British Muslims are preparing with enthusiasm and high spirits for the approaching month of Ramadan. Almost coinciding with it will be the advent of whatever passes for the British summer, with temperatures soon expected to get into the dizzying heights of the high twenties! The period of the fast will be a physically testing one with the fast lasting for more than eighteen hours in the first few days of Ramadan.
The month of Ramadan tends to focus attention – generally positively – on Muslims in most communities where they are to be found as a minority and this is true even of societies where religion does not play a major part. The expression of faith with devotion and complete conviction is admired even by those who hold a different faith or, as is more often the case, by those who hold no faith. But this time around the focus has come in a rather controversial way with the decision of a local TV station, Channel 4, to broadcast the Adhaan during the holy month. Keep in mind that Ramadan comes while the killing of British soldier Lee Rigby on the streets of Woolwich in south east London is still fresh in the minds of most people. The Channel will only broadcast the Fajr Adhaan which during the first few days of Ramadan here in England will take place around 3am, which is hardly peak viewing time and therefore unlikely to come in the way of any of its more popular programmes. Channel 4 will also include the sunrise and sunset times during its weather reports.
The broadcaster said it had consulted Muslim clerics about its series of Ramadan programmes, but there is no suggestion, at least thus far, that there was a British Muslim demand to broadcast the Fajr Adhaan or that the initiative had come from Muslims.
Channel 4’s head of factual programming Ralph Lee said Ramadan usually received minimal coverage on Britain’s main television channels and said he believed Channel 4’s series of programmes during July and August was a chance for Britain’s moderate Muslims to be heard.Mr Lee 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.
The channel claims that the decision is one deliberately meant "as a provocation to all our viewers in the very real sense of the word".
Almost every British Muslim would perhaps agree that controversy is the very last thing this community needs but intended or not, it seems that is what the Chanel 4 decision will provide. In fact, some have already come out with the allegation that that could well have been what the channel was after. It has already created a controversial image by its decision to give Muslims with far right views air time and by broadcasting a programme some months ago which questioned certain issues basic to the Islamic faith.
Aware of such criticism that may follow, the channel said:
‘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.’
Sure enough, the decision has already attracted a fair amount of negative comment. A group called Britain First, which describes itself as a ‘patriotic political movement’, said on Twitter: ‘Get ready for a month’s worth of TV programmes pandering to Islam courtesy of Channel 4.’
The criticism has come not just from the right wing segments of society. Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, questioned whether Channel 4’s decision to broadcast the call to prayer was a ‘publicity-seeking stunt’. He said: ‘It seems reasonable that there should be some acknowledgment on TV of the needs of the growing Muslim population in Britain, although one can’t help wondering whether this is just another of Channel 4’s publicity-seeking stunts.’
But the most scathing criticism has come from the novelist and columnist A N Wilson. Mr Wilson says that the decision to broadcast only one of five Muslim daily calls to prayer makes no sense and questions why all five adhaans are not being broadcast. He also wonders whether as a gesture to Islam, the channel would refuse to carry advertisements for alcohol during the holy month. He goes on to say that if he were a Muslim, he ‘would be disgusted that an anti-religious organisation such as Channel 4 has hijacked my prayers for the purposes of seeming hip, cool and trendy.’
Further, that if he was a TV regulator, he would stop the channel from proceeding with ‘this divisive and publicity-seeking gesture’.
As it happens, Mr Wilson is neither a Muslim nor a TV regulator. In fact, back in the 1980s he was known as an atheist who then rediscovered Christianity a few years ago.
The fact of the matter is that practically speaking, the decision of Channel 4 is of very little actual value or help. There are any number of free to air Pakistani and Bangladeshi television channels in the UK many of which broadcast all the five adhaans regularly, throughout the year, not just during the holy month of Ramadan. They also carry extensive religious programmes during the holy month and since the overwhelming majority of Muslims in the UK are from the south Asian subcontinent, these are the channels from which they will be taking their times for Iftar and sehri as well their prayer timings. Only those who do not have access to satellite television would find the Chanel 4 decision helpful but these would be few in number. Therefore as a practical gesture, this will have little or no impact. What it has done is to focus attention – mostly from unwanted quarters – on how some media outlets are ‘pandering’ to the Muslims with questions being asked whether similar ‘concessions’ will be made to other religious minorities like Hindus, Sikhs, and other followers of some quite weird cults. The question has been raised whether or not a better way of promoting understanding of Islam – if that was the objective – would be to hold discussions about the philosophy behind the fast, to show how Muslims generally conduct themselves during this month and why this is such an important part of the Muslim calendar. As someone quite sensibly put it, Ramadan is a holy month of personal effort. To reduce it to a media gimmick is exploitative and an unwise, crude way to promote a sensible discussion.
The Muslim community, in the UK and elsewhere, is not very media savvy and is not always able to assess what may the outcome of a media initiative. Some initiatives, even if well meant, could well have an outcome very different from what is envisaged or planned. One very much hopes that that is not the case this Ramadan for it would only detract attention – and quite unfairly so – from a period of time which has special significance for Muslims and the last thing they would be looking for at this time is for something that takes the focus away from their devotions and submissions to The Almighty.
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