Very insightful article here from the IHT. TV is huge during Ramadan because people will stay inside most of the day just lounging around until iftar, when the fast breaks in the evening.
A segment:
The recent controversy over soap opera-style serials suggests that the Arab authorities, whether religious, tribal or political, are anxious about the extraordinary public reach of such muselselaat and their power to challenge accepted ideas or traditions.
Perhaps the best example is "Noor," the popular Turkish series that ran over the summer. The show violated Arab cultural taboos in a number of ways: besides having Muslim characters who drank wine with dinner and had premarital sex, a cousin of the male protagonist, Muhannad, had an abortion.
Perhaps more important, Muhannad treats his wife as an equal and supports her career as a fashion designer.
The show and the liberties it displayed prompted unusual condemnations from hard-line clerics throughout the Middle East, including Sheik Abdul Aziz al-Asheik, Saudi Arabia's leading cleric, who issued an instruction that Muslims should not watch it.
