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Little Mosque on the Prairie, the new CBC comedy about Muslims living in a small prairie town, generated tons of conversation and hype before it even premiered on Tuesday night.

The show's creator, Zarqa Nawaz, kindly agreed to join The Globe and Mail for an online discussion Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. EST. Your questions and Ms. Nawaz's answers will appear at the bottom of this page.

The inspiration for the show's storylines comes from the real-life experiences of Ms. Nawaz, the creator, consulting producer and writer. She was born in Liverpool, raised in Toronto, and moved to Regina ten years ago with her husband and children.

"I think people are assuming because of the title and the subject matter that it's going to be really controversial and political. But it's just a comedy that happens to have Muslim people in it, and it's meant to make people laugh," Ms. Nawaz said before the show's premiere. "It's about relationships and human interactions and life in a rural setting. But it's really the first comedy of its kind in North America, and that's why it's so intriguing."

Ms. Nawaz worked as a freelance writer/broadcaster with CBC radio, and in various capacities with CBC Newsworld, CTV's Canada AM, and CBC's The National. Ms. Nawaz got into filmmaking in 1996, when she took a summer film workshop and made BBQ Muslims, a short comedy about two brothers who are suspected of being terrorists after their barbecue blows up. In 2005, Ms. Nawaz's documentary entitled Me and the Mosque, a co-production with the National Film Board and the CBC, was broadcast on CBC's Rough Cuts. She has recently finished a feature-length screenplay entitled Real Terrorists Don't Belly Dance.

On Tuesday, Globe and Mail television critic John Doyle praised the Little Mosque pilot as the smartest thing the CBC has done in years. "It's hokey as hell," Mr. Doyle wrote. "But it's terrifically good-natured, has a few terrific jokes and its mere existence is a grand-slam assertion that Canadian TV is different and that the best of Canadian TV amounts to a rejection of the hegemony of U.S. network TV."

But Globe columnist Margaret Wente was less impressed. "It is so risk-averse, so painfully correct, it makes your teeth ache. No sacred cows were gored, or even scratched, in the making of this show," Ms. Wente wrote in Tuesday's paper. "The only possible offence in this show is to the intelligence."

What do you think? Please send in your questions for Ms. Nawaz, and join the conversation on Wednesday.

Rebecca Dube, globeandmail.com: Welcome everyone, and thanks to Ms. Nawaz for joining us online today. There are a ton of reader questions, so we'll try to get to as many as possible. There are also a lot of comments, so I'll try to post those too after the discussion is over.

Alejandro Munoz from Victoria, BC writes: Hello Ms. Nawaz, I enjoyed watching the show tonight. I see the the show as way to show young Canadians that it is possible to live in an ethnic community peacefully despite religious differences. However, do you think that Muslims and Westerners will ever be able to live in the type of harmony that is presented in the show? I like the characters interpreting the Muslim women. They are so cute and pretty. Good luck to you.

Zarqa Nawaz: I would say we live in that harmony now, in North America. I think North America is one of the most harmonous environments for Muslims and non- Muslims living together. I had a wonderful experience growing up as a Canadian of Muslim faith and I feel that's what informs the comedy -- it comes from a good place.

Pat Foley writes: I saw the show last night and decided that if the regular Wednesday timeslot conflicts with Jericho's return in February, I will have to find a new time to watch Jericho. The show has a lot of potential. While the first episode touched somewhat on fear and racism, I am wondering if it will get deeper into issues, or be just light and funny? At any rate, I think it is high time that Muslims are portrayed as regular people who can be fun and ditch the stereotype. And what the heck is wrong with having a hunky Imam anyway??

Zarqa Nawaz:We try to find the comedy in everyday situations and in relationships, and sometimes there are deeper issues that we will delve into, such as next week's show, which deals with gender segregation in the mosque.

Fred Smuts from St Johns Canada writes: How much are you paid by Al Qaida to produce your show to try to soften up the Canadian public for an attack? The idea is to reduce our suspicion of these lovely humourous Moslems so thay can do their worst. Does the young Ontario man who wanted to behead the Prime Minister have a part in the show? Next time a Moslem buys a ton of nitrogen fertilizer, it's supposed to be a big joke. Right?

Zarqa Nawaz: I don't think Osama is going to be very happy with this show, because I think he'd rather Muslims be fearful of non-Muslims. So, unfortunately, I don't think we'll be getting any funds from his organization.

Jim Heller from Victoria Canada writes: Your first episode left me thinking that you're determined to explain away all fear and criticism of Islam and its adherents as confused and mistaken and that any differences between Muslim beliefs and western pluralistic values are merely trivial. Do you yourself believe these things? Really? Based on what? And, if, on the other hand, you agree that there's a legitimate basis for concern about Islam in western society, how, if at all, will this ever be reflected in your show?

Zarqa Nawaz: Although this show is a comedy, I don't want to whitewash the issues of racism, extremism and sexism that exist within both communities. But I don't believe that these issues come from the faith; they come from patriarchy and years of male bias in the interpretation of the scriptures. I have dealt with these issues in my documentary, Me and the Mosque, if you're interested in what my take is on these type of subjects.

I don't believe there has to be a contradiction between Muslim beliefs and Western pluralism. The fact that I can be comfortable with my Canadian identity along with my Islamic identity proves to me that it's working.

Maurice LaBorde from Winnipeg writes: I saw the debut last night and loved it!! It's sure to become the next great Canadian sitcom in likes of "The Beachcombers" or "Degrassi." I look forward to watching it with my family for years to come! Just out of curiosity, how do you balance your faith and the secular world at home?

Zarqa Nawaz: I don't really have problems balancing my faith. I find it more challenging balancing my role as a mother of four young children with an intensely demanding career! I'm very fortunate to have an incredibly supportive husband who doesn't mind being a "single parent" and going on family vacations without his wife a lot of the time.

Daniel U from Dartmouth Canada writes: I was really hoping that this show was going to be amusingly entertaining: it was not. What was the aim of the show? Was it to show that all non Muslim Canadians are ignorant and bigoted? I guess it's okay to suggest that Christianity is a dying religion by scripting that the priest only rented the church because he did not have enough parishioners to pay the rent. Why could you not just imply that Christians do not worship on Fridays and the church was free? Were the creators advised by the CBC's executives or did you just come up with this on your own?

Zarqa Nawaz: First of all it's a comedy, and comedy often comes out of stereotypes. Every character is flawed in some way, and we try to put the stereotypes in context. For example, even though Baber, as a conservative othodox Muslim, is very self-righteous and judgmental, later on in the episodes we'll see him interacting with his teenage daughter, where he'll have to learn to compromise.

And Fred Tupper is a right-wing radio shock jock who at first seems very one-dimensional, but as the show progresses we learn he has a great fondness for Fatima, the Muslim matriarch of the show, and it's an intersting development for his character. So you have to create characters with some place to go. I think you should give the show a chance, and hopefully it'll grow on you.

M Phillips from Canada writes: First of all I watched your show last night and I thought it was quite good. I like the characters and the actors chosen to play them. I wish you well for the future. My question is this, How do you intend to have your new Imam "modernize" Islam on TV while staying true to the traditions of this religion? I thought the example of "cucumber sandwiches and curried goat" showed this possible tension in a light way.

Zarqa Nawaz: Essentially Islam is an abstract set of principles of choosing good and forbidding evil. How you do that varies according to the times you live in. So it's not as much about modernizing Islam as it is about getting some Muslims to think about issues in a new way while maintaining the integrity of their faith. For example, the issue of gender equity in a mosque is a big deal for me. We deal with this subject in the second episode of of the show. But ultimately the show is a comedy and its purpose is to entertain, so I leave the social activism to the mosques.

R Swift from Forest Canada writes: You're going to get criticism from people like previous commenter Fred Smuts. Do you also anticipate getting criticism from fellow Muslims, for different reasons? BTW, I enjoyed the first show last night and plan to watch more, although I wouldn't mind if it became a bit edgier.

Zarqa Nawaz:I think a sign of a healthy show is debate. I know I can't make everyone happy, otherwise the show would be watered down to nothing. As a Muslim I would not make a show that would offend my sensibility much less that of my community. But at the same time, you have to push a little to grow and evolve. Last year I made a documentary entitled Me and the Mosque about gender inequities in North American mosques. I did not make that doc in a reactionary or spiteful way. My community responded with support and agreed it was time to discuss this subject in a public forum. This proves to me that you can bring up issues that need to be addressed without inciting anger. I think the key is in the approach.

Rebecca Dube: Thanks to Ms. Nawaz for answering questions, and thanks to everyone who tuned in for this conversation. I'm sorry we couldn't get to all the questions -- as I mentioned, there were a lot -- but you can still add your thoughts using our comment function.