Little Mosque on the Prairie

Some readers might not be familiar with the Canadian television series Little Mosque on the Prairie. It takes place in a small Canadian town and examines the life of a growing Muslim community there. The Anglican Journal presents an article by Sitara Hewitt who plays Rayyan in the series about her background and what's it like to play a young Muslim on television (Hewitt is Anglican).

When I say, “overwhelmed,” I mean it in a positive way. It’s been exciting to experience how Rayyan and, more surprisingly, I – Sitara Hewitt – have become a role model of sorts to young Muslim women around the world.

The show is one of the most positive and complex portrayals of Muslims in North America. Of course the premise is playing off the old Little House series, which in its book form was explicitly Christian.

DJ Khaled

We've written on this site in the past about the ongoing relationship between hip hop and Islam. DJ Khaled is an American deejay of Palestinian background. He's known to most radio listeners for his shout-outs over a handful of hip hop hits he's produced in the last year including "I'm So Hood" and "We Takin' Over" featuring a who-is-who of current stars. In a recent interview with Heeb (a magazine targeting young, intellectual Jews) Khaled talks about his background and his music and how they interact. For example when talking about his studio in Miami, his current hometown:

You named your studio Jerusalem. Was that any kind of statement?

I did it cause I feel like my studio is a holy place, everybody is allowed in there, and I feel like its blessed like the Dome of the Rock, you know?

And about working with other artists:

Let me ask, when you get together with the artists that you work with, do you discuss your different backgrounds?

A lot of people, some of these rappers are Muslim, and sometimes we’ll be kicking it. But everyone respects me as a man, respects me as a person. Everyone’s got their way of being brought up, in their different belief systems, like that. I’m a normal person, just like everybody else, you know it?

The photo of Khaled shows an interesting interaction of hip-hop fashion and religious expression (necklace).