Laughing Their Heads Off: New Iraq TV Sitcom Aims to Spoof ISIS

To paraphrase that old one-liner, "Beheading is easy; comedy is hard":

A new 30-part satirical series, State of Myths, which started airing on Iraqi state television on Saturday, aims to expose the true nature of the Islamic State extremist organisation — through slapstick and puns. 

The show demonstrates the extraordinary ability of people in this war-scarred nation to challenge violence with humour. But making light of the group notorious for beheadings and massacres brings serious risks. Some of the cast members have not allowed their names to appear on the show's credits, while the scriptwriter has insisted on remaining anonymous.

In light of ISIS's atavistic antics, probably not such a bad idea.