Why are Ramadan TV specials so divisive in the Middle East?

 Every year, during the Muslim religious holiday, new TV shows are released. Every year, some people stir up controversy by upsetting governments, activists, or clerics. Middle Eastern media analysts claim to know the answer.

The scandals have almost become a holiday custom. Every year, during the lengthy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, there will be at least one significant controversy over what is popularly referred to as the Ramadan season of new television programs. Activist groups have protested, ambassadors have been called in, and clerics have lectured in recent new series released during Ramadan.

Ramadan this year is not an exception.

A ban on the Tunisian television drama Fallujah has already been demanded by the country's education minister. It depicts the negative aspects of local student life, including drug deals and student assaults on teachers. The removal of it from the air has also been the subject of a legal bid.

Muawiya, the title of the first Islamic caliph, is a historical drama series that has also been outlawed in Iraq. It examines the first Muslim civil war, which gave rise to the bitter division between Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims that persists to this day.

Senior members of the Iraqi government claimed that the historical series insulted the tribes of southern Iraq by portraying their leaders as primitive tyrants fixated on sex and power. As a result, another new Iraqi series called "Al Kasser" (The Predator) has also been canceled there. Threats were made against the private TV channel that carried the program, and the federal media monitoring commission of the nation explained in a statement that it had decided to forbid the broadcast in the name of "social cohesion."

However, this is not shocking. Scandals surrounding the hugely popular Ramadan TV shows have almost completely replaced the holiday itself as a tradition.

Routines during Ramadan

Muslims who observe Ramadan fast during the day. Restaurants open after dusk, and families gather to break the fast. Because of this, during Ramadan the entire pattern of daily life changes. People stay up late, and one of the most common evening activities is to watch the most recent episode of a new TV show together after dinner. These frequently shows debut at the start of the holiday, airing a new episode every night, or every other or third night, until they come to an end at the end of the month.

In addition to peak TV viewing and introspection, Ramadan is a time of shifting entertainment tastes, according to Joe Khalil, an associate professor of global media at Northwestern University in Qatar and the author of numerous studies and books on Middle Eastern television.

According to a survey conducted by Netflix in 2018, during Ramadan, regional television viewing increased by about 80%, and peak viewing hours shifted to between 2 and 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. According to other studies, the price of satellite channel advertising slots during the well-liked Ramada series will triple.

Because of this, Ramadan TV shows feature a wide range of content, including comedies, historical tales of conflict and adventure, celebrity chefs, game shows, and soap operas.

Why is it so obscene?

Experts in the field have a few hypotheses for why the controversy surrounding these TV shows is also predictable.

It might be partly because Ramadan is a religious holiday, which makes associations with politically charged topics and typical soap opera fare more delicate. It's also possible that more people are paying attention as a result. But primarily, they claim, it's the fiercer competition.

Ahmad Hayat, an assistant professor of journalism and electronic media at the University of Tennessee in the US, who has previously researched the Kuwaiti Ramadan series, claims that since the emergence of Arab-owned satellite channels in the early 2000s, the competition to get your show in front of Ramadan viewers has significantly increased.

Hayat refers to the previous two decades as the "era of network proliferation."

According to Hayat, the most frequent criticism from viewers is "this is repetitive" or "we've seen this before." "So it's extremely difficult to have your show put in front of these audiences, if you're not competitive enough if you don't have the best stories or something that distinguishes you from everything else on these networks, then you won't survive," he said in his conclusion.

Khalil from Northwestern University said, "Controversies around Ramadan TV shows arise for various reasons, including the highly competitive industry environment, where hurried decisions can lead to poor content choices. Furthermore, as cultures and societies change, creative choices and people's preferences adapt as well, making it difficult to please everyone without upsetting or offending some.

political signals are being sent

This also holds for the political subtext that occasionally sneaks into TV shows. In addition to widely varying degrees of state censorship and support, most production companies and satellite channels in the Middle East have some sort of affiliation with political figures. Therefore, Middle Eastern films frequently reflect nationalistic politics and patriotically portray particular types of foreigners as the most villainous, just as Hollywood or Chinese films frequently do. And they balance what their governments and audience attitudes allow while doing this.

For instance, as Kareem Shaheen, the Middle East editor at New Lines magazine, noted this month, a new series that examines the colonial legacies of the Ottoman empire is just the latest program to negatively portray Turks. He cautioned that in this way, entertainment could have real-world diplomatic repercussions. It is likely to have far-reaching effects and complicate the current regional realignment if Turkey's reputation as an oppressive colonial overlord is cemented, Shaheen wrote.

Every form of publicity is beneficial.

Considering the increased competition, industry watchers also believe that occasionally, a marketing campaign may even involve creating a scandal.

Because Ramadan series have historically garnered attention, production companies frequently have already conducted background checks on all of the participants, including examining their political beliefs, what they wear to social gatherings, and what they've posted on social media. In other words, they are aware of the potential backlash that certain actors or directors might face.

Producers are skilled at handling scandal or even causing it, according to Khalil. The goal is to captivate the audience during the first few episodes so they will likely stick with them for the remainder of the month.

The Internet and social media have given regular viewers more influence. One influencer's criticism of a show may result in government intervention if it gains traction. The portrayal of an Iraqi woman in a drama series about Arab women living in London this season drew criticism from a senior Iraqi cleric, who made local headlines in the country. The Iraqi cleric claimed that the show's portrayal of the Iraqi as being subservient to women from the Gulf states was offensive.

Due to complaints from the audience about the historical accuracy of the costumes and even the lead actor's beard, which had religious significance, the historical Egyptian drama "El Malek" (The King) was shortened in 2021. Local women's rights activists criticized a 2022 Tunisian television program called "Baraa" (Innocence) for how it portrayed polygamy, which is forbidden in the nation.

Future controversies to come?

All of the Ramadan TV controversies and their impact, according to Khalil, are difficult to measure.

He asserted, "I don't think you can say there's more or less [controversy]." However, he added, "I do believe you can say that, if you look at the continuity of controversies, they are changing in various ways — for example, the socio-cultural aspects or the political orientation, or those created for marketing purposes.