Tomorrow evening, a new primetime sitcom will air on the national Canadian network, CBC. Little Mosque on the Prairie is a new comedy series about a small community of Muslims living in rural Saskatchewan. The show's creator, Zarqa Nawaz, says she hopes the cheeky send-up of stereotypes and the clash of cultures will show Muslims in a new light.
This sort of thing is already part and parcel of the cultural scene in Europe. But, this is a first for North America. Expect plenty more.
I was surprised to see it set in Saskatchewan, and even more surprised to read their descriptions of the characters. It's the kind of thing I'd expect to see here - where I'm surrounded by Muslims, Sikhs, and others from a continent away who have made western Canada their home. Ironically, I also live in the "Bible belt" of western Canada. It's a strange balance in this community. On one hand I live surrounded by Mennonites of German, Russian or Dutch descent. On the other, surrounded by those from East India and the Middle East, wearing their colorful, flowing clothes complete with head coverings/turbans. It's like the world decided to converge in British Columbia.
ReplyDeleteOne of the key social issues of the next several decade will be the degree to which Muslims will integrate with American culture.
ReplyDeleteToday, Muslims are the fastest growing religious group in America. With 5 million Muslims and growing, they now outnumber Jewish American.
The concern for Christians is this:
How do we know what their intentions are towards us ?
Do they wish to either convert us or kill us, as millions of their fanatic terrorists counterparts do, or are they, as the Muslim Public Affairs Council would have us believe, patriotic Americans who want to participate in American society in exactly the same way as Christians, agnostics, Jews, atheists, and believers in other faiths have for centuries ?
To simply embrace all Muslims whole heartedly as just another group participating in the gloriously accepting American society seems to be unwise, in light of plenty of evidence to suggest that within the American Muslim community a large and vibrant Fifth Column exists, waiting for an opportunity to strike at the heart of Western Civilization.
I'm not a Muslim scholar.
But I am told by many who are that many Muslims read the Koran and conclude it is their duty to destroy Western Civilization, replacing it with a caliphate.
No thanks, that's not a future I want.
I remain hopeful that within the Muslim religion and culture, a theological view that does not call for our destruction will grow and become predominant.
But realistically, as Christians, and Americans, we must be on guard for domestic signs of the erosion of our political rights, as well as danger to our security and personal safety.
Dr. Grant is right.
This story has only just begun.