Humour and everyday life
Family: Religion and custom · 40 entries
Entries on this theme
Person
Ibn al-Sammak the preacher
c. 942 CE · 330 AHal-Mughira ibn Shu'ba
Thaqafi Companion renowned for wit and statecraft; he broke the gate of al-Lat with the pickaxe during its demolition in 9 AH, first feigning a collapse that struck terror into the watching Thaqafis.Hatim al-Ta'i
The proverb of generosity — his grave at Baqqa above the wadi al-Khabil is flanked by eight stone maids with loosed hair like mourners, whose laments are heard by night; the tale of Abu al-Bakhtari whose camel Hatim hamstrung from the grave until Adi replaced it, sent in a dream, made his tomb proverbial for hospitality itself.Ta'abbata Sharran
The outlaw-poet whose ghul verses — 'I awoke and the ghul was my neighbour' — head al-Mas'udi's chapter on the Arabs' ghul lore.
Concept
The virtues of the Arabs of the Jahiliyya
The praiseworthy traits al-Raheeq al-Makhtum finds among the Arabs of the Jahiliyya alongside their vices: generosity, which filled half their poetry and bore blood-money and burdens, and from which came their boasting of wine and gambling; fidelity to covenants, a religion to them as in the stories of Hani ibn Mas'ud, al-Samaw'al and Hajib ibn Zurara; self-respect and refusal of humiliation; resolve; forbearance, rare among them; and Bedouin simplicity yielding truthfulness and trust; the author sees in these traits a reason the Arabs were chosen to bear the message.Consecrated Livestock
Animals the pagans consecrated — Bahira, Saʾiba, Wasila, Hami — neither ridden nor milked except for guests; the Qurʾan rebuked the custom.
Screening Room
The Wanted 18
2014 CE · 1435 AH†Palestinian documentary on eighteen cows bought by Beit Sahour townsfolk for food self-sufficiency that became a 'security threat'; a civil-resistance story.The White Balloon
1995 CE · 1416 AH†The White Balloon.The Infidel
2010 CE · 1431 AH†The Infidel.The Lizard
2004 CE · 1425 AH†The Lizard.The Muslims Are Coming!
2013 CE · 1434 AH†The Muslims Are Coming!.The Unknown Saint
2019 CE · 1440 AH†Alaa Eddine Aljem's Moroccan comedy about a thief who buries his loot in a fake grave that becomes a popular shrine — a wry look at folk religiosity.Ali, the Goat and Ibrahim
2016 CE · 1437 AH†Egyptian indie film about a young man convinced his goat carries his dead lover's soul, journeying with his inventor friend; a resonant road comedy.Almanya: Welcome to Germany
2011 CE · 1432 AH†Almanya: Welcome to Germany.Excuse My French
2014 CE · 1435 AH†Excuse My French.Four Lions
2010 CE · 1431 AH†Chris Morris's black comedy about an incompetent British jihadist cell — debated at release for mocking the terrorists rather than Muslims.Bab Al-Hara
2006 CE · 1427 AH†Famous Syrian series about a Damascus neighbourhood in the 1930s; among the most successful Arab social dramas, running many seasons.Barakah Meets Barakah
2016 CE · 1437 AH†Mahmoud Sabbagh's debut — Saudi Arabia's first romantic comedy — about a municipal worker and a social-media celebrity in Jeddah; a gentle push at social boundaries.West Beirut
1998 CE · 1419 AH†West Beirut.East Is East
1999 CE · 1420 AH†East Is East.Gaza mon amour
2020 CE · 1441 AH†The Nasser brothers' film about an ageing Gaza fisherman who falls in love amid the blockade; Palestine's Oscar entry.Guelwaar
1993 CE · 1413 AH†Guelwaar.Mediterranean Fever
2022 CE · 1443 AH†Maha Haj's black comedy about a Palestinian writer in Haifa befriending his thieving neighbour; Cannes screenplay winner.Hassan and Marcus
2008 CE · 1429 AH†Egyptian comedy with Adel Emam and Omar Sharif: a Muslim and a Copt each hiding in the other's faith; a film about national unity.Once Upon a Time in Gaza
2025 CE · 1446 AH†The Nasser brothers' new film about life, resistance and joy in Gaza; screened at 2025 festivals.Xala
1975 CE · 1395 AH†Xala.It Must Be Heaven
2019 CE · 1440 AH†Elia Suleiman's film of travels between Palestine, Paris and New York; a near-silent visual comedy on Palestinian identity.Let It Be Morning
2021 CE · 1442 AH†Let It Be Morning.City of Life
2009 CE · 1430 AH†City of Life.Little Mosque on the Prairie
A Canadian sitcom about a small Muslim congregation in a Saskatchewan town — among the first Western comedies centred on ordinary Muslim characters.Citizen Khan
Adil Ray's BBC sitcom about a British-Pakistani Muslim family man in Birmingham — the BBC's first Muslim-led sitcom, and an early flashpoint over stereotypes.We Are Lady Parts
Nida Manzoor's Channel 4 sitcom about an all-Muslim-women punk band in London — BAFTA-winning and praised for breaking Muslim-women stereotypes.Man Like Mobeen
Guz Khan's BBC Three comedy about a Muslim man raising his sister in Birmingham amid class, race, extremism and policing.Rashash
2021 CE · 1442 AH†Rashash.Caramel
2007 CE · 1428 AH†Caramel.Tel Aviv on Fire
2018 CE · 1439 AH†Comedy about a Palestinian soap writer crossing an Israeli checkpoint who must satisfy an intelligence officer on the ending; festival-winning.The Song of Sparrows
2008 CE · 1429 AH†The Song of Sparrows.Omar Gatlato
1976 CE · 1396 AH†Omar Gatlato.Where Do We Go Now?
2011 CE · 1432 AH†Nadine Labaki's film about a Lebanese village where Muslims and Christians coexist, whose women conspire to head off sectarian violence — Toronto People's Choice winner.The Band's Visit
2007 CE · 1428 AH†The Band's Visit.
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