IT IS the season again and our TV channels have filled their schedules with various series and programs made especially for Ramadan. The month of fasting has, in the last few years, become known for its TV shows as well. It has also been the occasion for trouble in some cases, especially for those films which deal with political and social problems. Such controversial programs invariably excite some viewers and almost always the censors, both self-appointed and official.
We all remember the case of the popular but unfinished series, “The Road to Kabul.” It dealt with terrorism and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan but was prematurely stopped because of alleged threats to the actors and producers. Sadly, whatever the viewers thought, the series was terminated and that was simply that. It was instructive to hear the kinds of arguments that erupted at the time, between those who approved and those who condemned anything that tried to explore the roots of terrorism and our role in the phenomenon.
There were other series which faced a similar uproar — one Egyptian series dealt with relations between Christians and Muslims and it was taken off the air after it started even though it was based on a popular novel which was readily available in the market. Last year another series — “Al Hoor Al Ein” — which concerned the mujahedeen was condemned but not banned, and the severe criticism that it faced was relentless in attacking both the work and those who worked in and on it.
That campaign was unfortunately not the first nor will it be the last. We have one example very close to home of how ugly one-sided arguments can get. “Tash ma Tash,” the Saudi sitcom which has become a much-anticipated part of Ramadan, draws severe criticism every year. The criticism does not limit itself to newspapers, websites and social gatherings: It has been exported to mosques and, as many of us remember, one of the sitcom’s actors actually heard himself severely insults when he was in a mosque with his father. Not only that, the actors last year actually received death threats because they “mock Saudi society and scholars.” Such a charge is unfounded as the work has proved over the years that it is the most popular program on Saudi TV. In addition, its relentless and brave portrayal of social problems made it a must-see for most people.
In order to enjoy more freedom, the show has now moved to a satellite channel from Saudi Television’s Channel 1. People who watched it last year could not stop exclaiming over some of the episodes such as the one about segregation in which a city for women only was created in order to prevent the mixing of men and women.
The channel that hosted the show last year, the Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC), has been somewhat of a disappointment this year. It will carry “Tash ma Tash” this Ramadan but it announced a few days ago that it was suspending a Saudi-Kuwaiti series that dealt with temporary marriages, including Shiite ones. The suspension followed some very heated criticism from a few Shiite Kuwaitis and then an actual physical attack on the channel’s offices in the country. The channel said that it was not continuing with the show because it did not wish to cause problems between religious sects.
One step back! But not the only one for the season; another channel, the Lebanese LBC, announced the suspension of another Saudi series dealing with women. The series, called “Mousa’s Sisters,” drew its inspiration from 100 actual stories about rape, kidnapping, family disputes and homosexuality. A source at the channel told the Al-Arabiya website that some of those subjects were considered “unspeakable” in Saudi Arabia and therefore any public discussion or dramatic rendition of them was bound to meet fierce opposition. That much we know, but we have to wonder — at a time when our newspapers are covering such stories extensively and when a government body has been formed to deal with crimes of incest and other family problems — if it is acceptable for a TV show dealing with these problems to be stopped before even one episode had been seen by the public.
If intimidation is that strong and TV stations cannot face it or find enough support to keep exposing the ills we suffer from, we have to hope that those who support these works have louder voices. But as it happens, the voices of censorship and the advocates of banning are always louder and stronger. Which leads us to wonder if moderates have a chance or rather if they have a voice that could win, even once?
