Way In
A test of faith
Jesus may well be the answer, but keep an open mind. It could be Buddha, Charlton Heston or the al Aqsa mosque. The first interfaith game show in Britain is being launched on 21 June.
Faith Off pits Christians against Jews, and Muslims against Hindus, and not for the first time. If this conjures up the arresting image of teams clambering over obstacle courses dressed as outsized gods and prophets, the reality is a little more prosaic, if less sacrilegious. The teams are questioned on their own and each other’s religions, in a series of eight programmes, by the Muslim comedian Jeff Mirza.
This amicable inquisition was created for the Islam Channel by Abrar Hussain, the man behind Model Mosque, a reality TV contest to find Britain’s best mosque. He tells Way In that he came upon the idea for Faith Off when looking for a way to make a game show that ‘was not just superficially entertaining, but had social impact too.’
‘The aim is to attract younger people to the interfaith arena,’ says Hussain. He promises ‘a garish set, flashing lights, catchphrases and loud buzzers’, but nothing very dazzling in the way of prizes. ‘It’s not about winning,’ he says.
According to the show’s host, Mirza, ‘The atmosphere in the studio while we were recording this show was electric. Where else do you see Jewish people and Muslim people coming together and genuinely laughing and joking with each other?’
Post a comment