27 July 2008

Divorces, TV shows & Fatwas

You know Islam has reached a new low when it's clerics start forbidding popular TV shows.

Over the past few months, a hit Turkish soap under the name of Nour was aired on MBC; nothing really extra special about it, besides the fact that Muhannad, the main actor, is (supposedly) a charming romantic hunk. As the months passed, the show started to gain increasing popularity, as many tuned into to watch the tragic love story.


Soon after, however, something funny started happening. News surfaced of a husband in Saudi Arabia who divorced his wife after her constant obsession with Muhannad, and her constant complaints that he should be as romantic as the actor.

A Jordanian newspaper also mentioned a divorce, sparked by a jealous husband after his wife uploaded Muhannad's picture onto her cellphone.

Another case included a divorce after a heated argument, where the wife reportedly told her husband: “I want to sleep with Muhannad for only one night and die afterwards.” At least five other 'Nour-based-divorces' were reported, and the way it's going, there are probably a few more to come.

Hmm.

Ok, so we already know Middle-Eastern people have issues, but divorces over a TV show? Come on guys...

But it doesn't stop there. The all-knowing, all-wise mufti's (high-level holy men) have to butt their heads into the situation, and make the whole thing a religious issue:

Mufti of Saudi Arabia prohibts watching the TV show Nour

The Saudi Mufti, Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Sheikh has described the Turkish soap 'Nour' which aired «MBC» as «criminal, malicious and harmful». He added; «It is a sin to watch the show, which is a plague of evil, a demolition of morality and a war against virtues».

Al-Sheikh said in his fatwa published on the Internet yesterday in response to a question about the Turkish soap: The broadcast of the soap is a «declaration of war against Allah and His Messenger», pointing out that Nour «calls for and encourages vice, helps spread it, and supports it's causes».


Errrr... Ok dude; I understand if you don't really like the show, but is labeling it 'a plague of evil' really an appropriate description? I also love the part where he mentions how airing it is declaring war against God. Yep, sure, that's what MBC was thinking when they decided to broadcast the show:

MBC Executive #1:
Hey, you wanna go to war against god?

MBC Executive #2: Yeah, let's do it! I have the perfect attack plan!

MBC Executive #1: Really?! Tell me!

MBC Executive #2: We'll broadcast this Turkish soap called Nour! It's a definite no holds full out attack!

MBC Executive #1: Yeah! Let the devil join us tonight! MWAHAHAHAA (evil laugh)

?!

Umm, yeah... Okay... I'm hoping to catch that last episode of Bold & the Beautiful before they start banning that, too.

Aren't you sick of these supposed holy men making a total mockery of the religion? I guess we really need to get some new mufti's up on that fatwa-making chair. Any takers?



The original Turkish version of Nour is called Gümüs, and Muhannad is played by Kivanç Tatlitug

Link to original Fatwa article (in Arabic)

33 comments:

Grey said...

“I want to sleep with Muhannad for only one night and die afterwards.”... Just the compliment a man needs Muhahahaha !

Anonymous said...

My head hurts
And their ass too.

Shionge said...

Gosh, the power of TV ;( Obviously this shows that the marriage is not strong imagine being tempted by actors.

Taqo said...

LOOL
these are the same people that put out a fatwa against 6ASH (wtf?)

so this isn't really surprising :|

ehsanbros said...

I don't realy know what is happening these days, everybody speaking about this series (Noor & Muhanned) WTF...

Aisha said...

"in a9aaba fa laho ajraan, wa in a56a2a fa laho ajr" (not sure of the exact wording)

as much as i love the show..
wrong or right, a Mufti deserves to be respected atleast.. dont you think?

doona said...

YES I AM!!

you know how embarrasing it is when my european freinds come and ask me about these things??

"is it true that you people said tv was a work of the devil?"
(todays lunch convo)

"is it true that its okay to breastfeed your coworkers??"

i never know what to say. its really embarrasing.

and then theyn wonder why the rest of the world doesnt take us seriously.

its so sad :(

Reem B. said...

Ewwwwww by the way! This MUHANNAD is the most disgusting man I've ever seen. I can't believe that girls really like him....

George Clooney.... Antonio Banderas... etc.... THESE ARE REAL MEN! muhannad is ma95ara! I think I need to start planning for my next awareness campaign.

Unknown said...

divorce over a tv show?

ppl really need to find their sense of common, or common sense.

Ammaro said...

PG; I don't respect people based on their position on title. I respect people based on what they do in life, and sitting there and telling me a regular TV show is the enemy of god and islam... well, let's just say he won't be commanding any respect from me any more; he obviously made his little fatwa without having any idea about the show or even watching it...

anyway, anyone can grow a beard, pretend to be all wise in religious issues and become mufti. not necessarily much quality up there.

Anonymous said...

never watched the show & not tempted! i'm not married & i hope to stay like this for long while! ... marriage is freaky as it is, without nour trying to make it more appealing!!

ppl seem to think the world is either black or white (good or evil)!! which is rubbish of course,& totally ignorant. they don't know what to do with what's happening so they go out banning & prohibiting things, it's kinda unfortunate to see 'supposedly' highly educated ppl do&say things like that.

SwaRwaR said...

nooooooooooor again lool

why don't they make a fatwa on movies and american series then ??
and even gulf ones :/

beaverboosh said...

LOL! I watched American Pie and went out and shagged lots of teenage girls!

Ruby Woo said...

You want to listen to the irony? The mufti is blind. As in pitch-black blind.

Woozie said...

Just wait until Saudi Arabia gets Queer as Folk.

eshda3wa said...

after the fatwa about breast feeding your co workers saw the light of day, nothing surprises me

Mrs Dynamite aka Lorena +Wonder Women... said...

Dear amaro every thing is possible... have you read about the man who kills his daughter coz she was on facebook? .. I don't believe that they really divorce them because the program.. they may be another reasons but this was the last one .. If i tell hubby that he will answer me with something else LOL but not a divorce! come one LOL ...

Anonymous said...

hahahahahaha .. this is by far the best post you've ever written.. so funny yet so true..

Dr. Shale bin Agnon said...

Of course, with less pressure from family over whom to marry, these women would be choosing men that they actually want to be with. I feel sorry for both parties in that situation.

A Global Citizen said...

Strange enough, I find it both sad and hilarious how these people are mocking Islamic teachings. But at the sametime, it doesn't really come as a shocking surprise for me. For we have somehow grown accustomed to such fatwas being issued every now and then whenever something obviously attracts people's attention. So, the ridiculous old excuse of "plague of evil" has become old-fashioned now. They seriously should think of some new, convincing explanations to go along their backward fatwas.

Btw, cool blog! Will be a frequent visitor, I guess! :)

rosh said...

hahaha! omg! am sorry, this post is hilarious! sad, but hilarious - you've written it with simple humour & wit. Just what I needed :)

it's unfortunate, these silly fools are out to make tarnish a noble religion as islam. dear lord what's next on the mufti-list?

Anonymous said...

believe it or not,as far as fatwas go there are rumors/ emails circulated aound that the fish "9afi" is haram!!! after all those yummy years :)

Anonymous said...

Well to be brutally honest, Muhannad's hot... like hmm really hot. hot like the actors in Latin Telenovela..

So uhm.. i wouldn't mind having him around.

Islam is not the only one doing this... even in other asian countries they mix all this and make it a religious attack one way or the other...

it all boils down to one thing... POLITICS...

Anon08

Anonymous said...

did u know that this mufti is actually blind? haa! how could he yafti when he cant even see the show!

Bride Zone said...

Well.. Let's see..
I just heard about this fatwa today.. I don't think it's realistic or logical but I can't attack the shaikh for that simply cause I do respect him and all others who try to do thier best.. He has a point of view that I disagree with some how but I can't say that he is wrong.. He has more knowledge in this feild than I do and once I get to know all what he knoew then I can start arguing about his opinion.. A fatwa at the end is not a fact but an opinion.
U always have the choice to follow this fatwa or that one based on ur believes.

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Kivanç Tatlitug is pretty alright looking, my ex was a turkish.. mann why didnt he look like that, he was just err.. hairy.. hehe

as for the islamic part of things, i choose not to even try looking into it.. being muslim is hard enough these days..

Anonymous said...

actually .. IS still a turk.. lol

soso said...

lool well one thing you have to know about people here .. i can't beleive i'm talking about my country this way lol but it's the truth :P .. they have nothing to do .. this is one of the reasons that saudi women got attached to this series .. they watch it daily like a must .. everyone was talking about it and about wut happened in yesterday's episode lol .. people has somehow got obsessed with it and i think this is why they came up with this fatwa .. coz children also watch it .. my cousins are still kids .. and one of them is really really obsessed with the show .. she watch the same episode twice a day :S .. at night and the re-run .. she's got mohanad and noor's pirctures in her computer and her mobile .. she made a research about them and their real lives .. and wut's more funny is her messenger nickname and her bluetooth name is mohanad and noor :S:S .. about the women well you can say saudi men are not romantic .. so these women are deprived this is y they love mohanad :P,, and this is why all saudi men are jealous of him lol

Anonymous said...

i don't like Muhannad ..

i don't see him as attractive person ..

but i wnat to reply just because

the character ..

AL Mofti saudi arabia said things against this film just because
the negative things that happend
in our world ..

in this film there are many moral
issues against our religion..

muhannad sleep with his girlfriend
without marriage and this habit is
forbiden in our religion and so in other religion ..

me as person .. i see the divorce
issue because muhannad is behaviour of silly people becase

if muhannad is beautiful in their eyes .. maybe they are right .
but i want to say there is much more beautiful person than muhannad

i want to ask this girl who wrote
in his reply i want to sleep with
muhannd and die what if he invited you to sleep with him in his age 80

will you accept . don't forget in his 80 his face will fill with wrinkles .. and so i am imaging you
kissing his wrinkles and don't forget to play with his wrinkles and enjoy with it >>

in fact , he was lasbain and my prove for that is his pictures that covers one of french magazine
you can search in google and find it.

After all my discussion i want to say if you and your religion still accept such moral values, you deserve charctor not al mufti.


if you have any point of view you can send it in my mail suffer-cover@hotmail.com .

i want to say one thing about the last reply who wrote that men in saudi arabia are not romantic.
yes this true with men who are away of islam . who don't pray and worship gad..

they act outside of their house away from his family and wife
as a romantic person but inside his house he is like animal all the time he keep thinking that people inside his house have forbidden love stories just like him .


but people who worship gad according to islam they spend
theor life worshiping and doing god things so there ideas about people around him are positive not negative just like their acts.

quran versus are full of good things like love your gad and prophet and parents and your family member and so your wife and children and treat them as best as you can and don't ever hit them in bad way or in away they even feel pain because if you do such thing that mean you did a sin.

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