Islamic scholars are warming up to the idea of a Muslim remake of the Peppa Pig cartoon. Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman, the head of the Australian National Imams Council, said there will be a Muslim alternative to the popular show very soon. He also dismissed allegations that he had accused cartoon series Peppa Pig of corrupting Muslim children.
Sheikh Alsuleiman now says the Muslim alternative to the show will benefit children. ,The leader backing the project 'Barakah Hills' explained his stand in a Facebook video message.
The Imam Council has openly supported Sydney company One4Kids for producing a show adapted from the original British Peppa Pig series. The adapted Peppa Pig series revolves around the Abdullah family in the small town of Barakah Hills with a predominantly Muslim population. "Children will learn everything from how to have good manners, to how to get actively involved with community projects," One4Kids said, according to the Telegraph.
It is also reported that the company is currently raising funds for the new show and has managed to rise than A$5,000 of the A$20,000 for the first two episodes by a crowdfunding campaign. "As we know Muslims are averaging much higher birth-rates, plus increased amount of time children are watching various videos on devices, computers, and television," read the fundraising page, the news website reported.
"With your support, One4Kids hopes to complete production on this new ongoing series inshallah," it added.
Previously Alsuleiman received flak for allegedly saying that Peppa Pig "corrupts Muslim children". However, the leader dismissed the allegation saying that they were misrepresented by media. The Straits Times reported that he said he supports the idea of coming up with religious alternatives but children should not be encouraged to watch only such shows and stopped from watching other cartoons.
Moreover, One4Kids founder Subhi Alshaik told SBS Television on 8 December that media blew out things out of proportion and they are not propagating that Peppa Pig is bad for kids.
"No. I actually watch it myself. My kids, when we're together, whack it on and we enjoy it. We have a laugh. And I think as a producer 'what's attracting the kids to it?' and I'm always looking to produce something new. So I thought, we need a show for the Muslim community," he said.
