Preachers of hate on British TV: what they said that broke the broadcasting rules Date: March 8, 2012 What was said: "One group of scholars, they say that if a Muslim, if he becomes a non-Muslim [inaudible] he should be put to death. There is another group of scholars who say that if a Muslim becomes a non-Muslim and propagates his new faith against Islam then he should be put to death. I tend to agree more with the second group of scholars, who say that a Muslim, if he becomes a non-Muslim and propagates his new faith against Islam, that is the time this penalty is applied. What Ofcom ruled: "In Ofcom's view it is potentially offensive for any service to broadcast comments suggesting that it is acceptable to apply a 'penalty" and kill any individual for renouncing their faith. Broadcasters must ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context. Dr Naik was banned from entering Britain in 2010 by Theresa May, the Home Secretary, after she ruled his presence was "not conducive to the public good." He had been due to give a series of lectures at arenas in Wembley and Sheffield. Mrs May said she was excluding him because his "numerous comments" were evidence of "unacceptable behaviour." The decision, later upheld by the High Court, was based on a sermon the Mumbai-based preacher had posted on the internet in 2006 which said "every Muslim should be a terrorist" and which went on: "Beware of Muslims saying Osama bin Laden is right or wrong. I reject them ... we don't know. But if you ask my view, if given the truth, if he is fighting the enemies of Islam, I am for him. However Dr Naik is the co-owner of Peace TV, a channel which is funded by a charity called the Islamic Research Foundation International. In March last year he said in a programme he was presenting that it was appropriate to crucify, dismember or exile those who "wage war against Allah" under sharia law. He also said it was correct to kill former Muslims who "propagate his new faith against Islam." Ofcom ruled Dr Naik's show breached part of the code which states that offensive comments should be "justified by the context." A spokesman for PeaceTV said:"We are disappointed by Ofcom's ruling, especially when the programme in question is an exposition of certain teachings from the Quran, which we felt were justified by the context, and didn't attract a single complaint from a viewer. That said, we take our responsibilities extremely seriously and the programme will not be broadcast again. Name: Muhammad Farooq Nizami Channel: Noor TV Programme: Paigham-e-Mustafa ("Message of Mustafa") Date: May 3, 2012 What was said: "There is absolutely no doubt about it that the punishment for the person who shows disrespect for the Prophet is death. No one disagrees about this. Whoever shows disrespect for Prophet Muhammad will be given death penalty. In the whole world, there should be slaves of Mustafa [Muhammad] everywhere, and disrespectful people should be eliminated. One has to choose one's own method. Our way is the peaceful way but when someone crosses the limits, faith-base emotions are instigated. What Ofcom ruled: "The breaches in this case ... are regarded by Ofcom as serious breaches of the code. Ofcom is very concerned that Al Ehya [Noor TV's parent company] still does not appear to recognise the very serious issues raised by the broadcast of Mr Nizami's comments. In its ruling, Ofcom highlighted the Danish cartoon case from 2005, in which death threats were made after a newspaper published 12 images of Mohammed, and the murder of Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh in 2004 after his film Submission was condemned by Islamic clerics. Ofcom told Noor TV's owners in December that it is considering imposing a fine. A Noor TV spokesman said: "We have appointed some new directors and implemented a whole range of new training, including having the Ofcom rules translated into Urdu." Al Ehya Digital Television Limited, the owner of Noor TV, said Ofcom was taking a "prejudiced view" of the programme. Noor TV is also shown across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 2011, the channel was fined £75,000 by Ofcom for a number of breaches of the code, including soliciting £1,000 donations in exchange for prayers which it said would improve health and good fortune. Dr Mohammed Iqbal, a pharmacist from Nottingham who is a director of Noor TV, said: "We are trying to get our house in order. We are sending out messages of peace. Anything else is unacceptable to anybody. Name: Abdul Qadir Jilani Channel: DM Digital Programme: Rehmatul Lil Alameen ("Mercy unto the Worlds") Date: October 9, 2011 What was said: "The matter of insulting the prophet does not fall in the category of terrorism. Those who cannot kill such men have no faith. It is your duty, the duty of those who recite the holy verse, to kill those who insult Prophet Mohammed. Under the guidance from Islamic texts it is evident that if a Muslim apostatises, then it is not right to wait for the authorised courts; anyone may kill him. An apostate deserves to be killed and any man may kill him. What Ofcom ruled: "The statements ... did amount to direct calls to action and were likely to incite or encourage crime or to lead to disorder." Mr Jilani is an imam at the Dar-ul-Uloom mosque in Walthamstow having studied in Pakistan, where he was born, and Saudi Arabia. Dr Liaqat Malik, 54, the chairman of DM Digital, accused Ofcom of bias towards ethnic minorities and said the comments were taken out of context. I think Ofcom interpreted his comments wrongly. He wasn't saying people should kill. He was talking about Pakistan's blasphemy law," said Dr Malik. We wouldn't allow anyone to use our TV channel to talk about killing like that. It's not religious TV, it's educational, community TV. There are cultural differences and I think Ofcom doesn't understand that. Some of the Ofcom committee members should be picked from the Muslim community.