A Sydney-based production company is hoping to launch a Muslim alternative to cartoons such as the popular Peppa Pig children’s series.
Production company One4Kids has been campaigning to raise money to produce the first two episodes of a series for an online subscriber-based audience, called ‘Barakah Hills’.
Company founder and lead producer, Subhi Alshaik, said the show’s theme would be loosely based on the popular series Peppa Pig, but would be “based in a Muslim town”.
The company launched a funding page on the LaunchGood website, which has so far raised more than $5,000 of $20,000 needed to begin production.
“It’s in a nice little community with a school, a mosque, a house with friends. They’re doing everyday things like playing in the park, going to their grandparents’ house to find out how cheese is made and how crops grow,” Mr Alshaik told SBS.
“We’ve got an imam in the show, and even non-Muslim characters.”
Mr Alshaik said the company had received a number of negative comments in regards to the show’s concept, following what he said were media reports which “spread the wrong” message.
“It has now just blown out of proportion and it’s now like we’re saying ‘stop watching Peppa Pig, it’s bad for you’. No. I actually watch it myself. My kids, when we’re together, whack it on and we enjoy it. We have a laugh. And I think as a producer ‘what’s attracting the kids to it?’ and I’m always looking to produce something new.
“So I thought, we need a show for the Muslim community.”
While sharing similarities with Peppa Pig, Mr Alshaik said direct comparisons shouldn’t be made.
“The way that show [Peppa Pig] talks about any old thing, like ice cream – we want to do something similar, but obviously in a Muslim town for our TV channel,” he said.
“In order to attract subscribers, we need to produce our own shows. We liked the idea and concept of Peppa Pig, so we thought we’d do something similar. It’s a lot different in terms of the writing of it, the scripts and the synopsis.
“At the end of the day it’s not Peppa Pig.”
One4Kids has received the endorsement of Australian National Imams Council head Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman through a Facebook video posted on December 3.
Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman said the company offered an “alternative” for Muslim children.
Online Source: SBS.
