“May you not drink water,” asks the surprised neighbor of an Islamic father and son during the iftar – the evening meal to break the fast. He lasted a day, which went just too well for him. Full of energy he appears at the dining table in the evening, while father and son are tired. The monkey comes out of the sleeve: he drank water all day.
The Islamic Vast month started on 28 February and the videos of Ramadan Bites already had millions of views. Since the concept was created at the NTR in 2023, this is the first year that the makers focus entirely on social media. With 17,000 followers on Instagram and 29,000 followers on Tiktok, the number of followers in these weeks is growing rapidly.
Maker Nora Akachar experiences, writes and acts for the platform: “We give Islamic viewers recognizable frustrations in a funny way. The films are also educational for the non-Muslim public. The media are not always positive about Muslims. We want to show something else by taking viewers with you in our lives during Ramadan. ”
Question
When the fast month comes into view, it means for many Muslims in the Netherlands the start of an annual question fire. The questions whether you can shower or touch food are not unusual in this. Ramadan Bites responds to these clichés. “We use creativity to answer uncomfortable questions, such as drinking the sketch about water. With that we also give the message: these kinds of questions should no longer be asked, “says Akachar.
Not only the assumptions of non-Muslims are mocked. Fasting Muslims are also not spared. The required perseverance to resist temptations of food and drink is highlighted with a wink. A played Turkish father visits the doctor in a sketch to come out under fasting, because the rule applies: whoever is sick is not obliged to fast. In another sketch, an actress is literally silenced with a stapler, so that she stops complaining over her rattling stomach.
In the production team everyone gets the freedom to pitch ideas and play in the videos themselves. Makers Nora Akachar and Alkan Çöklü write scenarios, come up with ideas and act in the videos. “The energy on the set is high, we can try a lot. Of course, not everything works out well, but we act quickly, “says Çöklü.
Seek out a border
It is sometimes difficult to estimate what can and cannot be done, Akachar sees. “In the beginning we were careful, what joke is possible, which is not. The audience grows with us and gets to know our intentions, so we can look for the border. ”
To explore these limits, Çöklü puts a positive feeling in front. “It is not my goal to sand, I want to generate and connect sympathy. For example, if there is scolding, we do not do that for swearing. Everything is executed in the context of the sketch. We work with satire so that viewers recognize the situations. ”
Previously, sketches also appeared on TV, but according to the broadcaster the ratings were too low. “From the start of this new chapter it went like crazy. That our followers look forward to a three -minute sketch, I think that’s the most magical, “concludes çöklü.
Yet certain clichés never seem to disappear, Akachar sees. “This week I was again asked about drinking water,” she laughs. The answer? No, you don’t drink any water during fasting either.