Islam Channel: According to an Islamic think tank, some programmes on the channel promoted extremist groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir
'The gravest concern regarding the Islam Channel is its failure in combating extremism. A number of presenters with extremist tendencies were regularly given the opportunity to air their opinions on the network without a challenge from more moderate Islamic voices.'
Dalia Mogahed Obama's Muslim affairs adviser provoked controversy after she made an appearance on an Islam Channel TV show host by a spokeswomen for Hizb ut Tahrir, where she stated that Shari'a was misunderstood ~ and women are treated as fairly under it.
Just a bit of the Islam Channel show Obama faith advisor Dalia Mogahed took part in:
Nasreen Nawaz: .. I think these kind of elements, an independent judiciary, rule of law, these are the kind of things generally that Muslim women are talking about when they talk about the issue of democracy. But like you say, this issue of wholesale adoption of the democratic way of life, where parliament legislates, we can see this is at odds with the idea of wanting the shari`ah to legislate. We can see this idea contradicts itself. [..]
No doubt. Women have made a lot of progress in the West in terms of economic, political rights, education and so on. But I would reject the claim that these values of secularism, and liberal values, and even in terms of democracy have, that they can claim victory for this progress.[..]
...because of discrimination women still have to face in terms of the gender pay gap, in terms of discrimination of jobs, in terms of the glass ceiling. So I would reject this claim, and I would actually say this is again one of the reasons why Muslim women are turning back to Shariah. Why? Because they see these rights, these basic rights of citizenship, enshrined within the Shariah, within the Islamic texts. Laws which can’t be changed. [..]
Ibtihal Bsis Ismail: Ok. Dalia, why is it do you think that when people think of shari`ah, people think of the Taliban state of Afghanistan where we know that girls had no access to education, no access to employment, no access to economic rights, no access to health in a lot of cases. Why is it that they have got this view?
Dalia Mogahed (phone): Well I think the answer to that question is very complex and multi-factorial. The perception of shari`ah and the portrayal of shari`ah has been oversimplified in many cases, even amongst Muslims. It is usually associated with maximum criminal punishments, and laws that are hard for people to understand holistically around family law that that to many people seem unequal for women. So I think part of the reason that there is this perception of shari`ah is because shari`ah is not well understood and in fact Islam as a faith is not well understood.
Britain's leading Islamic TV channel has regularly broadcast demeaning material about women and promoted extremist groups, it was alleged yesterday.
Programmes on the Islam Channel have told women they should not refuse to have sex with their husbands or leave home without their permission, an inquiry by the Islamic think-tank the Quilliam Foundation found.
Women who wear perfume in public have been labelled prostitutes.
The channel has regularly acted as a propaganda platform for Hizb ut-Tahrir, the fundamentalist organisation that Tony Blair wanted to ban after the 2005 London bombings. It has also promoted hate preachers, a report said.
And, the inquiry by the Islamic think tank the Quilliam Foundation found, its broadcasts are also trying to sow hatred between different Muslim groups by promoting a single strand of hardline theology.
The Islam Channel, launched in 2004, is the most watched satellite channel aimed at a Muslim audience and the think tank is now calling for an investigation by regulator Ofcom.
Report author Talal Rajab said: 'Unfortunately during the three month period that we monitored its output, it repeatedly promoted bigoted and reactionary views towards women, non-Muslims and other Muslims who follow different versions of Islam.
'Although the channel does not directly call for terrorist violence, it clearly helps to create an atmosphere in which religiously-sanctioned intolerance and even hatred might be seen as acceptable.'
One programme featured remarks instructing women that 'the idea that a woman, even if married, can refuse relations with her husband because of individual choice was part of the Western culture.'
It was necessary for 'maintaining a strong marriage' that a woman should submit to a man, viewers were told.
Under English law, a husband who forces his wife to have sex is guilty of rape.
The report accused the channel of promoting the speeches of Anwar al-Awlaki, a preacher linked to two of the 9/11 hijackers and to the gunman who killed 13 soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas last year.
It is said to have made derogatory remarks about non-Muslims and to have been highly critical of Islamic thinking different from the intolerant Wahabi ideology which is strong in Saudi Arabia.
The report added that the channel's chief executive, Mohammed Ali Harrath, has a conviction in Tunisia for terrorism-related offences and is on an Interpol wanted list.
It said: 'The gravest concern regarding the Islam Channel is its failure in combating extremism. A number of presenters with extremist tendencies were regularly given the opportunity to air their opinions on the network without a challenge from more moderate Islamic voices.'
The report added that the channel 'consistently allows space for extreme interpretations and views, giving undue prominence to fringe minority organisations.'
Daily Mail
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