ENTERTAINMENT NEWS – AT 7:55 A.M. ET:  We wanted to rush this right to you so you can put it on your "must see" schedule.  From Spiegel (Germany) online:

It's like American Idol. Except in this Malaysian reality TV show, the goal is to find a religious role model. Young men compete in challenges such as washing corpses and ferreting out unmarried couples. The winner gets a MacBook and the chance to lead prayers in public.

It just frustrates me so much that the United States doesn't teach its kids anything about washing corpses.  Even Malaysia puts us to shame.

There was a big casting call:

Astro Oasis, a Malaysian TV network, was looking for a young imam who could help put an end to moral decline in the country and get young people more interested in Islam.

What a great TV idea!  Why didn't I think of that?

The winner would become an imam at one of the big mosques in the capital, travel to Mecca and study at the University of Medina in Saudi Arabia. Most of all, however, he would receive a cash prize of 20,000 ringgit (about €5,000 or $6,600) a car and a MacBook. In the show, which follows the format of Western reality TV shows like American Idol, the goal is to find talented young religious leaders.

Somehow, the MacBook doesn't fit in.  I'm doing this on a MacBook, and I don't feel very Islamic.  If I switch to my Safari browser, the stuff I can get wouldn't pass muster with the Prophet.  At least not the Prophet they advertise.

But mark your TV calendars.  This looks like the next megahit.  Simon Cowell, eat your heart out.

August 9,  2010