Can you laugh about suicide bombers?
An online comedy about a group of Bradford-based Muslim extremists planning a suicide bombing has been released on YouTube. Hilarious or disrespectful? One of our British Muslim Observers gives his reaction. Read more...
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An online comedy about a group of Bradford-based Muslim extremists planning a suicide bombing has been released on YouTube. Hilarious or disrespectful? One of our British Muslim Observers gives his reaction.
"Living with the Infidels" is the creation of London-based film-maker Aasaf Ainapore, who says he was born into a Muslim family but is not a believer himself. The blurb goes as follow:
"The series centres around a bumbling, Bradford-based terror cell. Initially set on a path to martyrdom, Yorkshire's jihadi warriors discover the West isn't as bad as it seems. Tempted by the likes of Man U, cable TV and ample Abi upstairs, what's a man to do? Will they find Paradise in the arms of seventy-two virgins, or is Shangri-La [utopia] closer to home, propped up at the bar in The Dog and Duck?"
The series, which launched on 5 August, has come under fire from relatives of suicide bombing victims (particularly 7/7), who consider the subject too sensitive to be laughed over. It has also faced criticism from a Muslim association in Bradford, which claims that it's misrepresentative of Muslim youth. However, not everybody is disappointed. The series has already got a following on Facebook.
Episode Two - Voracious Virgins
“By mocking ‘Jihadism’, it just highlights how bizarre the concept is”
Rizwaan Sabir, from Nottingham (central England), is currently doing a PhD on British counter-terrorism at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland.
I find it pretty funny to be honest. By mocking what people refer to as ‘Jihadism' it just highlights how bizarre the concept is. They might be taking the piss, but they're getting Muslims into the mainstream in doing it, airing a lot of very taboo topics, and touching on a subject which we find very hard to talk about.
I can see how people could be offended - of course it's misrepresentative of young Muslims. I certainly don't have any friends that do what those guys are doing. But by showing the difficulties they get into - the friendly blonde and Asian girls [see episode two]- the producers are applauding the Western, open values that we have here in Britain.
Goodness Gracious Me did the same thing in the 90s. As a kid, I was like, ‘wow, Asians on the TV! And they're laughing at themselves!' But it wasn't only funny, it really did help to air a few things."