THE BBC has come under fire for an ‘insensitive’ comedy sketch about jihadi brides.
The clip from new show Revolting parodies the Real Housewives format of reality television and depicts the wives of ISIS fighters joking about about beheadings.
It also shows them modelling suicide bomb vests as if they were fashion items.
This actually going to aired on state-owned @BBC I am fuming pic.twitter.com/UM1YnBpSYS
— ⚜️ (@abu3aseed) January 4, 2017
The controversial sketch has been accused of being disrespectful to Muslim women and to victims of the terror group.
Some have labelled it ‘abhorrent’, blasting the BBC for portraying the subject in this light.
Twitter user abu3aseed wrote: “I don’t pay my TV license to see my people ridiculed on national television… for the dimwitted I’m talking about Muslims in general not ISIS, I reject them and everything they stand for.”
The clip has been viewed millions of times on Facebook, with the comments section showing that reactions to it have been mixed.
Ben Skelley commented: “Wow, what a disgusting and offensive idea for a show.
“It’s so offensive for any one who has been affected by Isis – fathers, mothers, children all have been innocently killed!
“On behalf of Britain I can only apologise for this show and how it wrongly it shows people from different backgrounds.”
Lee David Newman wrote: “Looks like you’ve hit a new low with this. I find it sad that you as a broadcaster would allow your standards to go this low.”
Waseem Khan said: “This isn’t funny. I enjoy decent satire like Four Lions, but this is a poor effort. Not only does it mock the very real oppression suffered by women caught under the yoke of ISIS, it’s also very badly written.
And Zara Kadir wrote: “Making fun of vulnerable girls who’ve been groomed and are being raped by terrorists. To everyone finding this funny, you’re sick in the head.”
But some hailed the sketch for mocking ISIS.
Franc Leone said: “Very funny, mocking this backward thinking/ideology that should have been left back in the dark ages for exactly what it is. Well done!”
And Irfan Mansor wrote: “I like it. It’s making fun of ISIS which is a good thing.
“The whole point of satire is to bring people down to a level. If you can mock something, you’re not scared of it.”
Revolting airs on BBC Two this week, starring Jolyon Rubinstein and Heydon Prowse.
The pair were behind the Bafta-winning satire The Revolution Will Be Televised, and claim their new show will satirise the state of the nation, including sketches mocking UKIP and Brexit voters.
The show’s creators recently defended the skit in an interview with I News.
“It’s important not to pull your punches in satire. You have to be fearless or it undermines your credibility. You can’t go after David Cameron for five years like we did and not go after Islamic State,” said Prowse.
Rubinstein added: “The target is online grooming.
“It’s about people who are vulnerable to these kind of approaches. We’ve had the ‘White Widow’ (British-born terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite) so this is actually happening to women here.”
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