Channel 4 to air daily Muslim call to prayer during Ramadan

[Pak-Americanos]

Regent's Park Mosque
C
hannel 4 is to broadcast daily Musilim calls to prayer during Ramadan. Photograph: WildCountry/Corbis

Channel 4 is to air the Muslim call to prayer live every morning during the month of Ramadan.

The broadcaster said it was an act of "deliberate provocation" aimed at viewers who might associate Islam with extremism.

The headline-grabbing move will see Channel 4 broadcast the three-minute call to prayer at about 3am for 30 days from the start of Ramadan on 9 July.

In addition, on the first day of Ramadan Channel 4 will interrupt programming four times during the day – to mark subsequent calls to prayer – with a 20-second film to remind viewers of the approaching prayer time.

After that date, the channel will air the 3am call to prayer on live TV, with the other four prayer times will be broadcast on its website.

Ralph Lee, Channel 4's head of factual programming, said: "The calls to prayer prompt Muslims to carry out quiet moments of worship, but hopefully they'll also make other viewers sit up and notice that this event is taking place.

"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 added in an article in the Radio Times: "No doubt Channel 4 will be criticised for focusing attention on a 'minority' religion but that's what we're here to do – provide space for the alternative and a voice to the under-represented.

"Following the horrific events in Woolwich and subsequent reprisals against British Muslims, there has surely never been a more pressing need to give a voice to the moderate mainstream majority. And let's not forget that Islam is one of the few religions that's flourishing, actually increasing in the UK. Like Channel 4's target audience, its followers are young. It's recently been reported that half of British Muslims are under 25."

The Muslim Council of Britain supported Channel 4's move.

"This is a very special month for Muslims and its recognition on a mainstream channel is not only symbolic for belonging and solidarity but will hopefully help to portray a more realistic account of Islam and Muslims," said a spokesman.

He added that he believed that nearly 5% of the UK will be actively involved in Ramadan and questioned whether the same could be said of other national events that gain significant TV coverage, such as the anniversary of the Queen's coronation.

A short film of two to three minutes, Ramadan Reflections, will run ahead of each morning's call to prayer.

The film, made by production company Watershed, will "feature a range of voices, from imams to architects, feminists to a former rock chick, each providing some serious Ramadan food for thought".

Channel 4 is also launching a season of programmes around the period of prayer, called 4Ramadan, starting on 8 July.

The broadcaster has a history of launching controversial programming to spark a viewer, and media reaction.

In 2008 the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was asked to deliver its alternative Christmas message, a counterpoint to the Queen's annual speech.

Ahmadinejad, who is known for his controversial views on issues such as the Holocaust, women and homosexuality, delivered a seven-minute speech which sparked almost 300 complaints. The media regulator Ofcom investigated the speech, but cleared Channel 4 of breaking the broadcasting code.

Channel 4 to air daily Muslim call to prayer during Ramadan | Media | guardian.co.uk

 

[livingdead]

Very smart move, it will give them lot of publicity.

 

[cleverrider]

Very smart move, it will give them lot of publicity.

Bad For Muslims, it has already given us bad publicity. Only The engineered/influenced Muslim brains will get happy to hear this my father is one of them.

Majority of the time Muslims are in the news for not so good reasons. Enough said.

 

[livingdead]

Bad For Muslims, it has already given us bad publicity. Only The engineered/influenced Muslim brains will get happy to hear this my father is one of them.

Majority of the time Muslims are in the news for not so good reasons. Enough said.

well, depend on general mood of country, currently hostile to muslims (or immigrants in general not only muslims), Channel 4 likes to be provocative.

 

[cleverrider]

well, depend on general mood of country, currently hostile to muslims (or immigrants in general not only muslims), Channel 4 likes to be provocative.

Thats where i was coming from, but a common brain wont see that and will jump up and down. Channel 4 is doing their usual things, they are always doing something controversial and thats what Muslims don't need right now.

 

[Pak-Americanos]

Bad For Muslims, it has already given us bad publicity. Only The engineered/influenced Muslim brains will get happy to hear this my father is one of them.

Majority of the time Muslims are in the news for not so good reasons. Enough said.

It would have been better if "Islam" and "Muslims" were not spoken about in the Media for couple of years. As most people don't understand anything other than reading the news or watching TV. Most of the time it is bad news. When you portray the Bad News with the religious connotation of those "bad people" than obviously people are going to consider your religion bad.

It's the same case here in United States.

It becomes harder for Muslims to even talk about Islam and invite people to Islam if you have news circulated in the Media "good" or "bad".

 

[Hyde]

Really glad to hear that, It will surely bring Muslims of UK closer to non-Muslim communities

Like I always say UK is now a country with multicultural society and equal for all regardless of your country, race, cast or ethnicity. It can no longer be described as a Christian country or a country with any religious affiliation.

 

[JayAtl]

Really glad to hear that, It will surely bring Muslims of UK closer to non-Muslim communities

Like I always say UK is now a country with multicultural society and equal for all regardless of your country, race, cast or ethnicity. It can no longer be described as a Christian country or a country with any religious affiliation.

how does a call to prayer aired make Muslims closer to non Muslims? and UK is a majority christian country...w/ a value system based on such principles.

I think call to prayer aired works opposite, people of other religion go--- i guess if you holler and hoot , demand sharia, behead the citizens- you get special attention and rewarded with only your religion getting actions like ' call to prayer'... personally I think no single religion / any religion needs any more cajoling.

But that is UK, where they will ban skinny models in AD's but allow Islamist terrorists and supporters national media prominence.

 

[Aegis DDG]

Oh dear, this is not gonna end well.....