Culture

‘Fireman Sam’ Producers Apologise After Showing A Character Treading On The Qu’ran

This isn't the Fireman Sam I remember as a kid...

by Osman Faruqi  27 July 2016

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The studio behind popular children’s TV show Fireman Sam has apologised to viewers after an episode appeared to show a character treading on a page of the Qu’ran, for some bizarre, unknown reason.

In episode seven of the show’s ninth series, titled “Troubled Waters”, Fireman Elvis is seen carrying a tray of hot drinks and slipping on some papers left lying on the floor of the fire station. One of the sheets he slips on appears to be covered in Arabic writing.

The episode was first aired in 2014. In the current context of increased tensions between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities in the UK, as well as rising Islamophobia, it seems like an incredibly weird and unnecessarily offensive dig at Muslims. It’s not clear why the animators of a show that focuses on the adventures of a Welsh firefighter would attempt to project Islamophobic sentiment.

In a statement posted on Twitter the show’s producers confirmed that the sheet of paper was a page from the Qu’ran.

“It has been brought to our attention that in an episode of Fireman Sam, an image of the Qu’ran is briefly depicted. The page was intended to show illegible text and we deeply regret this error. We sincerely apologise for any distress or offense it may have caused,” the producers said.

HIT Entertainment, which produces Fireman Sam along with Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine, also confirmed that they had severed ties with the animation company responsible for the controversial scene. The episode has also been pulled from online streaming services. The scene was criticised by Miqdaad Versi, the Assistant Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain.

The Qu’ran is the holy book of the Islamic religion and is regarded by Muslims as a revelation from God. According to the BBC, “The Qur’an is treated with immense respect by Muslims because it is the sacred word of God.”

The statement from HIT Entertainment did not explain why the show’s animators went to the effort of creating an animated version of the Qu’ran for Fireman Elvis to trip over. According to HIT, “the page was intended to show illegible text”. So the animators decided, for a reason apparent only to them, to turn “illegible text” into an extremely detailed rendering of a specific section of the Islamic holy text.

None of the passages from the Qu’ran shown on screen seem particularly relevant to Fireman Sam, but to be fair it would be even weirder if they were some sort of poor attempt at subliminal messaging.

Back in 2012 the creator of Fireman Sam, David Jones, was held at a London airport after questioning why a Muslim woman was not checked by security.

Come on Fireman Sam, less Islamophobia please and more crazy young arsonists that keep burning down the town and causing havoc with zero repercussions.