Little Mosque on the Prairie (2007–2012)

A satirical look at a Muslim community living in Canada.

Creator:

Zarqa Nawaz

Stars:

Zaib Shaikh, Sitara Hewitt, Debra McGrath

4 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Zaib Shaikh	...	Amaar Rashid (91 episodes, 2007-2012)
Sitara Hewitt	...	Rayyan Hamoudi (91 episodes, 2007-2012)
Debra McGrath	...	Mayor Ann Popowicz (91 episodes, 2007-2012)
Manoj Sood	...	Baber Siddiqui (91 episodes, 2007-2012)
Neil Crone	...	Fred Tupper (91 episodes, 2007-2012)
Arlene Duncan	...	Fatima Dinssa (91 episodes, 2007-2012)
Sheila McCarthy	...	Sarah Hamoudi (91 episodes, 2007-2012)
Carlo Rota	...	Yasir Hamoudi (69 episodes, 2007-2011)
Derek McGrath	...	Reverend Duncan Magee (52 episodes, 2007-2011)
Sean Hunter	...	Mercy Resident (50 episodes, 2007-2010)
Brandon Firla	...	Reverend William Thorne (43 episodes, 2009-2012)

Storyline

The location is Mercy Saskatchewan, a small town in the Canadian prairies. A small but devout community of Muslims has settled there, headed by community leader Yasir Hamoudi, a local building contractor. He is married to Sarah, a Caucasian ex-Christian who has converted to Islam for her husband. Their adult daughter, Rayyan, is a feminist Muslim doctor. The religious leader of the Muslim community - the Imam - is Amaar Rashid, a young, Canadian-born ex-lawyer from Toronto, who came to Mercy to replace Baber Siddiqui, who was deemed too extreme by many in the Mercy Muslim community. The local diner is run by Fatima Dinssa, a Nigerian Muslim who is strict about her religion but more liberal in her cultural values. The Muslims in Mercy are co-existing with their Christian neighbors, sometimes harmoniously, sometimes not. Reverend Duncan Magee welcomes his Muslim neighbors, especially if they enhance the social and economic fabric of the community and his parish. Likewise, Mayor Ann ...

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Plot Keywords:

muslim | small town | canada | mixed marriage | cultural misunderstanding | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Official Sites:

CBC [ca]

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 2007 (Canada)

Also Known As:

La mezquita de la pradera

Filming Locations:

Indian Head, Saskatchewan, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 700,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Little Mosque Productions, Westwind Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the series finale aired in April 2012 the CBC negotiated distribution deals in 92 foreign countries including Israel. Ironically, at that time, it did not air on any television outlet within the United States; Canada's next door neighbor. It has now been made available streaming over the Internet, for American customers, on the Hulu network.

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Connections

Referenced in Battle of the Blades: Episode #1.12 (2009)

User Reviews

Good Idea, Awful Show...

The CBC has coughed up a lot of awful comedies over the years. Air Farce comes to mind. And now Little Mosque on the Prairie. This was supposed to be a controversial show that pushes the envelope with big laughs. Well, I was right to assume that this show would not be very controversial and wrong to assume that any laughs might be forth-coming.

This show relies on stereotypes to sell the same old tired jokes. It is fitting the show is set in the prairies because these are jokes you can see coming from ten miles away. Typically they'll set up a joke, you'll think "I wonder what the twist will be because there's no way they are going with such a predictable joke", and then they'll do that predictable joke, and then you'll groan and wonder why you gave this show another chance.

I've sat through five episodes of this show and I want my 2 1/2 hours back. CBC please stop spending our tax dollars on such awful shows. It's a good premise and I recognize some good actors in the show but this show is just not funny, not interesting, not controversial, not good at all.