The Curious Case of Ertuğrul

Of late, a Turkish TV series, Diriliş: Ertuğrul, started gaining unprecedented popularity among the masses in Pakistan, partly because its caste and plot appealed to the public, and partly because PM IK propagated in favour of the series. Although I haven't watched it but when people talked too much of it, I ran an errand on the internet to see how the series was received in Pakistan.

There is quite a bit of controversy built around the series with some factions claiming it has deprived their local products of a big chunck of viewership while some argue that since the story does not belong to the Indus Valley Civilisation, it should be discarded outright. Respecting their regard for their ancestral lineage I believe it is a non-issue.

     The way our people react to things is obvious. We have seen much of appreciation and a lot of contempt whenever issues pop-up out of the blue. We are witness to venomous remarks for religious scholars and words of praise for indescent fellows; that's all part of the psyche of our generation to react in line with what is going on.

     Now why this TV series is being liked and hated is obviously contingent upon how we perceive things. As already said, the ones who favour it believe we have to regain our lost grandeur and those who oppose it have myriad reasons of their own.

     But the whole conundrum begs a question: What do you have for us as a worthwhile entertainment replacing Diriliş: Ertuğrul? The answer may vary but I have a hunch that we are too ludicrous to debate in favour of secular values and human rights. A point is very clear: although our industry has soared very high in terms of production quantum, it has experienced a nose-dive with respect to content. The values which we ought to guard jealously are being brushed aside for want of societal check and balance. For the sake of TRPs, our production houses won't hesitate from bringing to fore the very repugnant issues. If one has to see what we are being fed through TV, just surf on the internet and everything would fall in place. 

    But for now, let's focus on what values we are supposed hold dear to us. My take on the matter is:

A. Let's build rather than demolish the national character. To do so, we would have to join our hands together and work for a constructive initiatives. Let's not hold back ourselves from rejecting what is disasterous.

B. Let's promote our Islamic values with a tinge of modern society's requirments. Let's not behave too orthodox to lag behind in modernisation. All the while, we should make endeavours to portray real Islam to the world.

C. Let's practice Islam rather than confine ourselves to rituals. Perhaps folks are too busy following the Religion to pay heed to the essence of Deen. For this we all have to begin from ourselves and educate our families.

D. Let's embrace media whole-heartedly. Bring in good stuff so that the filth finds no place to corrupt the minds of our masses. We should be cognisant of the Acquired Behaviour where people do what they see. Show them good, they would follow good and vice versa.

     For all those who have problems with the TV series, I would suggest, give us something pragmatic so that it helps us consider your view point. If freedom of expression allows free will to express, why should Islamic content not be aired? Sans a logic, the TV series would become even more popular among the masses than it has already been.