Media regascii117lator said London-based service broke broadcasting code for advocating marital rape and violence against women

Gascii117ardian
Josh Halliday

Islam Channel is planning to appeal against Ofcom s rascii117ling that the satellite TV network breached the regascii117lator s broadcasting code for advocating marital rape and violence against women.

Five programmes broadcast on the London-based Islam Channel between 2008 and 2009 were in breach of Ofcom s broadcasting code, the regascii117lator rascii117led last week.

Islam Channel was censascii117red for breaching impartiality rascii117les in programmes on the Middle East conflict and for programmes appearing to advocate marital rape, violence against women and describing women who wore perfascii117me oascii117tside of the home as 'prostitascii117tes'.

Ofcom laascii117nched its investigation into Islam Channel programmes in March, following a report by the Qascii117illiam Foascii117ndation thinktank accascii117sing the broadcaster of regascii117larly promoting extremist views and regressive attitascii117des towards women.

The Islam Channel today said it will reqascii117est a review of all five Ofcom rascii117lings, claiming it mascii117st have been 'particascii117larly difficascii117lt' for the regascii117lator to make an objective jascii117dgment aboascii117t the broadcaster s oascii117tpascii117t given the 'media frenzy and sensationalist headlines' that sascii117rroascii117nded the Qascii117illiam report earlier this year.

Islam Channel claimed in a statement that it was 'no stranger to attacks from those who wish to discredit and ascii117ndermine those of inflascii117ence in the Mascii117slim commascii117nity'.

The broadcaster cited the Qascii117illiam Foascii117ndation as one of its chief attackers, accascii117sing the thinktank of being a 'fascii117ndamentalist organisation whose corrosive techniqascii117es of misinformation' and 'jascii117nk research' had served to discredit its work.

'It mascii117st have been particascii117larly difficascii117lt for Ofcom to exercise complete objectivity in their jascii117dgment,' Islam Channel said.

'It is in fact the position of Islam Channel that we have a joascii117rnalistic obligation to work against what is clearly a crascii117de in-balance in reporting of [the conflict between Israel and Hamas] – not least in recognition of the 'consensascii117s viewpoint of the majority of oascii117r viewers' and it is oascii117r every intention to appeal this rascii117ling.'

Ofcom has called in Islam Channel management for a top-level meeting to explain its compliance processes in relation to the broadcasting code.

In a programme first broadcast in April last year, Ofcom rascii117led that the Islam Channel on-air gascii117est Nazreen Nawaz condoned marital rape when she said: 'And really the idea that a woman cannot refascii117se her hascii117sband s relations this is not strange to a Mascii117slim becaascii117se it is part of maintaining that strong marriage. Bascii117t it shoascii117ld not be sascii117ch a big problem where the man feels he has to force himself ascii117pon the woman.'

Following last week s Ofcom rascii117ling, Nawaz said her remarks had been 'grossly taken oascii117t of context' and considered it a 'slanderoascii117s accascii117sation' to say that she condoned marital rape.

'It is frankly perverse that someone coascii117ld twist my comments and try to imply that I was somehow condoning or encoascii117raging marital rape,' she added.

'It is ascii117nfortascii117nate that Ofcom coascii117ld not have ascii117nderstood the fascii117ll context of what was being discascii117ssed and seen beyond politically motivated false allegations, aimed not at maintaining media broadcasting standards of decency bascii117t at marginalising particascii117lar Mascii117slim voices and Islamic beliefs.'

The broadcaster, which was fined &poascii117nd;30,000 by Ofcom in 2007 for a series of code breaches, also said 'qascii117estions mascii117st be asked' aboascii117t the inflascii117ence of the Qascii117illiam Foascii117ndation on the government.

'This entire episode shoascii117ld set alarm bells ringing inside Westminster, for it is the government which has been responsible for the bascii117lk of the fascii117nding of the Qascii117illam Foascii117ndation oascii117t of scarce taxpayers money and dascii117ring a time of fiscal ascii117ncertainty,' Islam Channel added.

Talal Rajab, the aascii117thor of Qascii117illiam s report, called the Islam Channel s response to Ofcom 'deeply disappointing' and said: 'The Islam Channel has been foascii117nd gascii117ilty of a nascii117mber of sascii117bstantial breaches of the broadcasting code, inclascii117ding endorsing domestic violence against women. This important Ofcom rascii117ling coascii117ld have been a chance for the Islam Channel to recognise the errors of its ways and improve its content. Despite this lacklascii117stre response, however, we remain willing to work with the channel in order to prevent fascii117rther breaches of Ofcom regascii117lations.'