Riyadh: A Saudi television has sparked speculation and criticism with topics of homosexuality and ties with Israel. It has raised questions to rethink Saudi’s view towards the country considered as an enemy in the Arab states.
MBC network defends its decision to raise taboos on screen, “If the choice is between stereotypical image of the Arab world and one where MBC shows tolerance, mutual living and meetings between religions and cultures, then so be it,” spokesman Mazen Hayek said earlier this week on the network’s Egyptian channel. “Atleast we would be helping to heal wounds and bring people together.”
The show called Exit 7, in one of its scenes,has the two leads discussing on homosexuality and after, defending the rights of LGBTQ community “They are a group that exists in Saudi society and we should leave them alone,” the character of Saudi actress Aseel Omran said.
Online users shared their disagreement towards the scene, “Today’s episode was an embarrassment that did not even respect the sanctity of Ramadan,” one Twitter user said.
Homosexuality is illegal across most parts of the Arab world and the person charged can also be given death penalty in some cases.
Controversies over the show also include an earlier episode where the characters were seen normalizing relations with Israel, which still has Palestine under military occupancy. A boy is shown befriending a boy from the Jewish state through an online video game. The disclosure divides the family: shocking the father, maddening his daughter and leading his father-in-law to speak out, “so what?”
“Israel is there whether you like it or not,” says the composed elder, played by Saudi actor Rashid Al Shamrani. In the show, he then that Palestinians are the real enemy for “insulting” Saudi Arabia “day and night” and he will willingly and quite gladly do business with Israel.
Although official ties or friendships haven’t been announced or shown, the two countries have quietly warmed up to each other over their issues with Iran and the strong liking for the US administration presided by Donald Trump.
According to some observers, the government controlling the broadcasting department largely since 4 years has led to the controversial subjects getting more limelight like homosexuality and Israel by the broadcasters rather than the real issues which Arabs are facing in their everyday lives. They said that it seems like an attempt to stop shows which criticize officials from getting telecasted like they used to every year during Ramadan.
Exit 7, a comedy show, on air since April, portrays the life of a middle-class family as they live in a realistic, modern-day Saudi Arabia experiencing rapid social change under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious restructuring program. It airs in the primetime zone when families are brought together after breaking their fasts in Ramadan.
“The notion of a real Saudi-Israeli normalization is still far-fetched,” said Abdulaziz Alghashian, a lecturer of international relations at the U.K.’s University of Essex. But the TV show did at least start to regularize conversation about normalization, he said, and it could be “a way of gradually introducing the Saudi public to very early stages of sporadic Saudi-Israeli cooperation.”
Across the Gulf, the notion of considering Israel as just another country is very debatable. Former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki Al Faisal on Saudi television declared “the Zionist lobby” to be one of the country’s biggest enemies in the U.S.
Saudi users have been seen sharing the hashtag “Palestine is not my issue” on Twitter after reactions absent the support of the Palestinians. A a[Palestinian artist from Sweden had made a cartoon on the falling oil prices in the Saudi which triggered anger from the Arabs.
This isn’t the only show to telecast such views; MBC has started another show called Umm Haroun, set in 1940s Kuwait, depicting a multi-religious village with Jewish residents and a Jewish midwife. In a statement, MBC said the drama showcases “a Middle East where acceptance of one another was the norm.” But it set off a backlash in Kuwait, with Al-Fahad critic
SOURCE: YTN STAFF
