by HANANE KORCHI 

Her recent work was described as “Saskatchislamic,” her production company is “FUNdamentalist,” and the Canadian TV ratings certify the success of her sitcom as groundbreaking—perhaps even amusingly miraculous—and definitely unprecedented. Canadian trailblazer Zarqa Nawaz has caught attention and praise (as well as her fair share of criticism) with her film work and new television series, “Little Mosque on the Prairie.”

Her initial career in journalism didn’t satisfy her creative impulse. After whetting her appetite in filmmaking one long-ago summer—her first five-minute short titled, “BBQ Muslims”—she began a body of film work that can now boast a full-fledged television sitcom. Inspiration for her first film was the prejudice against Muslims after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. Casting her brother and his friends from their neighborhood, the humble film dealt with the subject of racism and profiling in ways that proved humorous, yet truthful. Surprised by the success it had at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1996, she realized that this was an effective means to entertain and inform.

Five productions later, Nawaz is garnering international acclaim for “Little Mosque on the Prairie,” a comedy series airing on CBC that she says “happens to have Muslim people in it.”Thankful for her experiences on smaller projects—including the controversial documentary, “Me and the Mosque,” which deals with equal prayer space for women (or lack thereof)—which taught her how to better write, direct and produce, Nawaz now has the luxury of working with a full team of professionals.

Reactions among Muslim audiences demonstrate a generational fault line: Canadian-born Muslims are thrilled and have fewer criticisms, while their parents’ generation is squirming and uncomfortable with material that they perceive as pushing the envelope, airing dirty laundry and attracting an unwanted spotlight on the community. Her take is not to cater to Muslim audiences alone. Therefore her style is essentially an honest, matter-of-fact display of her experiences and observations, no sugarcoating involved.

The sky is the limit as Nawaz carves out a unique role and enters uncharted territory. She plans to continue to make films that include Muslims and feels that comedy is the genre that allows a positive space to do so in a way that is not exclusive to Muslims and can be enjoyed by all communities. Nawaz’s attempt to shine a positive light on Muslims in a seemingly nontraditional way was a success, if by no other measure than the fact that there are probably thousands of newly inspired young Muslim filmmakers. Nawaz may have just made attending film school an acceptable career move in some North American Muslim households.