Since it started 14 years ago, the sitcom “Tash Ma Tash” has become a Ramadan institution. The show is a major topic of after-iftar conversations in Saudi homes. But like all satire, the show has critics as well as supporters. And both sides of the debate are watching intently either to laugh or to be outraged. A group of the show’s detractors have now launched www.notash.net, hosted by Saudi lawyer Farraj bin Ali Al-Okalaa, who is calling for a boycott of the program on the basis that it is making fun of Islam and of religious people.
“I was happy to see this website,” wrote Badr (no family name given) on the site’s public forum. “Tash Ma Tash has really crossed the line by mocking the members of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice,” he added, referring to an episode where members of the religious police barge in on an innocent game of cards and haul the players — a group of young Saudi hipsters — off to the barber to get haircuts.
The daily show premieres every Ramadan, and then re-broadcasts the rest of the year. This year the show has broken new ground in Saudi satire and the showÂ’s two best-known actors, Nasser Al-Qasabi and Abdullah Sedhan, have become national stars with comedy sketches that have boldly lampooned social issues related to gender, the justice system, and even the moral police.
“I think ‘Tash 14’ is one of the best seasons,” said Sami Rasoul, 28, referring to the show’s official title (Tash, season 14). “This year the series is tackling many issues that we face in our daily life.”
In one episode, characters debate if women should be allowed to ride donkeys and, if so, should they only be allowed to ride female donkeys.
Another participant on the anti-Tash websiteÂ’s forum writes that he liked the show better when it made fun of bureaucracy and steered clear of religious issues.
“We used to like watching these episodes because they carried effective criticisms that aimed at improving society,” Ahmed wrote. “Now the series is criticizing Islam and religious people who are working hard to steer people away from the dangers of drugs or alcohol. I stopped watching the show.”
A statement on the website says that the stars Sedhan and Al-Qasabi have abused the freedom of expression and misrepresented the image of Muslims, particularly Saudis.
An informal poll run by the website shows that 54 percent of the 3,526 people that visited the site and answered the question “Do you watch the series?” said they do not watch the show while about a third of them admitted to watching the program regularly or occasionally. When asked if they support canceling the program, 70 percent of 14,886 respondents on the anti-Tash website said “yes” while the rest said “no” or “it doesn’t matter.”
The website has also collected several fatwas and comments from religious scholars, including one from the Department for Scientific Research and Ifta (religious rulings) issued six years ago forbidding pious people from watching the program or recommending it to others.
Considering how many Saudis have made “Tash” a nightly routine during Ramadan, these fatwas don’t seem to have the intended effect. “There are more important issues to fix in our society than to spend time and effort to build and design a website protesting a TV series that brings joy to Saudi households after iftar,” said Seham Yousef, 24.