Turkish soap 'Noor' captures hearts

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Every evening for the past four months, a tall young man with soulful blue eyes has been stealing hearts across the Middle East, from the refugee camps of the Gaza Strip to the gated mansions of Riyadh.

But it's not just the striking good looks of Mohannad, hero of the hugely popular Turkish TV soap Noor, that appeal to female viewers. He's romantic, attentive to his wife, Noor, supportive of her independence and ambitions as a fashion designer - in short, a rare gem for women in conservative, male-dominated surroundings.

Noor delivers an idealized portrayal of modern married life as equal partnership - clashing with the norms of traditional Middle Eastern societies where many women are still confined to the role of wife and mother.

Some Muslim clerics in the West Bank and Saudi Arabia have taken notice, saying the show is un-Islamic and urging the faithful to change channels. 

"I told my husband, 'learn from him [Mohannad] how he treats her, how he loves her, how he cares about her," said Heba Hamdan, 24, a housewife visiting the West Bank from Amman, Jordan. Married straight out of college, she said the show inspired her to look for a job.

Noor seems particularly effective in changing attitudes because it offers new content in a familiar setting: Turkey is a Muslim country. The characters in Noor observe the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, and Mohannad and Noor were married in a match arranged by his grandfather.

But it also upholds secular liberties: Protagonists have a drink with dinner and sex outside marriage, for instance. 

The nightly soap opera "shows that there are Muslims who live differently," said Islah Jad, a professor of women's studies at the West Bank's Bir Zeit University.

The show's Turkish producer, Kemal Uzun, added: "We are a little more open, not as conservative as some of these countries, and I think this might have some appeal for the audience."

Even though some of the racier scenes are sanitized for Arab consumption, clerics have been sermonizing against Noor. "This series collides with our Islamic religion, values and traditions," warned Hamed Bitawi, a lawmaker of the Islamic militant Hamas and preacher in the West Bank city of Nablus.

But the purists seem powerless to halt the Noor craze.

In Saudi Arabia, the only country with ratings, about 3 million to 4 million people watch daily, out of a population of nearly 28 million, according to MBC, the Saudi-owned satellite channel that airs the show dubbed into Arabic.

In the West Bank and Gaza, streets are deserted during show time and socializing is timed around it. In Riyadh, the Saudi capital, and in Hebron, the West Bank's most conservative city, maternity wards report a rise in babies named Noor and Mohannad. A West Bank poster vendor has ditched Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein for Noor and Mohannad.

Jaro's Clothing Store in Gaza City is doing brisk business in copies of blouses seen on the show, including a sleeveless metallic number adapted to Gaza standards by being worn over a long-sleeved leotard.

A recent cartoon in the Saudi paper Al-Riyadh showed a plain-looking man marching into a plastic surgeon's office with a picture of Mohannad. (Kivanc Tatlitug, who plays Mohannad, is an ex-basketball player who won the 2002 "Best Model of the World" award.)

In the West Bank city of Nablus, civil servant Mohammed Daraghmeh said he had MBC blocked at home so his kids couldn't watch, but the family vowed to watch it at an uncle's house and he backed down.

In Hamas-ruled Gaza, keeping up with Noor is a challenge.

Power goes out frequently because of a yearlong blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after the violent Hamas takeover. When a blackout disrupts viewing, many set their alarms to catch the pre-dawn repeat.

Whether the Noor effect will be lasting is not known. The season finale falls Aug. 30, the day before Ramadan begins and religious fervor intensifies. Next up on MBC will be Bab al-Hara, a Ramadan favorite that looks nostalgically at traditional Arab life.

Al-Laheedan's remarks on TV programs trigger controversy

JEDDAH: Sheikh Saleh Al-Laheedan, chairman of the Supreme Judiciary Council, has triggered an international controversy by stating that owners of satellite TV channels broadcasting obscene programs could face execution as per the law. "Those calling for fitna (sedition and immorality) and those who are able to prevent it but don't, it is permissible to kill them," Al-Watan Arabic daily quoted Al-Laheedan as saying when asked about owners of satellite channels telecasting immoral programs during Ramadan. "It is legitimate to kill those who encourage corruption in faith and action if their evil cannot be stopped by other penalties," he said. The head of the Kingdom's judiciary also explained that a person could be killed not only for murdering another person but also for corrupting faith and morality. He urged the owners of Arab channels not to use their media to broadcast immoral and un-Islamic programs, including those promoting black magic. They should rather work to protect Islam. "I want to advise the owners of these channels, who broadcast programs containing indecency and vulgarity... and I warn them of the serious consequences," he said. "What does the owner of these networks think, when he provides seduction, obscenity and vulgarity?" Al-Laheedan's statement, which he made while talking to "Noorun Aladdarb" program of Radio Qur'an, created a big row after it was aired on Arab TV channels and published in newspapers. Owners of Arab channels have also expressed their concern over the statement. Meanwhile, Al-Watan said it tried to contact Al-Laheedan several times to know the circumstances that led him to give the controversial statement but the paper claimed that it could not contact him. During the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims must fast from dawn to dusk, Arab satellite televisions broadcast lavish productions, including soap operas and mini-series, some with historical and religious themes. A popular soap called "Noor" that was broadcast by MBC for several weeks preceding Ramadan had also invited wrath of grand mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh who branded the program "subversive" and "anti-Islamic." Al-Asheikh, who is the Kingdom's highest religious authority, earlier this year, issued a fatwa against "Noor" and decreed that any channel broadcasting the series is "an enemy of God and his Prophet." "Noor" was a Turkish soap opera dubbed into Arabic with the story of a handsome man called Mohannad and his equally stunning wife "Noor" who wrestled to reconcile the conflicting pressures of traditional and modern worlds. However, given his position as the country's most senior judge, Sheikh Al-Laheedan's views cannot be easily dismissed, said BBC Arab affairs analyst, Magdi Abdelhadi. "Fighting hardline approach can be difficult when the country's top judge calls for the beheading of those he views as immoral broadcasters," the BBC said in a commentary.