BBC Comedy Sketch ‘Real Housewives of ISIS’ Causes Outrage

BBC comedy sketch "Real Housewives of ISIS"
BBC/Facebook
Chris Tomlinson

The BBC produced spoof on the “Real Housewives” TV programmes, which has a comedic Islamic State twist, has been criticised by Leftists and Muslims who claim the sketch is offensive.

The BBC released the trailer earlier this week and were immediately slammed by those on the left and Muslims who thought that making fun of the brides of members of the terror group was out of the bounds of conventional humour. The sketch is part of a new programme called “Revolting” written by Jolyon Rubinstein and Heydon Prowse which, according to the BBC, is “satirising the state of the nation.”

The BBC2 Facebook page was inundated with criticism. One user wrote, “I’m mortified that the BBC had produced such a programme. This is simply bad taste. The fact it is a comedy makes it even more worrying that humour should be associated with the actions of ISIS. Is this really what TV licenses are funding!?”

Others took a different point of view including a Muslim saying, “As a Muslim I find this HILARIOUS! Brilliant! The satire is on point highlighting the pathetic ideals of a pathetic group like ISIS.”

Not all Muslims agreed with the sentiment and users on Twitter expressed just as much outrage for the sketch. One man, a Bangladeshi, said “The BBC really made a satirical show called ‘The Real Housewives of ISIS’ while the real housewives of ISIS are being raped and abused daily.”

 

https://twitter.com/UncleMeraj/status/816672501833101312

Another wrote, “‘Real Housewives of ISIS’ will make Hijabis feel more isolated n targeted by Islamophobes. Thanks @BBC for adding to the negative stereotype.”

Leftists also articulated how offended they were that the public broadcaster would dare create such a sketch mocking Islamic State. Some questioned whether the use of taxpayer money via the TV license fee should go toward the funding of the programme.

 

The video itself has already been viewed millions of times on Facebook and other social media platforms.  The clip shows several women in hijabs talking to each other in a half-bombed-out house taking selfies and showing off their suicide belts to each other.

One woman even mentions that she hadn’t come from Birmingham “to do this” as she scrubbed the floor of the home. Women joining Islamic State and travelling to Syria to become brides has become a real problem in European countries as the terror group promises young girls a more glamorous lifestyle.

In 2014, eight schoolgirls from Bethnal Green travelled to Syria to become brides of Islamic State fighters, all of them under the age of 18.

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