| The Hassan And Habibah Show | |
|---|---|
| Format | Talk Show |
| Created by | Hassan Saleemi and Habibah Ellahee |
| Starring | Hassan Saleemi and Habibah Ellahee |
| Country of origin | UK |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Islam Channel on British Sky Broadcasting, Eurobird 1, and Astra 28.2°E |
| Original run | November, 2004 – present |
Hassan Saleemi and Habibah Ellahee are married co-hosts of a light social affairs television programme. They are widely known among Muslims as "Hassan and Habibah" and their show is entitled 'The Hassan and Habibah Show'. Their show appears on the London based English language Islam Channel [5]. The show is described as a
"unique show..live husband and wife talk show discussing issues with different guests. This refreshing weekly discussion show examines social issues that deal with family, marriage and various other topics"[1]
They are noted for challenging mainly South Asian cultural perceptions on the nature of Islam, dealing with topics such as forced marriage, domestic violence (with the 'Muslim women's helpline'), depression (with the 'Muslim Youth Helpline'), infertility problems (with Dr Mohammad Taranissi), and had one show assering that the prophet of Islam Muhammad was a romantic (with Dr Abdul Wahid).
Osama Saeed Scottish head of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) and senior organizer in the Stop the War Coalition describes them as "the Richard and Judy of the Muslim community"[2]
They have on occasion dealt with more serious topics, specifically on the 25th December 2004, in a 2-hour special, they did a show entitled "Prisoners of Iman", discussing cases of Muslims that have been imprisoned for their faith, or political activity. They interviewed the wife of Ian Nisbet, one of the "Egypt Three".
Contents |
Since the July 7th attacks on London, and the consequent proposals for new legislation, off-screen the couple have become more politically active.
Habibah wrote a letter which appeared in The Sunday Times, in which she mentioned that she was on the 'London underground' network, on July 7, 2005, and passed through Edgware Road Station 3 minutes before the bomb exploded. She wrote, "To taint Islamists for the tragic events in London would be like tainting Christians for the genocide in Bosnia."[3]
Hassan and Habibah both appeared on Channel 4's Shariah TV special on the London Bombings. They criticised the response of the 'elders' and people claiming to be representative of the Muslims, for focusing inward on the causes of the bombings, diverting away from external factors such as foreign policy. They argued the approach of the "self-appointed" Muslim leaders suited those in power who wish to discount foreign policy from the equation.
In June 2008, Hassan and Habibah were invited to the International Islamic Conference on Dialog in Makkah by the Muslim World League, and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia[6]. The conference was attended by the highest Islamic authorities, grand Muftis, or Ulema from every Muslim country, significantly including a delegation from Iran with the ex-president of Iran and current chairman of Assembly of Experts Ayatollah Rafsanjani. Consequently, Hassan and Habibah featured on the front page of the leading pan-Arab newspaper of record Al-Hayat.[4]
They were also quoted commenting on the conference in the leading English newspaper Arab News arguing that the process of dialog should not necessarily involve religious people of other faiths but should instead focus on the secularists and the agnostics "We should devise a way to engage them" Hassan said Muslims in Britain and the US should be at the forefront, giving practical shape to all that is being said at the conference, “We are an integral part of those societies; we understand them; we know the problems; we know the cultural sensitivities; therefore, we are in the best possible position to conduct this dialogue.”[5]