Lydia Tomkiw reports on a change to Channel 4’s late-night broadcast schedule:
[T]he British broadcaster Channel 4 has announced that it will be airing the call to prayer, or adhan, live every morning throughout Ramadan (an autoplay version will also be available on its website five times daily). … Writing for Britain’s Radio Times magazine, Channel 4’s head of factual programming, Ralph Lee, called the decision “a deliberate ‘provocation’ to all our viewers in the very real sense of the word,” noting that the broadcaster expected to be “criticized for focusing attention on a ‘minority’ religion.” Lee went on to point out that nearly five percent of the country will be participating in Ramadan. “[C]an we say the same of other national events that have received blanket coverage on television such as the Queen’s coronation anniversary?” he asked.
Shelina Zahra Janmohamed supports the move:
For Muslims, this is an opportunity to have showcased what is important to them in a nuanced manner. But perhaps more significant is that British Muslim culture and faith is being integrated into and reflected back from mainstream culture. For me, this makes it a turning point.
Jehangir Malik calls it “doubly positive”:
It’s positive for Muslims, of course, for our faith to be taken seriously by a mainstream broadcaster rather than demonized. But it’s also positive for a wider audience to have the opportunity to look beyond media stereotypes and gain a better understanding of mainstream Muslims and our way of life.
James Bloodworth is less enthusiastic:
[Channel Four] actually wants to “provoke” the wrong sorts of people for the purposes of publicity, much like when it made the atrocious decision to broadcast an ‘alternative message by the Holocaust-denying Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad–although in the case of the latter it would have been wrong not to be provoked. … Personally, I would like to see a lot less religion on television. But that doesn’t mean I’m the sort of person who is going to be “provoked” by four minutes of Muslim prayer each day for a single week. You should probably worry about anyone who is.
Sam Harris, the avowed atheist, recently wrote, “Despite my antipathy for the doctrine of Islam, I think the Muslim call to prayer is one of the most beautiful sounds on earth.” Listen to it above.
The Dish 