Little Mosque on the Prairie *Update: Full Episode*
Published by Haseeb January 12th, 2007 in Entertainment, Television*UPDATE*: Entire First Episode:
Filmmaker and Canadian Muslim, Zarqa Nawaz, has created a new Canadian sitcom, Little Mosque on the Prairie. The series focuses on the Muslim population of the fictional rural prairie town of Mercy, Saskatchewan.
The plot follows a Canadian-born imam as he makes a similar move from a big city to the Saskatchewan town of Mercy (pop. 10,000), where he encounters a colourful array of characters, both in the town’s Muslim and non-Muslim communities.
“It’s very unusual, because usually the Imam is imported from overseas and there’s often a cultural disconnect,” says Ms Nawaz.
“I thought it would be interesting to have an imam with Canadian cultural sensibilities having to deal with the immigrant men for a change.”
Source: BBC News
Here are two more news clips from CNN & CBC on Little Mosque on the Prarie.
And finally, here are a couple of clips from the show: Enjoy:
If any of you have seen the show (ahem… Canadians) let me what you think of it. Jazakallah khair. 
I wonder if they will eventually air it in America. It looks funny.
the first episode was fine. it had it’s moments but it’s a little awkward. as an aside, i can say that i wasn’t offended by it at any point.
oops, i meant that, at no point, did i find it offensive.
omg i really liked it. its actually funny like any other show … aside from the awkward coversation the construction owners’s daughter had with the imam, i felt like it was the most accurate depiction of Muslims on television. I also like how they made light of the issues that the Muslim community goes through. Cant wait for next week’s episode !!
asalaamu alaikum
I thought it was ok, i was actually expecting it to be better, but that just me
i’ve seen it on Riz Khan’s show on al Jazeerah, interesting!!!
anyone no if thers chance of it being aired in the uk?
The “young imam” acts as a gay character in another sitcom (not sure if he is actually gay in reality). I know it’s acting, but couldn’t they get anyone else? Other than that, for the general public, not bad.
you know, Fatima character rocks! I love her accent, sarcasm, etc.
And second favorite is the old desi ex-imam who talked about American/Canadian Idol,
they add the humor.
Yaser is boring.
His wife is quirky and funny.
His daugther is a little snobbish.
The young imam is a cute boy at best but not much more.
that’s my synopsis of the characters
and oh, I like the Christian preacher guy. He seems nice.
I am speculating Yaser’s daughter and the young Imam are going to get married, then he doesnt have to worry about a salary or somethng.
“I am speculating Yaser’s daughter and the young Imam are going to get married, then he doesnt have to worry about a salary or somethng.”
I was thinking the same…its funny. The only thing I didn’t like was kissing…comeon thats not how we behave. Media is strong and this part can convey wrong message about us. Other than that i think it was a great show.
I didn’t laugh once. Not funny at all. Complete waste of time. No redeeming qualities whatsoever. At times the images and dialogue were innapropriate. I actually feel kind of nauseous having watched it. La hawla wa la quwatta illa billah.
gott agree with stranger there…
half the actors overact (more than jim carey and worse than jim carey, and that’s saying a lot); and the other half dont have anything funny to say.
I cant understand who’s failing who, but the casting, the directing and the scripting, all seem to be involved…
perhaps its a budget issue, although Im not sure if I am being unfair to judge it against american sitcoms we’re all used to?
It’s just not funny, the directing looks amateurish at best.
However, it’s a great idea, note to show producers : Think Seinfeld, innane mundane realities of Muslim life, without the overacting, or the sheepish filming…
I spoke to my Non-Muslim co-workers, and to my surprise, many of them enjoyed it! I guess this is who the producers are appealing to, not mature Muslims (a small segment of the population of Canada). Many people commented on the “daughter”… I guess she puts a pretty face to a hijab!
She is actually a model of half Pakistani/Welsh descent. Not bad! 
im canadian and i loved it. i agree with the canadian humour thing though– you americans need to see some corner gas and red-green show
not quite the same as american humour. although i love american humour too
nothing bothered me about the whole show. i agree that the filming and whatnot is off– this is to be expected from a pilot though. do people not know how tv shows work?
anyways, i hope it picks up and gets interesting. i like how the new imam is cocky– lol the whole show reminds me of people i know. at least it’s not some figment of the imagination show
and it really puts nonMuslims in the shoes of Muslims. that’s the best part. so even if it fails after one season, at least something might have been conveyed insha’Allah
.
good luck to zarqa!
khayr
and Insha’Allah
wassalaam
The Red-Green Show sucked, like most Canadian comedy shows. Sure there is a joke here and there, but it’s no episode of Scrubs, or ‘The Office’ However, comedians are funny.
Getting back to the topic, this show isn’t that bad. I’m sure it’ll get better and I am also sure it won’t air in America. I didn’t really find anything offencive and like everyone else said, those conversations were a bit awkeward. Nevertheless, I’m going to keep an eye out for this show.
As Salamu ‘alaykum,
First of all, I’d like to say, ‘not bad for a first episode.’ However, the show goes a bit overboard in belittling the importance and sacredness of Islamic rituals such as the Salat and the matter of the start of the month of Ramadan, a thing that most Muslims take very seriously. Another thing is the matter of the Imam, the Jumu’ah sermon, and the conduct of those in attendance. The role of all matters of worship should not be belittled in this way even if in jest. To do such a thing can be very risky and even dangerous for one’s soul.
Other than that, I think it’s a good first effort to attempt to show the basic humanity that Muslims share with other peoples. But it still needs a lot of work if you expect Muslims to take the show serious on a wide national or international scale in my opinion. Tolerance for gays was slowly ushered in - in my view - in the same manner by putting them on the TV screen. So, I say, what would it hurt to try to do the same for Muslims. The only difference is that I hope to see in the future more shows that reflect the true diversity of our Muslim community in the West, which would include Afro-Americans and Afro-Canadians as opposed to just focussing on presenting Muslims who are recent migrants to North America. I think this doesn’t help the relationship of Muslims, since it makes one think that those who migrate from the Muslim countries feel that they are the only true Muslims and are content with perpetuating the false impressions of Euro-North Americans who also see those of a non-indigenous origin as being those who represent true Islam. Islam doesn’t below to any of us. It is the religion of Allah
.
So if you can respect these wishes of mine, I’d say to you, may Allah
bless your efforts. So please do your best to not belittle Islamic rituals as I feel this episode has done.
was Salam
Abdullah
a few laffs here and there
salamulakum,
I haven’t decided if I like or not. it seemed a little different when it came to the Islamic rituals, but it was really accurate, the fighting when ramadan starts etc. i guess we can all critisize but few can move and get the job done, and with every job there will be problems,
swt reward you!
great work to the producers and writers, mashallah its the first step…may Allah
This is the stupidest show i have ever seen.
Acting is weak and the dialogue/scripting is very amatuerish at best.
Maybe over time when muslim writers study media/film better, then we can get a decent show.