Channel 4 accused of 'distortion'

[Ibtisam]

Police are reporting Channel 4 to industry regulator Ofcom over the way an undercover programme was edited. But charges will not be brought against preachers featured in the Dispatches programme which looked at allegations of extremism in mosques.

 

West Midlands Police carried out an investigation into three speakers in the programme Undercover Mosque.

 

The Crown Prosecution Service says the programme "completely distorted" what the speakers said.

 

In a statement Channel 4 spokesman Gavin Dawson said: "We believe the offensive views expressed by the people revealed in the programme speak for themselves.

 

"We didn't put these words into people's mouths and all extracts were carefully contextualised.

 

"The West Midlands Police have provided no evidence whatsoever to support their allegations."

 

The programme investigated a number of mosques, one of which was Green Lane Mosque in Small Heath, Birmingham.

 

It investigated mosques run by organisations claiming to be dedicated to moderation and dialogue with other faiths.

 

An undercover reporter claimed to provide evidence that certain speakers preached messages of religious bigotry and extremism.

 

The Channel 4 Dispatches website, in a piece about the programme, said the reporter had attended talks at mosques and found preachers "condemning the idea of integration into British society, condemning British democracy as unIslamic and praising the Taliban for killing British soldiers".

 

Police said they acknowledged some parts of the programme may have been considered offensive, but, when analysed in full context, there was not enough evidence to bring charges.

 

The investigation was then extended to include looking at issues relating to the editing and portrayal of the programme.

 

 

CPS lawyer Bethan David considered 56 hours of media footage of which only a part was used in the programme.

She said: "The splicing together of extracts from longer speeches appears to have completely distorted what the speakers were saying.

 

"The CPS has demonstrated it will not hesitate to prosecute those responsible for criminal incitement.

 

"But in this case we have been dealing with a heavily edited television programme, apparently taking out of context aspects of speeches which in their totality could never provide a realistic prospect of any convictions."

 

Police also asked the CPS to consider a prosecution for including material likely to stir up racial hatred but again were advised there was insufficient evidence.

 

Source: BBC News

[Valenteenah.]

Typical, isn't it? Only last month the BBC got a roasting for editing a programme about the Queen to make it look like she threw a tantrum (when she didn't).

 

You can't tell what's sensationalised and what isn't these days.

[rudy-Diiriye]

off course they do this and they will keep on doing...as long as no muslims are hired to do these jobs.

 

so apply whatchya u gotta lose...besides them whites dont shyte. they hired cuz of the skin of their color.

 

so till the day, ppl like u & me get a position there, this will keep on happening... apply now do it the right thing...correct the wrongs. dont just on your tush.

[N.O.R.F]

Spreading hatred?

A report by the police and Crown Prosecution Service casts doubt on a TV programme which accused several mosques of spreading hatred.

 

Back in January, I blogged about a C4 Dispatches documentary, Undercover Mosque, which had just been broadcast following heavy promotion in the form of full-page adverts taken out in several of our national newspapers.

 

We were informed by the programme makers, Hardcash Productions, that as part of a 12-month investigation they had sent an undercover reporter to several UK mosques which they found were preaching "chilling sermons" and "hatred for non-Muslims and Muslims who do not follow their extreme beliefs".

 

Mainstream Islamic institutions including London's Islamic Cultural Centre in Regent's Park, the UK Islamic Mission and the Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith were named and shamed in the programme as allowing their premises to be used for the promotion of hate speech.

 

Now I have been attending the Regent's Park Mosque for around 20 years now and mentioned in my blog that the Imams there "have hardly acquired a reputation for being firebrands. Quite the opposite, in fact".

 

In a joint statement today, the Crown Prosecution Service and the West Midlands police, have said that after reviewing 56 hours of footage of three speakers featured in the documentary, of which only a part was of course used in the final edited programme, they found that:

 

"The splicing together of extracts from longer speeches appears to have completely distorted what the speakers were saying. The CPS has demonstrated that it will not hesitate to prosecute those responsible for criminal incitement. But in this case we have been dealing with a heavily edited television programme, apparently taking out of context aspects of speeches which in their totality could never provide a realistic prospect of any convictions."

 

 

While the original C4 programme will have reinforced some prejudices people have of Muslims, today's CPS/police statement will, I think more justifiably, reinforce the distrust with which many Muslims regard sections of our media.

 

Hate speech must be combated. Documentary makers have an important responsibility, however, to do their research properly and carefully identify those who actually incite hatred. They must take great care to avoid unfairly stigmatising whole institutions and groups of people.

 

In his book, My Trade - A Short History of British Journalism, the BBC's former political editor, Andrew Marr, said of our newspapers:

 

"Reporting is now so contaminated by bias and campaigning, and general mischief, that no reader can hope to get a picture of what is happening without first knowing who owns the paper, and who it is being published for."

 

 

Today's CPS/police ruling demonstrates that the situation with our broadcasters is sadly not much better.

 

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/inayat_bunglawala/2007/08/spreading_hatred.html