"Omar Shamshoon," as he is called on the show, looks like the same Homer Simpson, but he has given up beer and bacon, which are both against Islam, and he no longer hangs out at "seedy bars with bums and lowlifes." In Arabia, Homer's beer is soda, and his hot dogs are barbequed Egyptian beef sausages. And the donut-shaped snacks he gobbles are the traditional Arab cookies called kahk.
--snip--
Some longtime "Simpson" fans who are Arabs are incensed over the Arabized version. "This is just beyond the pale," wrote As'ad AbuKhalil, a professor at California State University, Stanislaus, whose blog, angryarab blogspot, often touches on politics and the media. After viewing a promotional segment of "Al Shamshoon," Prof. AbuKhalil wrote, "It was just painful....The guy who played Homer Simpson was one of the most unfunny people I ever watched. Just drop the project, and air reruns of Tony Danza's show instead."
10.14.2005
How do you say "D'oh!" in Arabic?
The Raw Story reports that Middle Eastern satellite TV station MBC is launching an Arabized version of The Simpsons:
The Simpson’s are being shown in Arabic nations, but it is being “Arabized” to fit the local cultures. Instead of Homer we now have "Omar Shamshoon," and instead of Bart we have “Badr” I wonder if Badr gets too cheeky if he doesn’t get forty lashes and sent out to sleep with the camels. Badr’s favorite catch phrase is “Don’t have a Jihad Man!” He attends the local school where they teach him he will get 72 virgins if he becomes a suicide bomber. Hey lets at least make it realistic.
ReplyDeleteI have a post in my blog about this also along with a funny graphic. I have linked to your site!