February 23, 2004
WE NEED MORE FATWAS (via John Resnick):
Fatwa issued for 'shameless' reality TV (AP, 18feb04)
THE dean of Kuwait's Islamic Law College has issued a fatwa, or religious edict, calling on Muslims to boycott a popular reality TV show for its "shamelessness and decadence."Star Academy brings together talented young men and women from different Arab countries - including Kuwait - to learn music while they live under the same roof. One participant is voted off each week.
"Following this program or supporting it (by voting for candidates) is sacrilegious," Mohammed al-Tabtabai said in comments published Tuesday.
"Heads of every family should prevent its members from watching it," because such programs are responsible for "stripping our society from its good Islamic values," he added.
But his call is likely to be dismissed by many of the program's fans, who watch it for hours a day.
Star Academy is aired from Lebanon by the privately owned Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation. Viewers can watch the participants 24 hours a day on a satellite music channel, Nagham, as they cook, eat, fight, hug, kiss and attend sports, music and dance classes. Men and women have separate sleeping quarters.
Every reality show should have a fatwa issued against it, only they should be those Salman Rushdie-type fatwas, not just boycotts. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 23, 2004 1:57 PM
To my great shame, I've been sucked into "The Apprentice".
Posted by: David Cohen at February 23, 2004 2:26 PMAnyone who romanticizes the Noble Savage in the State of Nature ought to watch a couple of episodes of Survivor.
Posted by: Mike Earl at February 23, 2004 2:27 PMI'm thinking about converting. Wonder what he says about Ozzy Osbourne.
Posted by: h-man at February 23, 2004 2:28 PMThat would be one way to get a lot of Hollywood liberals back in support of the war on terror, especially if they couldn't go to France any more for Cannes due to death threats.
Posted by: John at February 23, 2004 2:41 PMOrrin, I agree. Just wait until after the finale of "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance" tonight.
Posted by: Rick T. at February 23, 2004 2:59 PMThe off-button on my TV works so well I have never seen a minute of any TV Reality show.
Or Friends.
I'm not quite sure what that says, though...
Posted by: Jeff Guinn at February 23, 2004 3:04 PMHey, I agree with Jeff. My wife and I have watched less and less TV since Cheers went off the air (OK, we watched Frazier until year before last). Uh, we do watch sports and such but I don't really think that counts.
GO CATS! GO TUBBY!
Posted by: Bartman at February 23, 2004 3:42 PMHey, I agree with Jeff. My wife and I have watched less and less TV since Cheers went off the air (OK, we watched Frazier until year before last). Uh, we do watch sports and such but I don't really think that counts.
GO CATS! GO TUBBY!
Posted by: Bartman at February 23, 2004 3:43 PMI hope you put "The Amazing Race" outside the bounds of reality TV.
I suspect many readers of this blog would love to compete.
Posted by: jim hamlen at February 23, 2004 4:18 PMMy first thought when I saw the post, Jim.
Posted by: jsmith at February 23, 2004 8:24 PMMike Earl:
'Survivor' is completely artificial, and says nothing whatsoever about the State of the Noble Savage.
Even if we were to postulate a situation in which only one could survive, it wouldn't be about "tribes" and "votes", it would be about honor or fists.
If honor won the day, a woman would survive; If fists, one of the well-muscled male youth who got voted off early, or possibly a Rudy-type, a grizzled veteran who knows thirty dirty ways to kill.
We could create a new reality TV show called "Fatwa". In each episode, a Mullah, an Orthodox Rabbi, a priest and a fundamentalist minister must chase down a TV executive based on clues hidden in each of their Holy books. When he is caught, the executive must be killed in a scripturally correct way.
Posted by: Robert Duquette at February 24, 2004 2:40 PMWell, as long as they didn't drink his blood to survive, it might be OK.
Posted by: jim hamlen at February 25, 2004 9:06 PM