Muslims like us

[Lucydogz]

I really thought they'd be a thread on this! Here goes- I thought it was good, and am sorry that they're only one more. SO many interesting issues.

I think the discomfort he showed was interesting. He wasn't full of "woman know your place" arrogance, he seemed genuinely uncomfortable being around them in their non covered state, or at all! It our a different perspective on it for me, irrespective of my personal feelings about his beliefs.

I found the whole thing about the interaction with the EDL guy really thought provoking. I thought the first guy's approach of 'hey we're on the same side' although slightly naiively done hopefully achieved more than if he'd said 'EDL fuck off you fascist bastard'. But when the other guy (sorry can't remember names) was so upset by it I totally understood his POV too and was torn.

I love second guy for saying "When in doubt, don't be a dick". Great advice.

I enjoyed it and appreciated seeing a range of Muslims with different beliefs/ interpretations of what it means to be Muslim.

It could easily be done with different interpretations of Christianity - a Quaker will have a different approach to someone with a more fundamental mindset. It served as a good reminder that just because people wear the same label, it does not mean that they are identical in thought and belief. From a more philosophical point of view, I do wonder what draws people to the more fundamental interpretations - a need for certainty? Is there security in being 'right' and knowing the 'truth'? A desire to prove oneself 'better' than others?

I found the whole thing thought-provoking...

The bit at the meal for the homeless was good too, when the Glam One (Mehreen?) was talking to two guys and they were complaining about immigrants or something.

It was good to watch. I still feel uncomfortable that this kind of programme is on. It's almost as if implying that the default of all Muslims is 'terrorist' abd there are other sides to 'them'. I work with and know lots of Muslims and I've noticed we all hold the same beliefs and morals deep down. I felt this show was saying 'see they're normal just like everyone else' and that premise for me is scary territory.

Boldly I thought that too, that if you made the same programme with other religions it would look quite similar!

I would be super interested in doing this show with other religions too. I'm Muslim although I dont know how representative my experiences are given that my dad is an immigrant Muslim born and bred, my mum is a white British convert, I was raised Muslim but when to a very religious C of E high school, I'm now very unorthodox not particularly 'religious' but still quite spiritiual and identify with my faith, and married to a non-muslim white British man, and I only really have one Muslim friend! I would have loved to have been on that show, mostly just so I could make friends with some similarly minded Muslims lol.

Nabil is superficially nice and smiley and affable, and always cooking for people, but he is actually very intolerant of anyone disagreeing with him. Quite a nasty piece of work, in fact.

Mehreen and Zohra are both lovely.

Abdul Haq should be in Syria or in jail, ideally the former.

I'm on the fence.

I used to live at my sisters and whenever I brought stuff out of the little money I got, I would get soooo angry. So I understand where Nabil
Is coming from. I don't think his nasty though.

On a purely anecdotal level. Many womern choose to wear the hijab as an act of faith. It is a positive choice.
The few women I know who wear the niqab do so because their husbands/families insist that they do.

Nabil was rude, he seemed so angry and he was rude on several occasions. Some of the participants seemed to lack the ability to back down. Didn't Nabil want to share, he was in a communal house after all.

It was very Big Brother. Lots of rows over food and dramatic storming off.

Very little discussion about Islam or even about what their daily lives are like as Muslims. I was interested to see what each person would say about how they feel they practise Islam/what makes them Muslim or Islamic.

There was only one maybe two shots today of anyone praying or reading the Quran.

Disclaimer. I didn't see yesterday's show so don't know if that came up.

I was embarrassed for them when the Non-Muslims were forced to endure their petty scraps.

Also surprised by the lack of interest in the show on here given how a Muslim thread usually explodes on MN.

Yes but I think that was a fault on behalf of the editors and also the realities of life. If you make 10 strangers live together all of a sudden, there are always going to be random petty scraps about communal living! There was no need for a good 5 minutes of the show to be devoted to an argument about a stolen onion ! That was bad editing/producing of the show.

And in terms of what they talked about and things though, without discussion being led by the producers, it's also obvious that the vast majority of the time they wouldn't talking about anything to do with their religion. They're just 10 normal people (well...maybe not Abdul Haqq lol). Muslims don't tend to just sit around and talk about religion all the time with other Muslims lol I certainly don't! So to artificially stimulate discussion that would have to be done by the producers with specific activities because it's not just going to appear naturally. I mean how many Christians only talk about Christianity when they meet up?? Not many I'd imagine.

Yeh I guess. But the programme is called Muslims like us!

Isn't part of the agenda for them to focus on that? If I was in that house I would genuinely be interested in how other practice the faith esp knowing that's the premise of the programme. I felt like inhardly knew half of them. 2 eps really not enough I suppose.

Name the women I know, including the one I mentioned earlier, wear the niqab through their own choice and also for faith. Some even wear it only sometimes and other times go with just the headcovering - the hijab. I guess muslims are like any other groups of people - varied in personality, faith, opinions.

There is no way even a programme like this can show us all the different types of people who belong within the group. So many different cultural mixes too within it - languages, traditions, experiences. It's like if there was a programme made on what Christians as people are like. I feel that it couldn't possibly show us anything tangible as such except give us the idea that Christians as a group had as many differences as they did similarities. It is however good in that people are saying it is thought provoking and interesting and opening their eyes. But I find myself asking why it is people find so interesting. It's almost like this programme has lent some humanity to this group. How were they viewed before this programme? As Power said I too feel like this programme is trying to give the group some humanity ie hey, they're just like us when sadly that should be our starting point anyway.

t was very Big Brother. Lots of rows over food and dramatic storming off Yes I didn't want to say this but it's true.

Mead way "how many Christians talk about Christianity".

Loads I say !! It's always a topic of discussion. **

I too thought it was like Big Brother, but the first series when BB really was a bunch of random people and seeing how they got on, and I think that was a good thing. There's a limit to how much subtle understanding you're going to get across in such a programme, and I think it did well at showing a varied bunch of people who disagree on lots of things important to each of them.
And who argue over who bought an onion just like any other bunch of housemates.

I liked the fact that the religious side was almost a sideline. It ran alongside ordinary life and the housemates became people who happened to be Muslim if that makes sense. I wonder if that was part of the aim really. So much of what is shown of muslims on television is negative and this can be a person's only experience of them.

Some of how we have seen the people will be down purely to the editors. I wonder if Abdul was really as bad as he came across because he seemed to be having fun with the others when you saw him I never the background. Clearly he is very very extreme and possibly dangerous but I wonder how much normal behaviour ended up on the editing room floor.

I was stunned at Nabil's behaviour in yesterday's episode. He was a bully and kept shutting people down.

As a Christian myself I think you would definitely get as many differences even between different COE christians, or even from church to church, as you would from this group of muslims to be fair. Even more if you add in other denominations of Christians too. I'd like to see that to be honest.

As for the programme it was interesting for sure.

Abdul Haq seriously needs locking up. He is typical of those converted in prison and is a danger to society.

It was embarrassing when they were being given the tour and kept bickering.

Why did they choose that linen clad toff to show them around. I'm white British and feel NOTHING about churches... this doesn't indicate that Im an extremist who doesn't integrate it just means that dusty old buildings don't do it for me.
The toff that responded to the city girl's comment that she would be more at home with KFC wrappers on the pavement was an ignorant fool and very unkind, narrow minded and alien from the average British person.

No one at the school I work in can define British values and we have to promote them as teachers. I thought it was all about inclusion, democracy and tolerance.

I thought the tolerance, patience and time the muslims gave to understanding Abdul was very admirable, I'd have been packing my bags not before alerting Prevent. HE. IS. TERRIFYING.