Religious leader endorses push for Muslim alternative to Peppa Pig
An Islamic leader in Australia has promoted a production company's drive to come up with Muslim alternatives to mainstream cartoon shows.
Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman, who heads the Australian National Imams Council, have urged parents to donate to One4Kids, which has been producing animated shows designed for young Muslim viewers.
"These days, in this modern age, our children have been embedded and very well-occupied watching different cartoons on TV and it's our responsibility not to stop them from watching but give them another alternative," said Alsuleiman in a video posted on One4Kids' "Zaky & Friends"' Facebook page. He called for support to One4Kids's drive to come out with shows that are educational and that teach young viewers Islamic values and principles through entertainment.
One4Kids has come out with numerous animation films, often featuring the cartoon character Zaky, and education materials in the past 10 years.
It has recently set up a page on LaunchGood to raise funds so that they can begin production of the 14-episode "Barakah Hills," a Peppa Pig-inspired story that follows the Abdullah family who lives in a Muslim town called Barakah Hills.
The aim of the program is to teach young Muslims good behavior through Laylah and Omar as well as other supporting characters in the show. On its fundraiser page, One4Kids states that they have penned 14 scripts ready for storyboarding and animation, but that they will need A$10,000 per episode to complete production. As of report writing, the page has generated more than A$5,200.
In an interview with The Australian, Subhi Alshaik, who directs and produces at One4Kids, said that not all shows on TV "teach children the best things that they need to learn." He also pointed out that while he believes that "Peppa Pig" is a great show, it has also received criticism for some of its themes, which allegedly teach children wrong values.
He also clarified that the criticism about "Peppa Pig" was not because Muslims hate pigs, because they don't — Muslims just don't eat them.
