UK’s Channel 4 to provoke Bigots over Ramadan
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.
This is some very good news. A TV station has decided to confront the bigots, and is trying to draw them out into the open. In addition, from the sound of they will also be having programming explaining Ramadan, at least to an extent.
This is a very positive comparison to the US media, which almost never covers anything to do with Islam, and when it does, it is almost always in a negative, to help boost ratings. This, in fact, helps to foster Anti-Muslim bigotry in the US. This sort of thing is very much needed in the US. Unfortunately, it is also unlikely to happen here, because of the attachment to money within the Television Industry, with no thought to social well-being.