I just found this incredible site for Canadian Muslims: Young Muslims. It’s a directory, news-source, and one-stop research nucleus for Canadian Muslim young folk.
I found it hard to tear myself away, as the page’s creators successfully covers a broad spectrum of relevant topics for young Muslims. While many services it lists are in Canada, there are plenty of poignant and universal news and topics. I think the Young Muslim’s is a great resource for any young members of our faith who have questions and want to explore their roots in parallel with their everyday existence and practice.
The site also also introduced me to the Canadian TV Sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie, and now I’m utterly hooked.
Turn On, Turn Up, Tune In
Little Mosque on the Prairie is a Canadian sitcom on CBC, which premiered in 2007 and began airings its fourth season in September 2009 and it’s simply sublime.
Title sound familiar?
The show is a Muslim spin on childhood fave Little House on the Prairie but parallels don’t go much further than the name and the logo. The series focuses on the Muslim community in the 14,000 strong fictional prairie town of Mercy, Saskatchewan and action centres in two primary locations: the local mosque and Fatima’s Café, a downtown diner run by Fatima Dinssa.
Little Mosque on the Prairie is a traditional sitcom plonked amidst a misunderstood cultural community. It gets most of its laughs from exploring the interactions of the Muslims with the non-Muslim townspeople of Mercy. The show also covers a gamma of Islamic views from the conservative (held primarily by the characters of Baber and Fatima) to more liberal interpretations.
Comedy for Multicultural Dialogue
Little Mosque on the Prairie’s slogan: “Small town Canada with a little Muslim twist” pretty much sums up its essence.
Creator Zarqa Nawaz insists that the show’s main aim is to entertain and amuse and it doesn’t aspire to be a political platform in any way, shape or form. She believes comedy to one of the most valuable and powerful ways to break down barriers and to encourage dialogue and understanding between cultures.
