Thoughts on 'The Shia Voice' on Imam Hussein TV3

[Moalfas]

Salam,

So I happened to watch the ‘long awaited, brand spanking new’ talent show ‘The Shia voice’ on Imam Hussein TV3  last night and here are some thoughts on it;

Production/direction wise, It seems like a template from the talent shows in Western media including but not limited to the camera shots and how it’s directed. For instance, The judges and contestants being followed by the camera from the car to the venue.

Also, the two presenters/hosts and their roles before and after the contestant goes on stage. The absolute copy/paste of the roles from something like ‘Britain’s got talent’ is somewhat cringe-worthy.  

I suppose it’s being copied because it worked in Western media which is not a bad thing per se', but a little creativity would have been nice.

What I absolutely felt uncomfortable with was the same concept of humour and subliminal mockery of the contestants who may not be performing to the level of others was shown; just as it would be in Western shows. And this is where the ‘entertainment value’ apparently is.

When one contestant, who wasn’t performing to the level of others, was clearly struggling in his Noha recitation, the camera shots and actions of some judges were more than awkward to watch.

The reason being, is that these contestants aren’t singing or clowning around; it’s what their performing (Noha etc) that is a very sensitive matter and should not be mocked, even subliminally or made/produced/directed for ‘entertainment value’.

Despite my criticisms, I found that overall, the show was good, it appealed to its target audience and the youth are much better off watching an imperfect Shia talent show with lots of Quran, Noha and Ahlulbayt (عليه السلام), than watching Western talent shows. It’s a huge production endeavour and they seem to have pulled it off.

There were some fantastic and talented contestants with admirable skills, and these shows can encourage more of the youth to engage within their communities and bring out their own talents for the service of Ahlulbayt (عليه السلام).

All in all, I give ‘The Shia voice’ a thumbs up. Simply because I believe that anything with the mention of Allah Ta’ala and Ahlulbayt (عليه السلام) is Baraka.     

Edited April 4, 2022 by Moalfas
typo

[realizm]

I saw snippets on Facebook, I thought what a shame, it's just mind formatting. 

Why not at least hold speech contests under tents instead of completely copying the western thing.

 

A funny thing, when I used to see Imam Hussein TV Videos on YouTube - their 'Live from London' show with the glittering screens, I used to think, 'they really seem to be into The Voice stuff'. 

Edited April 4, 2022 by realizm

[Abu_Zahra]

Wa alaikum as salam

Haven't seen it and don't intend to. Your description confirms my fears of such a show. If the people behind this believe that this is promoting Islam in any way or form then I would invite them to take a beginners lesson on the fundamentals of religion.

We have a hadith in Al Kafi from Imam Sadiq (عليه السلام) as follows:

“Become an ornament for us, do not be a disgrace for us.”

https://www.al-islam.org/mikyal-al-makarim-fi-fawaid-al-dua-lil-qaim-vol-2-sayyid-muhammad-taqi-musawi-isfahani/73-following

 

I hope that those who are making the noble effort to promote Islam via the media keep this in mind because currently it seems to be very much forgotten. 

[Ashvazdanghe]

قناة الكميل الفضائية

Participant has fallen on ground  unconscious during competition

Satellite channel Kumail (Shia voice in Iraq)

 

[Meedy]

I don't mean to be disrespectful to any judges or those working on the shows.

The idea of copying a music tv show into Islamic/religious show, doesn't look good (well to me, it doesn't look good). I think some "muslims" may mock us for this.

Perhaps if they named it something else and had a different appearance, then that's something different but still .

I haven't and will not watch it because It will remind me of the Voice the music tv shows which I already dislike. I can give you a thousands reasons why I hate shows like that. 

[Ashvazdanghe]

Small child puts judge to laugh. 

Iraqi satellite channel

قناة الطلیعةالفضاییة

Shia voice

[kadhim]

My wife was checking this out yesterday.

It looked Ok for what it is.

Professionally done. Nice idea to encourage youth in the limited set of classical and semi-classical vocal forms they chose to include.

I liked that it had a mix of participants from different cultures and you got to see the nuances of all of them. It’s a nice touch. 

Can’t help but notice they’re still missing about 51% of the voices though. ;)

[علوي]

Salam,

My personal thoughts on this show are mostly positive. It's a great intention, a great idea to encourage youth to start serving AhlulBayt (peace be upon them). I love how they give the money to the winner at the end, as a boost to start their careers inshallah. And I'm also very excited because one of the judges is Sayed Ammar Nakshawani. Maybe the feedback at the end seems a bit too harsh, but it's their first time (probably), so what does one expect? Very entertaining as well. 

The only bone I have to pick is that I don't think AhlulBayt (peace be upon them) would really approve of the way in which the show is conducted. As in the show is unbelievably similar to the Western TV shows, containing haram and explicit content. Of course, The Shia Voice doesn't include any of that, but I'm cautious that it's just too similar to Western harami shows like The Voice, The X Factor, or America/Britain's Got Talent. I don't know.

Overall, I do personally enjoy watching The Shia Voice. 

May Allah bless you all.

[Guest A display name]

I refuse to watch on multiple principles (don't support Imam Hussein TV, etc) but one of the main issues is that it undermines the ikhlas and sincerity one is supposed to have when reciting, which seems very problematic to me. 

[AbdusSibtayn]

"Imam Hussein TV" (it's a calamity that a channel dishing out such content has been named after Sayyid ush-Shuhada (عليه السلام) ) are again and again proving to be a massive embarrassment to the madhab. I won't be surprised if this is their latest antic, after their shameful 'auctioning' of the Imam (عليه السلام) 's turbah in their 'gala dinner' thing. 

Maybe the channel's patrons subscribe to the Western establishments' notion of 'integration', which believes that Muslims must imitate the debauched culture of the fujjar and the fasiqeen to appear more 'normal' and 'civilized'. Hence such 'voice of so and so' shows, 'gala dinners', and 'auctions'. I guess after modelling nohe-khwani events after assemblies of ghina, and the 'auction' of the turbah of Imam al-Madhloom (عليه السلام), the next thing to be put up for 'auction' on their channel will be Zainab (sa) 's rida , or Sukayna (sa)'s earrings, or the dismembered arms of Abal Fadl Abbas (عليه السلام). 

While they are at it, pioneering 'Shis Rap' and 'Shia Rock' and 'Shia Heavy Metal' competitions would also not be amiss. After all they're only promoting the madhab, no? 

What they are doing in the name of 'mainstreaming' Shi'a religious culture is in effect akin to mixing the turbah of imam al-Madhloom in alcohol, or saying 'bismillah' out loud before eating pork. 

God forbid someone should think such events represent Shi'a beliefs. These events are a disgrace. 

It is high time the Shirazi marjaiyyah took stock of what their principal PR agency is doing. I used to support the channel and subscribe to their content until they didgraced themselves. Not going to do that anymore. 

It is time such activities are called out. The conscientious clergy should also stop appearing on their channel until they mend their ways. This sends out a very wrong message- since mu'ammimeen are continuing to attend the channel and endorse their content, everything they do must be completely kosher. 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by AbdusSibtayn

[Guest Love it]

Assalamu alaikum , 

hope this msg finds everybody well. As a family , we’ve been binge watching The Shi’a Voice. What a wonderful program for the Shi’a youth. Please continue this every year. Love it
 

regards ,

the Hassan family from Canada