starmekitten80 Review of The English Harem

The English Harem (2005 TV Movie)

A thinly disguised attack on Islam? Or just another dose of commercial TV B-movie rubbish?

[27 December 2005]

(This film was broadcast at 9pm on 27/12/05 on ITV1) At a time when hostility and prejudice towards Muslims and Islam is at an all time high I was frankly appalled by such a film being given air time, in fact prime time, on a mainstream television channel. This programme is utterly ridiculous in nature, bears no resemblance to the lives of normal practising Muslims and is full of untruths and sensationalism. Exactly what sort of audience ITV wants to entertain with this I am not sure... the BNP perhaps? It is obvious that the producers of this show have no real understanding of Islam and the many millions of people in Britian and around the world who practise it. It is also obvious that no attempt was made to even research the subject. Even in the most biased of news reports or the most right wing tabloids it is hard to find misrepresentation of Muslims matching this level. The star character, while claiming to be Muslim, doesn't pray, drinks alcohol, practises group sex - as was on more than one occasion implied, and is strictly "haram" (forbidden) in Islam - while his wives seem to be portrayed as little more than sex objects. Polygamous marriages, while not the culture in the west and obviously controversial, are rarely undertaken by practising Muslims and, when they are, are NOT done purely for physical gratification but for a number of more socially important reasons (usually involving children, financial support of women, etc). The show deliberately takes a complex issue and twists it for the purpose of sensationalism. The theme of society being prejudiced toward the family is a very thin veil for a programme that does nothing but promote such prejudice. If this drama had not been so inflammatory I would wonder why it was even on television, let alone in a prime slot... the plot and dialogue are laughable, the characters pure two-dimensional clichés. It smells like a dodgy low-budget B film, produced quickly just to fill a bit of free space, yet takes a 9pm slot in a Christmas period.