Soooo it is no secret that I am obsessed with reality TV. I pretty much love anything that is on Bravo. I have been watching Shahs of Sunset for sometime now, and each season I love it more and more. Yes, reality TV is rightly known for excessive drinking, bitch fights and random hook ups (Shahs of Sunset definitely has its fair share of the latter), but it is one of the few shows that deals with some very important issues.
To begin with, the show centers around Iranian Americans (both Jewish and Muslim) living in Los Angeles. While, yes, they are fabulous and none of them are super religious, it is groundbreaking in the sense that 1) you rarely (if ever) see Muslims on mainstream American TV 2) it shows that Jews and Muslims don’t always hates each other (we can all be friends!).
I guess the reason I am writing this is because I just watched the latest two episodes where the gang travels to Turkey, which is as close to Iran as some of them will ever get. I was really impressed to see that they tackle some big issues in really truthful way. There were a few things that really stood out to me:
1) When standing in front of the Blue Mosque, MJ says, “This is the first time ever I have not been ashamed to be Muslim”. Her statement made me feel for her. It is a sad reflection of the prejudices that exist in the US.
2) While in Turkey, Asa (probably my favorite person on the show) is told that women have to stand in the back of the Mosque. For me personally, I was interested to hear what Asa had to say about the situation. She couldn’t understand why certain people (men) are considered to be more Muslim than others. This is definitely one of my main issues with most religions, and I would say that it is the reason that I am maybe not as religious as I could/should be. In 2014, can women really still be considered second class citizens?
3) Reza, another one of the people on the show, is an openly gay Muslim. That in and of itself is groundbreaking for TV. He openly talks about how uncomfortable he is at the Mosque, and how if anyone there new he was gay they would probably throw stones.
4) Mike is the Iranian Jew on the show, and he went along to Turkey. His reaction to the trip to the Blue Mosque was interesting to me. He said that the call to prayer was jarring, and he felt like a fish out of water. I thought it was great that he was able to talk about his fear so candidly.
These are the conversations that make us all understand each other better.
Anyways, if you aren’t watching this show, you really should be! It gives a modern perspective on real political, social and religious issues that we all deal with. And obviously in between all this heavy stuff, there is plenty of drama to keep you entertained.
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