No laughing matter: IS threatens to kill Saudi comedian
No laughing matter: IS threatens to kill Saudi comedian
Blog: After mocking the Islamic State group, one brave actor is facing threats and intimidation, but Nasser al-Qassabi is laughing it off.
2 min read
23 Jun, 2015
Nasser al-Qassabi's Ramadan series has been turning heads [MBC]
A new comedy series broadcast on MBC - a popular Arab television network - has been causing a stir on social media, but not for the reasons its directors, producers, cast and fans may hope.
The Saudi comedian and lead actor, Nasser al-Qassabi, received a tweet warning him that the Islamic State group "will not rest" until he is beheaded.
Translation: I swear that you will regret everything you have said. The Jihadists in Arab peninsula will not rest until your head has been separated from your body.
The comedian and his show, #Selfie, have been deemed controversial since the it started. Qassabi's roles mocking Muslim scholars and IS alike have been widely discussed on social media - yet it was the second episode that got him a beheading threat, after openly mocking IS' mass beheadings, recruitment and jihadi sex.
The episode revolves around a father, played by Qassabi, travelling to find his son - an IS recruit. As he arrives at their camp, he pretends to become a part of the group, and soon finds himself in trouble.
In one of the scenes, Qassabi's character appears hesitant about joining a "mass beheading party" of captured farmers labelled infidels. He faints when it's his turn to lop off a head, and is made to marry someone to help him "integrate".
"Two episodes have shaken IS feelings," tweeted Fahd Deghaither, a writer at al-Hayat newspaper. "What would have happened if we had a whole production city with complete cinematic events? Who will stand against that?"
The Saudi comedian and lead actor, Nasser al-Qassabi, received a tweet warning him that the Islamic State group "will not rest" until he is beheaded.
Translation: I swear that you will regret everything you have said. The Jihadists in Arab peninsula will not rest until your head has been separated from your body.
The comedian and his show, #Selfie, have been deemed controversial since the it started. Qassabi's roles mocking Muslim scholars and IS alike have been widely discussed on social media - yet it was the second episode that got him a beheading threat, after openly mocking IS' mass beheadings, recruitment and jihadi sex.
The episode revolves around a father, played by Qassabi, travelling to find his son - an IS recruit. As he arrives at their camp, he pretends to become a part of the group, and soon finds himself in trouble.
In one of the scenes, Qassabi's character appears hesitant about joining a "mass beheading party" of captured farmers labelled infidels. He faints when it's his turn to lop off a head, and is made to marry someone to help him "integrate".
"Two episodes have shaken IS feelings," tweeted Fahd Deghaither, a writer at al-Hayat newspaper. "What would have happened if we had a whole production city with complete cinematic events? Who will stand against that?"
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Social media guru @SultanAlQassemi commended #Selfie, tweeting: "Watching @algassabinasser's Selfie, a Saudi show based on comedy sketches poking fun at ISIS & Al Qaeda filth. Very brave & necessary."
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Yet IS supprters were less than impressed.
@just_follow_23 tweeted: "al-Qassabi mocks IS and we mock the American military machines because we have no time for fools."
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One Saudi cleric went as far as calling Qassabi an apostate, a statement that was later withdrawn.
Qassabi himself did not seem too alarmed by the threat and posted a tweet addressing his detractors.
"My Twitter is overflowing with people cursing at me, threatening me and hating on me. I'd like for them to calm down a little. Come on, Ramadan is just beginning!"
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Qassabi reportedly told MBC that he was very happy with how the show was being received, saying that, by mocking those who need it most, #Selfie was his "form of jihad".
The Twitter account of the person who threatened Qassabi has now been suspended.
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