Big Fuss Over Little Mosque

The show’s creator Zarqa Nawaz hopes her children will see the new face of Canada in the show.

By Pavani Yalamanchili, January 6, 2007, Comedy, Issues, Media, TV, Religion, News, Daily, Humor

Creator/producer Zarqa Nawaz. (Sophie Giraud/CBC)

CNN’s Paula Zahn recently visited the set of the CBC’s Little Mosque on the Prairie to report on the new comedy series about a small community of Muslims living in rural Saskatchewan. The BBC, The New York Times, The LA Times and several other news outlets outside of Canada have also been paying attention to the show. It is scheduled to debut January 9, and the buzz has been building up. [1] Torontoist has photos and more from Thursday’s promotional event in Dundas Square featuring camels and “The World’s Largest Chicken Shawarma.” Will it live up to the hype? The clips look promising, and it would be great to hear from people who tune in to watch this next week. Let us know what you think!

The show’s creator and producer, 39 year-old filmmaker and mother of four Zarqa Nawaz, of Regina, Saskatchewan, hopes her children will see the new face of Canada in the show. She also hopes it will make people laugh.

I think people are assuming because of the title and the subject matter that it’s going to be really controversial and political. But it’s just a comedy that happens to have Muslim people in it, and it’s meant to make people laugh. It’s about relationships and human interactions and life in a rural setting. But it’s really the first comedy of its kind in North America, and that’s why it’s so intriguing. ([2] The Toronto Star)

More information:
[3] Little Mosque on the Prairie Official Web Site
[4] Official CBC Blog posts on Little Mosque
[5] CBC news clip with interview of Nawaz
YouTube clips ([6] 1, [7] 2)—these are also on the show’s site.

The Morning After: [8] Nawaz responds to questions via chat and email following the show’s debut, including this gem: “How much are you paid by Al Qaida to produce your show to try to soften up the Canadian public for an attack?”

Watch The Pilot: [9] On Google Video

© Copyright 2007 Nirali Magazine

Article printed from Nirali Magazine: http://niralimagazine.com

URL to article: http://niralimagazine.com/2007/01/big-fuss-over-little-mosque/

URLs in this post:
[1] Torontoist has photos and more: http://www.torontoist.com/archives/2007/01/cbc_gives_us_th.php
[2] The Toronto Star: http://www.thestar.com/artsentertainment/article/167978
[3] Little Mosque on the Prairie Official Web Site: http://www.littlemosque.ca/
[4] Official CBC Blog posts on Little Mosque: http://insidethecbc.com/category/shows/littlemosque/
[5] CBC news clip with interview of Nawaz: http://www.cbc.ca/clips/mov/abma-littlemosque070103.mov
[6] 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK0fLbNqPGU
[7] 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd73S4mZA5s&mode=related&search=
[8] Nawaz responds to questions via chat and email: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070109.wlivezarqa0110/BNSto
ry/specialComment/home
[9] On Google Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4689644836814333621

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