How's this for the premise to a sitcom - a young Muslim man abandons his burgeoning law career to become the new imam (Muslim prayer leader) of a small Canadian town called Mercy? When we meet said imam, he's in line at the airport talking on his cell. "If Dad thinks that's suicide, so be it. This is Allah's plan for me." Cue security.

And so begins Little Mosque on the Prairie, CBC's newest sitcom. Premiering in January and being pitched to US networks this month, the series has been forced to confront two big questions since its inception: 1. Can the post-9/11 world take humor about Muslims living in North America? 2. Will Muslims riot over the depiction of said funny Muslims?