Allah my children: soap opera controversy.

• Author: Freund, Charles Paul
• Position: Citings - 'Road to Kabul'

EVERY RAMADAN, Arabic-language TV is dominated by loudly hyped, month-long soap operas. Last Ramadan, however, one of the more heavily advertised series, the Qatari-produced Road to Kabul, disappeared from the schedules of every TV service that had purchased the right to show it. Tim apparent reason: A Web site that often features messages from Islamist extremists carried a threat against everyone involved with the show.

"We swear to the great God that if we see in the series anything other than the honorable reality of the Taliban ... we will assault all those who participated in this sullied malice," said the posting. "We direct our strong warning to all who participated in producing this series, whether an actor, producer or cameraman."

The series deals with an Afghan woman exile living in England who falls in love with an Arab. She eventually returns to Afghanistan, only to confront the harsh rule of the Taliban. There had been sonic anticipation that the series might spark a broad conversation about the role of women and the interpretation of Koranic law.

The show was scheduled to be shown by Jordanian TV, which canceled it at the request of the Qatari producers. Two other TV services, Moroccan TV and the Gulf-based MBC, showed the first eight episodes but were forced to stop the series when the Qataris refused to...