Ummah Channel

Ummah Channel
Launched 12 August 2009[1]
Language Urdu, Gujrati, Bengali
Replaced 9X
Website Official website
Availability
Satellite
Sky Channel 820
Eutelsat 28A 11222 H 27500 2/3

Ummah Channel is an Islamic TV Channel based in the United Kingdom.

Mission Statement

According to the mission statement on its web page the channel has the following aims:[2]

Our Mission Spirituality, Humanity, Morality and the promotion of Knowledge on the basics of Islam are at the foundation of everything we do. Our aim is to enrich viewers' lives through free to view programmes which are not only educational and entertaining but also contribute towards individual spiritual development.

Our Beliefs are Clear... We believe in : - Promoting Islamic knowledge Teaching and educating all viewers regardless of their background in the true way of Islam Guiding individuals in fulfilling their spiritual and religious development Being trusted for accuracy of content Airing programmes in English, Urdu, Arabic, Gujrati, French, Punjabi and Bengali which our viewers want to see

Our Value are Natural... At the heart of The Ummah Channel is the message of Love, Peace, Harmony and Respect.

Love We profess our endless love for Allah the Almighty and His Last Prophet (endless peace and blessings upon him).

Peace We do not stand for any type of violence and are drawn towards attaining world peace.

Harmony We believe all of Allah's creation can live together in agreement.

Respect We respect each other regardless of race, religion, age or gender.

Channels

Maria TV

Maria TV launched on July 19, 2012 on the first day of Ramadan. The channel’s name comes from Maria al-Oibtiyya, an enslaved Coptic Christian from Egypt who became one of the wives of the prophet Muhammad.[3] According to Islam Ahmed Abdallah, Chief Executive of Ummah TV, says the name represents “transferring from slavery to freedom, from Christianity to Islam.”[4] The channel features only women who wear the niqab, full Islamic attire, including those who work behind the camera. Men are not allowed to work for the channel or call into its shows.[5]

The channel does not want to impose the niqab on female viewers; rather it wants to stress that women who are fully veiled can still succeed in a professional work environment. Several women who work at the channel previously experienced prejudice against them for wearing the niqab, even in industries other than media, and they want to demonstrate that they can convey emotion and messages on television without displaying their bodies.[6]

Maria TV airs for 6 hours each day and shows programming about beauty, medicine, marriage, satire, and more.[7] It also shows programming to educate Muslim women about their religion and Sunna practices of the Prophet Muhammad.[8]

Criticism

In 2010, in the wake of the May 2010 attacks on two Ahmadiyya mosques in Lahore, Pakistan, members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community living in the UK were threatened and intimidated. In October 2010 Ofcom criticised the UK-based Ummah Channel for broadcasting three interactive television programmes before and after the Lahore massacre of Ahmadi Muslims in May 2010, in which religious leaders and callers alike said that Ahmadis should be killed. These programmes were repeated several times. Ofcom stated that the programme's abusive treatment of the religious views and beliefs of members of the Ahmadiyya community breached UK broadcasting regulations.[9]

In September 2011, Ahmed Abdallah, the owner of Maria TV, and his son and the channel's chief executive, Islam, burned a copy of the Bible during a protest in Cairo. [10]

References

  1. ↑ "Ummah Channel replaces 9X on Sky EPG". Biz Asia. 12 August 2009.
  2. ↑ "About Us". Ummah Channel. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  3. ↑ Schull, Henry (3 October 2012). "Egypt’s Maria TV pitches strict vision of Islam". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  4. ↑ Schull, Henry (3 October 2012). "Egypt’s Maria TV pitches strict vision of Islam". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  5. ↑ Mail Foreign Service (20 July 2012). "TV studio in Egypt staffed exclusively by veiled women". Daily Mail. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  6. ↑ Hesham, Heba (31 July 2012). "Maria TV: Exclusive for niqab". The Egypt Monocle.
  7. ↑ Batrawy, Aya (24 July 2012). "Islamic TV: Egyptian Channel, Maria TV, Caters To Fully Veiled Women". Huffington Post. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  8. ↑ Ahram Online (5 July 2012). "New Egyptian TV channel to only feature fully face-veiled women". Ahram Online. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  9. ↑ Taylor, Jerome (21 October 2010). "Hardliners call for deaths of Surrey Muslims". The Independent. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  10. ↑ Schull, Henry (3 October 2012). "Egypt’s Maria TV pitches strict vision of Islam". Washington Post. Retrieved 27 May 2013.

External links