Naima Bouteldja, a French journalist and researcher for the Transnational Institute, submitted this article to MWAW; it has also been published on the Guardian’s Comment is free site:
Last month British-based Islam Channel suddenly suspended its popular current affairs show “The Agenda”, fronted each morning by the prominent journalist and campaigner Yvonne Ridley.
There was no warning or explanation. Days then weeks went by, viewers’ complaints and concerns mounted, but the mystery only deepened. Finally, the station relented and issued a very short press release blaming the TV regulator: “Due to recent pressure from Ofcom The Agenda has been taken off air until further notice”. The statement ended strangely: “No further explanation will be given on the topic”.
Did Ofcom really kill off The Agenda? A spokesperson for the watchdog confirmed that two complaints had been lodged against the show and were being investigated, but strenuously denied that Ofcom had interfered with the editorial sovereignty of Islam Channel’s programme scheduling.
Another explanation was then put forward from Mohammed Ali, CEO of Islam Channel, in an interview on 16 February, five weeks after axing the programme. He admitted that while “tremendous pressure” was put on the Islam Channel by Ofcom, the station’s actions were ultimately a “management decision”. Days earlier, however, Mohammed Ali revealed in “The iWitness”, an Islamic news blog, another twist in the story.
“The Board of Deputies of British Jews wants the Islam Channel off air”, he claimed, later confirming in another interview that we have “clear evidence” that the Board of Deputies put pressure on the Islam Channel to pull the show from the airwaves.
Ali’s accusations have drawn criticism from a number of Muslim representatives. Adnan Siddiqui from the campaign group Cageprisoners was astonished, pointing out that “harassment against Muslim programmes and organisations is a common occurrence. Interpal, continues operating despite a decade-long torrent of ‘terrorist’ funding allegations by media, lobbying groups and politicians.
“Yet Islam Channel wants us to believe that two complaints were enough to cause them to capitulate. I don’t believe that pressure from Ofcom or the Board of Deputies is to blame.”
While these stories were unravelling at the Islam Channel’s London base, further east an Arabian tale was unfolding.
In a satirical article published in the British newspaper The Independent on 9 January titled “Radical Ridley gives a Saudi prince the shakes”, Oliver Duff reported that when offered the beneficent hand of Prince Turki Bin Sultan, son of the Kingdom’s Crown Prince, during a post-hajj banquet in Jeddah in early January, the former Taliban hostage refused to shake it. Ridley’s royal refusal, following Islamic tradition, strangely piqued the orthodox Saudi Prince whose chagrin was captured on live TV.
Days later, Ridley’s daily show was axed while CEO Mohammed Ali was in Saudi Arabia, fuelling speculation that he was approached by Prince Turki Bin Sultan’s entourage. Although the Islam Channel is unwilling to state the precise nature of their links with the Saudi Arabian regime it is no doubt closer than the one the Saudi’s have with Al Jazeera, which has been banned from being broadcast in the kingdom. Their close ties meant that Islam Channel was one of the very few non-Saudi channel awarded the honour to broadcast the hajj live by the Saudi administration.
This is not a situation new to the combative Yvonne Ridley, who successfully sued Al Jazeera for unfair dismissal after losing her job as senior editor in November 2003, at a time when the US government threatened Al Jazeera, labelling it “violently anti-coalition”. Whatever the cause, Islam Channel’s decision to simply delete, without warning, a programme run by dedicated staff and supported by an enthusiastic community smacked of an autocrat’s royal decree.
Ridley herself is furious: “Viewers were not informed about the decision for weeks, and I don’t know what’s going to happen. It is upsetting but the support I received from all over the world is overwhelming.”
Ultimately the issue of who applied the pressure seems secondary to the manner in which the issue has been handled by Islam Channel Executives, influenced more by a crude mix of old-school despotism and New Labour spin than by Islamic practices. The high profile politics show that “everyone is talking about”, as Islam Channel itself used to boast, is now a talking-point on internet forums and news groups for all the wrong reasons.
However, the crisis engulfing Islam Channel could ironically turn into a blessing if the Executives listened to its viewers. Overwhelmingly voted most popular programme on the Islam Channel for its reporting on human rights issues around the world, The Agenda is a crucial corrective to mainstream TV, and a valuable asset for the Islam Channel.
Without it, it’s difficult to see the station retaining its impact, a point emphasised by Azzam Tamimi Director of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought: “As far as I am concerned, the Agenda is Islam Channel.”
