Qumran (fictional country)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Qumran is a fictional country in the 1980s sitcoms Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. It is an oil-rich sheikhdom in the Middle East, and is referred to as a Gulf state.

[edit] Description

Qumran, in the series, is characterized by clichés of Arab nations. As such, it is extremely rich in oil and practices Sharia, or Islamic law. In Qumran, one can be flogged for possessing alcoholic beverages (which forms part of the storyline for "The Bishop's Gambit" in Yes, Prime Minister) or stoned for committing adultery.

In the series, Qumran is first mentioned when the fictional Minister for Administrative Affairs James Hacker is sent to lead a British government delegation to the state. Hacker is appalled when Civil Service delegations from almost every department are sent, even though the meeting is only to finalize a contract for electronics exports that Britain received, it later emerges, through bribery. Hacker and Sir Humphrey Appleby, with the help of Bernard Woolley, later conspire to smuggle alcohol into the reception and violate Islamic law using an emergency communications room. Hacker, unsurprisingly, becomes drunk; Sir Humphrey is dressed as a Bedouin and is on first-name terms with his counterparts on the Qumrani side. Later on, the Minister and his wife are embroiled in a controversy over the Qumranis' gift of a priceless vase, which the Minister's wife wants to keep but is prohibited from doing so as, ironically, it would look like bribery.

Later, Qumran is featured for threatening to flog a British nurse who was found with a bottle of whisky. A clergyman adversary of Humphrey's is sent to Qumran and saves the nurse, putting him in line for a bishopric. The clergyman, The Reverend Christopher Smythe, is said to be interested in only cricket, Islam and steam engines; in fact, when asked about the Bible, he referred to it as a Christian version of the Qur'an. Qumran is, supposedly, valuable to the British because they give Britain intelligence on Arab-Soviet relations and host a British listening post, as well as providing a steady flow of oil by sabotaging OPEC agreements.

[edit] See also

• Qumar, Qumran's counterpart on America's The West Wing
  • List of fictional countries