A flashback episode depicts that his distrust of Islam remains founded on an unpleasant encounter with Baber. Fred Tupper also divorced and has feelings for Fatima. Other characters include Layla Siddiqui, Junaid Jaffer, Joe Petterson, Nate Shore, and Reverent William Thorne.

Innovation in Little Mosque on the Prairie

The show depicts a classic example of a Christian church that practices inter-faith beliefs and unity by providing space to Muslims to hold their services. The presentation indicates religious cooperation and non-denominational brotherhood unheard of in the contemporary world (Press, 2009). The show, though a fictitious sitcom, contains a message of all religions operating in harmony for the betterment of the society remains a universal and applicable to the current world way of diversity.

Nature of Production of Little Mosque on the Prairie

Zarqa Nawaz created the television sitcom, and WestWind Pictures managed its production. The show got broadcasted by CBC after its filming in Toronto, Ontario and Indian Head, Saskatchewan. The series has six seasons with ninety episodes (Press, 2009). The title originates from the classic American book and TV drama series, Little House on the Prairie. The two sets have no relation apart from the modified version of the title logo used for early seasons.

Themes

The television show bases its humor from exploring the relationship between Christians and Muslims in the town of Mercy. Besides, the show emphasizes the contrast between conservative Islamic views with the more liberal interpretations of Islamic ideologies (Press, 2009). The TV show essentially represents the customary sitcom with an unusual aspect of Muslim society in a small town in Canada.

The show aimed to break barriers between Christianity and Islam and showcase an understanding of diverse cultures. The TV series displays themes like family, humor, and friends. Political aspects also get highlighted in the show. The series highlights comedic challenges like whether a Muslim woman must cover her hair, curl, or negotiate with a man in markets (Press, 2009). Issues such as gays have also received focus on the show. The series also showcases themes like stereotyping by putting characters in both non-Muslim and Muslim societies who enjoy the complete continuum of political opinion.

Baber and Fatima represent the ideologies of conservative Muslims while Fred Tupper holds the conventional views of the non-Muslims. Besides, Amaar and Rayyan represent the philosophy of liberal Muslims, while Reverent Magee represents the views of the progressive Anglican community (Press, 2009). Yasir and Sarah defend the society that believes in moderate faith while Mayor Popowicz holds the opinion that people remain free to do whatever they deem right. Besides, the show indicates the life of young Muslim girls, the contemporary world, feminism, and evolving fashion.

Conclusion

The coverage of Muslim women in European media has portrayed Muslims as outsiders. Racist stereotyping exists in Canada. However, legislations and mainstream media continue to make an effort to show an idealistic form of multiculturalism. Little Mosque on the Prairie tries to refute and criticize negative stereotypes, depicting Muslims as ordinary Canadians with issues and lifestyles shared across the country.

References

Cañas, S. (2008). The Little Mosque on the Prairie: Examining (multi) cultural spaces of nation and religion. Cultural Dynamics, 20(3), 195-211. www.journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0921374008096309

Chareyron, R. (2019). Little Mosque on the Prairie and the paradoxes of cultural translation by Kyle Conway. University of Toronto Quarterly, 88(3), 178-179. www.muse.jhu.edu/article/749372/summary

Press, A. (2009). Gender and family in television’s Golden Age and beyond. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 625(1), 139-150. www.journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0002716209337886