Saudi series : After the controversy in Morocco, the production company accuses Qatar

Sadaf production company has apologized to Moroccans in a communiqué issued Tuesday after social media users accused a Saudi Arabian comedy television series it produces, namely «Share Chat», of portraying Morocco as a destination for sex tourists.

Meanwhile, it accused Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera of planting seeds of hatred between «the Saudi and Moroccan nations».

In one of its episodes, three of the series’ main actors visited Morocco in an attempt to marry Moroccan women through temporary marriage contracts. This episode, in particular, was shot in Marrakech, a city stereotyped as a well-known destination for sex tourists from Europe and the Middle East.

According to Sadaf, Al Jazeera referred to the series, shown on SBC, a governmental entity of Saudi Arabia, organized under the Ministry of Culture and Information, as offensive to Moroccans in an attempt to harm the reputation of Saudi Arabia.

In its press release, the company also accused the Qatari channel of trying to take revenge at the series which has shown in one of its previous episodes how third parties use social media to target Saudi Arabia.

Accuding Qatar

The company further explained that the above-mentioned episode revealed «games that angered Al Jazeera, which decided to use the content of the episode as a response».

It also stressed that the Qatari channel «was trying to negatively affect the diplomatic relations between Morocco and Saudi Arabia».

On the other hand, Sadaf confirmed that it «respects and appreciate the Moroccan people», adding :

«What brings Morocco and Saudi Arabia together is bigger than what corrupt media can do», said the same source.

For the record, in June 2017, four countries - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt - decided to sever diplomatic relations with Qatar after accusing the country of financing terrorist groups, calling for the closing of Al Jazeera, which has been refused.