Shia scholars demand new C4 film on their faith
Mark Sweney The Guardian, Tuesday July 29 2008

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jul/29/channel4.ofcom1

A group of leading Shia Muslim scholars are threatening to take their grievances about a Channel 4 documentary on the Qur'an to Ofcom, unless the broadcaster apologises to viewers and commissions a second programme on their faith.

In the Channel 4 documentary, broadcast this month, film-maker Antony Thomas explored the history of the Qur'an to launch a week of coverage about Islam.

A group of Shia Muslim scholars wrote to Channel 4 criticising the programme for making "seriously inaccurate statements" about their branch of the faith.

Yousif al-Khoei, one of the signatories of the first letter and grandson of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abul-Qassim al-Khoei, said that a second letter detailing the complaint was being drafted.

"We are going to handle the issue with Channel 4 directly to highlight how it managed to get such imbalances in prime-time TV," al-Khoei said. "If we don't get any joy we will point out [in a second letter] all the technical faults, mistranslations and editorialising opinion as fact."

He said that Channel 4 owed its viewers an apology and that the goal was to try and get the broadcaster to commission another programme on the subject to put across a "balanced view".

"If this doesn't happen we are going to go to Ofcom. We are pretty confident we have a case," al-Khoei added.

He said the complaint to Ofcom would be on the grounds that the documentary was "systematically misleading", "inflammatory" and "the programme promoted hatred of a minority within a minority".

Aaqil Ahmed, commissioning editor for religion and multicultural at Channel 4, defended the documentary.

"Your article is unfair to Channel 4," Ahmed said in a letter in today's Guardian. "Antony Thomas's acclaimed film was clearly labelled as a documentary about the Qur'an, not about Islamic belief. He naturally focused on the big issues of the day and assembled an unrivalled cast of experts, academics and theologians to debate the points raised, including one of the world's highest Shia authorities, Grand Ayatollah Saanei in Iran.

"[The programme] was an enormous undertaking by Antony and he rightly deserves the critical acclaim the documentary has received," Ahmed added.

	1. Written by A on 30-07-2008 19:02
	I agree and they owe an apologie and for the program to be refilmed acuratly ! and this is nothing they deserve alot more

	2. Written by Slave of Allah on 30-07-2008 19:16
	If they dont make a new show for us we need to do it ourselves. Even if it means having to go on youtube and answering all the allegations.

	3. Written by N.A on 30-07-2008 21:13
	Focusing on the Quran does not involve in any shape or form the need to dedicate i fairly large section of the programme to different sects, accusation from a non muslim producer i believe - about a minority being non believers and not people who are following the book - ie shias, and also sufis with their spiritual worship and sharing in intercession. If people in the muslim commmunity who watched this show were tru believers they would not take this Westernised based view and sly attempt to stir between different people under the same umbrella and support it, sunnis, shias, sufis, every one should be boycotting this show and not allowing the show to be 'thanked' as if they did something good. You should be defendinf your fellow brothers and sisters because islam is about one allah and all sects in islam believes this and hence we are all brothers and sisters. This show really infuriated me and any one who could not see the subliminal messages that were being conveyed and the true intentions of this documentary is truly blind.

	4. Written by Naaz on 01-08-2008 01:28
	A streak of dividing was evident in this documentary! All in line with the agendas of the western politics... and they have used Muslims against Muslims! It is ironical that people of other faith did not realise that they were being used.. and it is more ironical that they are responsible for further dividing this ummah! Indeed a shame!

	5. Written by Fatima on 03-08-2008 13:28
	I watched the C4 'discussion' and people were barely able to even begin to broach the issues. It was all just a show to appease people, and both Anthony Thomas and Ajmal Masroor were very vague about whether there had been a Shi'a consultant.

	6. Written by ABOU JA3FAR .S.L. on 11-08-2008 08:24
	IMAM ALI A, SAID,  I NEVER ARGUE WITH HYPOCRITS  BECAUSE THEY ARE LOOSERS AND WILL NEVER AKNOWLEGE WISDOME   WHEN EVER I ADVISE BELIEVERS THEY ALWAYS SUCCED, ASSALAMU 3ALA WALIYY,SIRR, AMIN, WA3D, WA THE LEADER ON EARTH AFTER RASOUL ALLAH.

	7. Written by ali on 11-08-2008 16:45
	its a shame to see that the shia ulama havent done much to refute this show. a big fuss was initally made but what now? where is the refutation?

	8. Written by Seyed Ali on 19-08-2008 01:04
	This dicumentray is bull s**t they say we pray to imam reza when we pray to allah and say our imams are saints they dont anything on youtube theres videos refuting this stupid documentary

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