Watching reality TV is the way to find God

: Image via Wikipedia

Turkey’s reality TV is notorious for plumbing the depths. In one show, participants are made to sing while receiving electric shocks; in another a brainy male contestant competes in a quiz against 50 women to prove that blondes are stupid.

But now Turkey’s Kanal T is trumping all that with Penitents Compete, a religious show in which atheists are pressured to find God on air. A rabbi, a Catholic priest, an imam and a Buddhist monk will each take turns trying to convert the participants, with one-to-one talks, group discussions and visits to mosques, temples and churches. Any participant who converts gets to visit the relevant holy site: Mecca, Jerusalem, the Vatican or Tibet. Turkish Islamic clerics are seething, calling the idea a debasement of religion, but the TV channel’s head, Seyhan Soylu, a flamboyant ex-police officer who has changed sex and now calls herself a devout Muslim, insists that finding religion can never be wrong.

No Turkish imam would risk appearing, but a Tunisian is up for the challenge, while the rabbi, Buddhist monk and Catholic priest all seemed to be lined up and ready to go. All admirably modern and open-minded, but how well it will go down in a country that is 99% Islamic?