A steamy, secular Turkish soap is shaking up the No-Fun Zone of the Middle East! Noor flopped in its native Turkey, but became a smash hit when Saudi satellite TV began airing it this spring, dubbed in Arabic. The show has made a heartthrob of its hero Muhanned, opened debate about Islam’s punishing gender roles, doubled Saudi tourism to Turkey, & even set off a rash of ugly divorces throughout the Middle East, including a man who divorced his wife after she uploaded Muhanned’s image on her cell phone.

Complaints by terrorist militant group Hamas that the show is un-Islamic have fallen on deaf ears. In Saudi Arabia, the show commands an audience of 3 to 4 million daily. Streets in the West Bank & Gaza are deserted during the show’s airtime, where poster vendors have ditched Arafat & Saddam Hussein in favor of Noor & Muhanned. "I don’t like all that Maria Mercedes nonsense," says Dania Nugali, 16 (referring to Thalia’s much-syndicated Mexican sudsers). "But when I watch Noor, I definitely feel that it is entertainment."

Much of the appeal is its pin-up hero, played by Kivanc Tatlitug, aka 2002 Best Model of the World. "Most viewers are female," says Hana Rahman, who runs waleg, an Arab entertainment blog. "They’re so swept away by the main character," whose blonde, blue-eyed looks & Beckham-like devotion to his beautiful wife (played by gorgeous Songul Oden) are in contrast to macho shithead Arab gender norms. "I wake up & see a cold & detached man lying next to me," says a 26-year old Saudi woman. "On Noor, I see beautiful faces, the beautiful feelings they share & beautiful scenery."

VIDEO: Villain kidnaps Noor; Muhanned decks guy who flirts with Noor