Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.
Concept
Penitents Compete
Summary
Penitents Compete (Tövbekarlar Yarışıyor) was a planned 2009 Turkish reality television series in which a Jewish rabbi, a Buddhist monk, an Eastern Orthodox priest, and a Muslim imam were to attempt to convert a group of 10 atheists each week. It was scheduled to begin airing in September 2009 on Turkey's channel T, with the launch intentionally delayed until after Ramadan ended. After the Presidency of Religious Affairs denied permission for an imam to appear, the programme appears to have been cancelled.
Kanal T's Deputy Director Ahmet Özdemir has said that the goal of the show is "to turn disbelievers into [believers in] God," but that which God they choose is up to them. He also believes that the show will be helpful for those interested in learning about other religions. Any converts will be offered a free to one of four holy sites – Mecca, Vatican City, Jerusalem, or Tibet. The newly converted will be followed by a camera crew to ensure that the trip is a pilgrimage and not a vacation. 200 atheists had already applied as of July 5, 2009, and were being pre-vetted by an eight-person team of theologians to ensure that they truly were atheists, and not simply seeking to gain fame or fortune.
Seyhan Soylu developed the show, which will be produced by Ayşe Hatun Önal and hosted by Gülgün Feyman. Ali Bardakoğlu, the head of the Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı (Presidency of Religious Affairs) in Turkey, has stated that no Turkish imam will be allowed to participate in the show. Soylu responded by stating that Bosniaks, Azerbaijanis or Tunisian imams would be used instead if need be, and also claimed that Bardakoğlu was "committing a sin" by not providing the show with an imam. Advertisements for the show read: "You will find serenity in this competition," "We give you the biggest prize ever; we represent the belief in God," "Believe, repent, God will forgive you", and "We reconcile opposite poles."
As the BBC reports, "The programme has prompted a mixed reaction in mainly Muslim Turkey, with some saying it would be good for interfaith relations and others saying such discussions were 'inappropriate' for television.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.