Yesterday, Saudi Arabia caught in a debate around an episode of the TV-series "Selfie", airing on the Saudi-owned channel, MBC.
The episode labelled, On Your Sect, portrays a story of an accidental swap between two Saudi baby boys at the hospital's maternity ward. A "supposedly" Shia born boy grew up as a son of a "Sunni" family and a Sunni born boy grew up as a son of a "Shia" family. The incident revealed to both families many years later when the hospital invites them and disclose that their boys were not their own biological children. Thereafter, we follow the difficult moments of realising that their children were not only switched at birth but they were also indoctrinated into different sects.
The story is an excellent and humorist that managed to address with intelligent and sensitivity the precarious sectarian topic in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
This episode reminded me of the teacher of Monotheism subject in my public Saudi School, who constantly denounced Shia sect followers and their practices. I hope this fiction based story will encourage my former teacher and the leaders of both denominations to learn to put themselves in other people shoes and humanise their differences not politicised.
The episode labelled, On Your Sect, portrays a story of an accidental swap between two Saudi baby boys at the hospital's maternity ward. A "supposedly" Shia born boy grew up as a son of a "Sunni" family and a Sunni born boy grew up as a son of a "Shia" family. The incident revealed to both families many years later when the hospital invites them and disclose that their boys were not their own biological children. Thereafter, we follow the difficult moments of realising that their children were not only switched at birth but they were also indoctrinated into different sects.
The story is an excellent and humorist that managed to address with intelligent and sensitivity the precarious sectarian topic in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
This episode reminded me of the teacher of Monotheism subject in my public Saudi School, who constantly denounced Shia sect followers and their practices. I hope this fiction based story will encourage my former teacher and the leaders of both denominations to learn to put themselves in other people shoes and humanise their differences not politicised.
