#MuslimsLikeUs

[s28]

Anyone watch it ?

Thoughts ?

Some of the people on it giving their own unedited opinions on twitter/facebook now because the Programme producers seem to have edited a lot out.

@BaraaKouja [MENTION=72127]nabil[/MENTION]U [MENTION=29022]huma[/MENTION]iraM_ @thequeenmehreen.

 

[PakLFC]

Some of the comments made by Abdul Haq the black convert seemed to propagate fanaticism and hate of non-Muslim's even Shia's. The other black guy was argumentative as well yet seemed to think he was the victim even though no racist comment was made as far as I know. The ladies seemed far more at peace where as the men were overly dogmatic trying to play preachers by forcing their views down the throats of others. There is room for disagreement within Islam like I can say "I disagree" with this or that however we must never judge the other by threating them with hellfire. Only Allah can decide who goes where after our life is over, this right exclusively belongs to Allah. There seemed to be to much emphasis on the outer appearance instead of the spiritual aspect of Islam that is simply to be nice to each other, pray, fast and give charity. It shows that neither Muslim's nor Islam can ever be put in a box, the believer is also influenced by their culture and upbringing like Arab Islam is a bit different to Pakistani Islam in terms of dress code and so forth so an Arab may consider a Pakistani lady to be dressed in salwar kameez to be exposing herself to much! Similarly a Pakistani may feel the same way towards an Indian Muslim lady dressed in a sari. Islam is not complicated at all, Muslim's make it that by often giving priority to the wrong things. Anyone supporting the killing of another person is a danger to society, that Abdul Haq I believe has done time so was in no position to act all pious and know it all. Didn't like the way Mehreen dressed and behaved at times, that's all I can say. Will not judge her or anyone else for that matter.

 

[dell79]

Didn't see the point but was entertaining nonetheless. Abdul Haq was a loon. Mehreen/Zohra seemed the most sane. The big Pakistani dude just spent the whole time hugging ppl. The people that didn't go to the war memorial, I just didn't get their justification.

 

[s28]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/14/panel-muslims-like-us-islam

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Didn't see the point but was entertaining nonetheless. Abdul Haq was a loon. Mehreen/Zohra seemed the most sane. The big Pakistani dude just spent the whole time hugging ppl. The people that didn't go to the war memorial, I just didn't get their justification.

I haven't seen the second episode fully yet, but so far I am liking the girl Mehreen the best. Although ostensibly she looks like a bimbo, she is in fact pretty strong minded and unwilling to take crap from either Muslims or non-Muslims. She seems pretty easy going other than that.

If she was wearing a hijab you would be saying she is the best speaker on the show.

 

[Musakhel]

Most muslims are not like what they showed on this show, they picked the minorities from the wider group.

 

[s28]

Maybe that is what the show attempts to demonstrate. Not all Muslims are what the EDL/BNP/UKIP/DailyMail/Sun portray them as ?

 

[Chief Destroyer]

What nonsense.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Most muslims are not like what they showed on this show, they picked the minorities from the wider group.

What are they like? Always good to hear the views of a 'newcomer'.

 

[from_da_lost_dim3nsion]

What are they like? Always good to hear the views of a 'newcomer'.

Probably like rest of the Run of the mill , generic human beings. Worrying about paying their bills , going to work and buying groceries. Things that humans do .

 

[s28]

Miqdaad Versi: Insightful moments illuminated the real tensions within Muslim communities

“Muslims are quite a varied bunch”: not a bad message from the “Muslim Big Brother”, which aired on BBC2 this week.

If you wanted a show that represented all Muslims equally and fairly, proportionate to their population, you might be disappointed. But if you wear the hat of a reality TV show viewer – where you expect cringe, controversy and a tad of sensationalism, with editing for maximum viewing pleasure rather than a completely representative depiction – there were some insightful moments that illuminated the real tensions within Muslim communities.

How should we best deal with the far-right English Defence League? Should it be through compassion and humanity, like Bara, as he hugged the EDL member on the street; or through the honesty and integrity of Nabil who believed we have to stand up to racism wherever we see it? Both have their place. The former can be successful in individual cases, such as when a York mosque defused an EDL protest with tea, biscuits and football; and the latter reminds me of the necessity of not allowing hate to be normalised by showing strength, such as during the anti-apartheid struggle.

How should we respond to extremists like Abdul Haqq, who was unwilling to express an opinion on whether it was theoretically wrong for someone to shoot Zohra, his fellow housemate? In his view, her family and friends are “five-star grade-A kuffar [disbelievers] going to hellfire” because of their Shia background. Zohra provided an important example to all of us, not only showing the pain of sectarianism but pointing out the hypocrisy of claiming persecution while persecuting others.

For me, however, one of the stars of the show was Londoner Mehreen. From the compassion she showed even to those who judged her, to the brave and powerful riposte she gave directly to the immigrant-blaming visitors of the soup kitchen saying “if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be eating today” – she epitomised many of the values we yearn for in our society.

There were, of course, editorial decisions I disagreed with, such as the significant focus on the Anjem Choudary-supporting Abdul Haqq, the splicing of the footage of the France attacks with the prayer, and the lack of authentic representations of social conservatism. I’m not really sure that other communities would have been put under the microscope in the same way.

But when the far-right former leader of the EDL Tommy Robinson is irritated by the diversity of authentic Muslim voices, as his Twitter feed suggests, there must be something going right. I can only hope that the audience will listen to Zohra: “Next time you see a Muslim, maybe say ‘Hi’ and see what happens.”

 

[The_KING]

Why have an extremist with disgusting backwards views on the show? This guy should be arrested.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Why have an extremist with disgusting backwards views on the show? This guy should be arrested.

The idea was to provide a cross-section for variety so it would have been a pointless exercise to exclude someone with his views. Personally I found the two desi Muslims more weird, both of them were pretty camp - although since one of them was gay it was understandable in his case.

 

[PakLFC]

It should have been obvious that Muslim people like any other religious group have different and conflicting views as well. I don't think a "Big Brother" type show was at all necessary to showcase this. It's the five pillars of Islam that can not be compromised, other rules and hadith are often open to debate, compromise and understanding. The BBC should produce other religions "like us" programmes as well then we'll see that within every religious group there exist conflicting views. It's as if the BBC are saying "look, not every Muslimah wears the hijab and not every Muslim man has a beard".

 

[KingKhanWC]

Interesting show but very much planned by the BBC.

The focus was on what is political and in the news now , the usual terrorism, war, extremism, women's dress etc..

The participants were very weak and none of them really represented what the average British Muslim is like. All of them had some weired issues, probably why they were picked.

 

[s28]

Muslims Like Us: BBC documentary gets mixed reviews
13 December 2016

A BBC documentary featuring 10 British Muslims with different views living together has received a mixed reception from critics and viewers.
The group included Abdul Haqq, who did not agree with men and women mixing, and gay housemate Fehran Khan.
The Daily Mail gave the programme zero stars and described the show as a "squalid, cheap game".
But the Telegraph gave it four stars and said it was a "wake-up call for Islamophobes everywhere."
The two-part show had come in for criticism even before the first episode aired because of the inclusion of Haqq, a former boxer who told filmmakers that if his passport - which had been confiscated by the British authorities - was returned to him, he would want to go to Syria.

The Mail said the programme was "an exercise in stoking up rows and controversy... the BBC launched this calculated attempt to set 10 Muslims at each other's throats".
The Times gave the programme four stars, noting that "including Abdul Haqq was a risky move for the BBC, but what's the point of showcasing a conversation if you don't hear all sides of it?".
It described the programme as "intelligent and sharply illuminating".
There was a varied reaction to the documentary on social media.
Khalad Hussein wrote that he had mixed feelings on the participants and there were not enough "characters" in the show.
Sarah tweeted it "just seems they wanted to add more confusion and conflict, they never make a show like this about any other religion."
Matt Tassel tweeted it was "brilliant television programming. Essential viewing that pulls no punches and opens new doors."
The BBC made no comment about the show, which concludes on Tuesday evening on BBC Two.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38301179

 

[s28]

This is the programme page on iplayer

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b085zxwk

 

[s28]

Apparently a known Islamophobe was on the production team and many of participants complaining about editing/portrayal

Taaliah Nazar
‏@Taaliah76
Appears @BBCTwo took the good intentions of the participants n used it to push their right wing agenda��Shame on them���� #MuslimsLikeUs

 

[s28]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Great to speak to the articulate and thoughtful <a href="https://twitter.com/thequeenmehreen">@thequeenmehreen</a> about challenging Muslim stereotypes <a href="https://t.co/jAJ4YFyav5">https://t.co/jAJ4YFyav5</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/muslimslikeus?src=hash">#muslimslikeus</a></p>— Cristina Criddle (@CristinaCriddle) <a href="https://twitter.com/CristinaCriddle/status/808624488803930113">13 December 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[s28]

Despite misgivings about the producers agenda and constructing of an 'othering' narrative I do think some of the participants came out of it well and will hopefully use their platforms positively. If life serves you lemons make lemonade.