A Fresh New Look at a Misunderstood Issue

A lot of western media contains stereotypical and misinformed information about Muslims. This seems to have been more the case since the events of 9/11. Muslims are represented in contemporary western media as inferior, premodern and violent, often being regarded as terrorists, or queue jumpers in some situations. On the contrary, westerners are usually depicted as superior, modern and enlightened, which classes them in a hegemonic position. Many academics, journalists and enthusiasts have written about these prejudices, but seems as though they have been of little help in educating the masses about the reality of Muslims. People simply continue to see them as dangerous and inhumane, and find it difficult to relate.

However, Sandra Canas has written an article that takes a different approach to discussing this issue. In her piece entitled, ‘The Little Mosque On the Prairie: Examining (Multi) Cultural Spaces of Nation and Religion”, Cansas does a brief analysis of the Canadian satire “Little Mosque On the Prairie”. Within her article she highlights the prejudices, assumptions and stereotypes made about Muslims, and explains how the show uses satire and comedy to raise important points about the struggles of Muslims in a contemporary western context. For example, the show covers the struggle Muslims endure to raise good Muslim children while also allowing them to adapt to a new environment. This is a particularly difficult task in countries where Muslims are outcast and treated as lesser citizens. Similarly, the show uses satire to deal with the grossly misunderstood issue of polygamy in the Muslim religion.

Apart from highlighting controversial and difficult subjects with the use of comedy, the show also includes many symbolic nuances. For example, Canas explains that the Mosque in the show is inside an Anglican Parish. She suggests that this emerges as a contradictory cultural space where a variety of struggles unfold. While instances like these are not directly discussed in the show, they create another layer in order to humorously tackle this otherwise gloomy and misrepresented issue.

Below is an exerpt from one of the scenes that Canas explains in her article. 

Source: Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd73S4mZA5s, 2006

The Little Mosque On the Prairie provides a fresh and humorous method of addressing an otherwise complex and shameful issue. It reflects Muslims as they are, and as a result positions them as simply the same as everyone else. Being a Muslim does not make you a terrorist. 

Canas, Sandra. (2008). ‘The Little Mosque On the Prairie: Examining (Multi) Cultural Spaces of Nation and Religion’, Cultural Dynamics, Sage Publication,  pp 195 - 211