Channel 4 has said it will broadcast the Muslim call to prayer live every morning during Ramadan as a deliberate act of “provocation” aimed at viewers who associate Islam with terrorism and extremism.
The broadcaster, which was launched with a mission to appeal to minority audiences, will return to its controversial roots by screening a season of programmes around the Muslim period of prayer and fasting, which begins next Tuesday.
A senior Channel 4 executive defended the broadcaster’s decision to provide extensive coverage of the most significant event in the Islamic calendar by suggesting that Ramadan was of greater interest to its viewers than the “blanket coverage” given to the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation by its rivals.
Ralph Lee, head of factual programming, said that Channel 4 would become the first mainstream British television channel to broadcast the call to prayer (adhan) on a daily basis.
Writing in the Radio Times, Lee claimed: “Observing the adhan on Channel 4 will act as a nationwide tannoy system, a deliberate ‘provocation’ to all our viewers in the very real sense of the word.”
Lee said that the “vast majority of people in Britain” would not be aware of the “mass act of personal sacrifice and worship” about to commence.
“Not surprising when you consider its (Ramadan) near invisibility on mainstream TV. Contrast this with the way most Muslims are represented on television – nearly always appearing in contexts related to extremism or terrorism,” he wrote. » | Adam Sherwin | Tuesday, July 02, 2013
RADIO TIMES: Channel 4 exec: broadcasting Muslim call to prayer reflects how Islam is “flourishing” in UK » | Jack Seale | Monday, July 01, 2013
My comment on The Guardian:
First we had David Cameron telling us that the beheading of Lee Rigby was a betrayal of Islam. Then we had the banning of Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller from these shores. Now this: the broadcasting of al-adhan each morning on Channel 4 during Ramadhan. What are we to make of this except capitulation? These are sad times for a once strong, proud nation. – © Mark
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