UK Muslim urges Peppa ban over son’s pig plans in hoax

A British Muslim, dismayed by his young son’s wish to become a pig rather than a doctor, has taken on a mission to effect the removal from television of Peppa Pig, the much-loved animal character whom he claims inspired his child’s unusual ambition, according to the Daily Mirror.

Zayn Sheikh’s purported campaign includes a Facebook page called “Muslims against Peppa Pig“ that features a video – shared more than 9,000 times – explaining his reasons for pursuing the ban, according to the Daily Mirror.

But the campaign turned out to be a hoax by Sheikh, who was later revealed as a YouTube comedian.

“Some of you, right, might have seen this abominable creature before, right, this Peppa Pig. Haram pig,” Sheikh says in the video.

“As Muslims it is very important that we do not eat meat of the pork,” he explains.

“It is completely wrong that our kids are being shown these things on TV and my son ... he wants to be a pig now.”

“I think that we need to change this so I'm going to set up a Facebook group, ‘Muslims against Peppa Pig,’ and instead, because children still need cartoons to develop their minds, I propose we introduce Abdullah the cat.”

But Sheikh’s campaign to ban the pig is facing resistance by those who understood it to be real, with thousands of Peppa fans on Facebook determined to save the character from the chop.

They even set up a Facebook group called “Save Peppa Pig from Muslim Fanatics” whose introduction states: “Please all you Peppa Pig fans must post your favourite piggy videos and photos right away and save our precious pig.”