In the prank show — called Tanneb Rislan — terrified stars are kidnapped, have fake suicide vests strapped onto them and are warned of their impending deaths.
With sleeper cells of Islamic State jihadis still hovering in the background after their caliphate was pulverized following a bloody civil war, the wounds remain raw.
“This isn’t entertainment,” Bilal al-Mosuli, a resident of Mosul, wrote on Twitter.
Another added bitterly on Facebook: “Next year, we’ll have Saddam. Or we can throw guests into a river like the victims of Speicher (the 2014 Camp Speicher massacre, when IS executed 1,700 Shiite conscripts and dumped their bodies in the Tigris).”
One person added: “I don’t see what pleasure you could get watching these people being tortured in this way.”
Show writer, Dargham Abu Rghif, came to its defence.
“The scenes are harsh but … if IS had won, artists would have had a far harder life, and all Iraqis too,” he wrote on Facebook.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.
This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.