Tunisian Nightclub Shut Down over Muslim Call to Prayer Remix

THE GUARDIAN: Owner held and English DJ apologises after playing recording at Orbit festival in north-east of country

Tunisian authorities have shut down a nightclub and begun an investigation after a DJ played a remix recording of the Muslim call to prayer, an official has said.

A video, widely shared online since Sunday, shows clubbers dancing to music that includes the call to prayer at the club in the north-east town of Nabeul.

The footage sparked a storm of debate on social media. » | Agence France-Presse in Tunis | Monday, April 3, 2017

Channel 4 to 'Provoke' Viewers Who Associate Islam with Terrorism with Live Call to Prayer during Ramadan

THE INDEPENDENT: The broadcaster will provide extensive coverage of the Muslim period of prayer to challenge those who associate the religion with extremism and terror

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

This comment also appears here

We Must Stop Militant Islam Eroding Britain
THE DAILY EXPRESS: I WROTE before Christmas that I did not know what Nick Clegg had done to deserve his "golden boy" status for the Lib Dems and I'm more sure than ever now that he does not merit it.

Mr Clegg's support for Mosques being allowed to broadcast the Arabic call to prayer several times a day over loudspeakers shows how out of touch he is with ordinary Britons.

His claim that the wail of the Mosque is no different from the sound of church bells shows how ignorant he is of British culture and history.

Mr Clegg is one of an international set of young politicians who have relatively little connection to this country. He is the son of a wealthy half-Russian father and a Dutch mother. He was a Euro-MP before heading to Westminster. He is married to a Spanish woman. He attended the ultra-cosmopolitan and very expensive Westminster school.

What does he know of life in Middle Britain? Almost nothing. It is possible that Clegg's support for the latest expansionist demands of Muslims arises from electoral calculation. Maybe he hopes the Lib Dems can win seats with substantial Muslim populations from Labour at the next election.

But a more likely explanation is simply that the man is a well-meaning fool. He obviously has little knowledge of the essential character of this nation. We Must Stop Militant Islam Eroding Britain >>> By Patrick O’Flynn

Hat tip: Ray Boyd

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

The Muslim Call to Prayer Used for Handwriting Practice in a Junior School in the UK
DAILY MAIL: Junior schoolchildren were told to copy lines of a Muslim prayer - for handwriting practice.

The Call To Prayer copied by ten-year-olds at Newlands Primary School in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, included the lines "Allah is the greatest" and "there is no god but Allah". Children told to copy lines from Muslim Call To Prayer - to practise their handwriting (more)

Mark Alexander