Multiple media reports emerged yesterday stating that Islamic leaders had called on Muslim parents to boycott Peppa Pig.
According to various reports, the President of the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), Sheik Shadi Alsuleimani, had urged parents to protect children from corruption by finding alternative Islamic programs to replace popular shows like Peppa Pig.
Headline via The Australian:
Headline via News.com.au:
It didn't take long for the story to go global, reported in outlets such as the UK's Sun, The Daily Mail and the BBC:
SBS Arabic24 spoke to ANIC Vice-president Sheik Abdel Azeim Afifi who called the reports a baseless media storm.
Afifi insisted that the Council has not issued any statement on this matter.
He also clarified that while Sheik Alsuleimani used his Facebook page to recommend an Islamic programs produced by a company called One4kids, which creates Islamic-themed cartoons for Children, he never attacked or called for the boycott of other shows.
"This is just another media storm - like previous ones," he said. "We don’t know who is behind it or their aims, the Sheik was talking in a personal capacity and the council has nothing to do with it."
"It is a total fabrication."
Sheik Alsuleimani also responded to the reports yesterday with a video on his Facebook page, titled 'Who is Peppa Pig?'
He did flag though that some feature content that may well be objectionable to many areas of the population - not just Muslims.
He gave the example of how respect towards parents is highly valued in many different cultures, but that the way some kid's programs portray children speaking to their mums and dads might not fit these values - subsequently parents become concerned the shows send the wrong message.
"Some parents, Muslim or not, may object to certain materials and phrases like 'Silly Dad,'" said Afifi. "They may not like it."
He pointed to the fact though that any parents have a stake in the kind of content their kids consume.
"Muslims are Australian parents and they might have some concerns about these shows," said Afifi.
"Even non-Muslim educators recommend that we observe what our kids watch and not let the TV be an alternative parent."
Listen to Sheik Abdel Azeim Afifi's full interview (in Arabic) with Arabic 24 below:
