March 20, 2016
A new entertainment show on Iranian state television has angered Afghans who say it promotes hatred against Afghan refugees living in the Islamic Republic.
The show, titled “Outbreak,” features an Afghan man carrying a biologically engineered virus who is dispatched to Iran by the United States to infect Iranians.
The attack will eventually be foiled by Iran’s Civil Defense Organization with the help of an astute young doctor who treats the Afghan man.
The Civil Defense Organization, which in the past has warned about biological and cyber threats against Iran, was reportedly involved in the production of the show, which first aired February 20.
Some Afghans have complained that “Outbreak” will lead to increased discrimination against Afghans in Iran, who often face abuses already.
“This series will make people look at refugees as spies,” one Facebook user wrote, replicating the complaints of many Muslims in the United States that Hollywood portrayals of Muslims as terrorists prompt hostility for Muslims.
A group of Afghans reportedly condemned the show in a letter to the Iranian embassy in Kabul. “It would be better if, instead of creating a rift among Muslims, Iranian media would focus on unity,” the letter said, according to the BBC.
There was also criticism in Iranian domestic media, including in the hardline Tasnim news agency, which said the series showed a “lack of taste.”
The show’s producer dismissed the criticism in an interview with the Fars news agency. “The show’s audience should not make a hasty judgment,” Bijan Shirmarz said. He suggested that by watching the show’s full 12 episodes, critics would realize that Afghans have not been insulted.
“Why would we insult those we consider our brothers? We have no enmity with them,” Shirmarz said.
