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| Great White North |
| Canadian broadcaster defends airing 'jihad' lecture |
| 2007-07-20 |
| VisionTV says it will monitor one of its shows more closely after it broadcast a lecture by an Islamic preacher who said scripture requires Muslims to either fight jihad or finance it. The multi-faith channel, available in 7.8 million Canadian homes, said it took the precaution following a complaint about last Saturday's broadcast of a lecture by the Pakistani fundamentalist. In the hour-long talk, Israr Ahmad said, "Jihad in the way of Allah, for the cause of Allah, can be pursued either with your financial resources or your bodily strength when you go to fight the enemy in the battlefield. So jihad, the highest form, is fighting in the cause of Allah." Mr. Ahmad runs a seminary and bookstore in Lahore, Pakistan, and his writings foresee the "global domination of Islam," compare Jews to "parasites," describe the Holocaust as "divine punishment" and predict the "total extermination" of Jews. His followers in Canada include terror suspect Qayyum Abdul Jamal, who was arrested last summer for his alleged role in a plot to detonate truck bombs in downtown Toronto. According to Mr. Jamal's wife, Mr. Ahmad was her husband's teacher and mentor. The television program left some wondering how the Pakistani preacher, who claims that Jews control the world through a secret conspiracy involving financial institutions, made it on to Canada's government-regulated airwaves. "Israr Ahmad is widely known for his hateful words and vilification of Jews," said Canadian Jewish Congress spokesman Bernie Farber. "We are deeply concerned that Vision would give this individual the imprimatur of Vision's credibility. It was a mistake in judgment and ought to concern all of us." VisionTV's code of ethics forbids the broadcast of programs that glorify or incite violence or "have the effect of provoking or abetting domestic or international religious or political conflicts." The broadcaster acknowledged that the show, Dil Dil Pakistan, had talked about jihad and fighting but said it did not contravene the station's policies against incitement because the comments were made in a historical context. But it said the show would be monitored more closely. "We have essentially a system of flagging shows when complaints are made, where we'll watch subsequent episodes even more carefully than we otherwise do, and take extra care and caution. So that's certainly the case here," said Mark Prasuhn, VisionTV's chief operating officer and vice-president of programming. Toronto resident Mindy Alter, however, said the message came through loud and clear when she tuned in to the show, which aired from 3 to 4 p.m. on July 14. "The part about the jihad, he said very specifically that it is incumbent upon Muslims to wage jihad against their enemies until Islam rules supreme over the world," Mrs. Alter said. "I'm sorry, I don't think that belonged over the airwaves of Canadian TV.... You can put that in whatever context you like. To me that's preaching jihad." Responded Mr. Prasuhn: "Definitely, the viewer is correct. [Mr. Ahmad] does make the point about, you either contribute financially or through your body, and he uses the word fight. But none of this, as far as I could see, is in any way correlated or referenced to the present day. It is strictly a historical context and reading of the Koran by a Koranic scholar." more at link |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #7 Koran says "jihad is prescribed to you." The White House doesn't believe Muslims read that. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2007-07-20 20:52 |
| #6 tu3031, Vision TV has no ratings,but as a digital channel cable companies in Canada must carry it as part of government attempts to provide "diversity" in Canadian programming. So far, the government has not figured out how to force people to actually watch "diversity". Be sure they are working on this. |
| Posted by: Skunky Glins5285 2007-07-20 19:30 |
| #5 If this was in English, it was a great thing for real Canadians. If this doesn't wake them up to what they have done, then nothing will. I wonder if Canadians monitor British news at all ? The problem is we have an unprotected border with these loons. |
| Posted by: Woozle Elmeter2970 2007-07-20 12:51 |
| #4 Responded Mr. Prasuhn: "Definitely, the viewer is correct. [Mr. Ahmad] does make the point about, you either contribute financially or through your body, and he uses the word fight. But none of this, as far as I could see, is in any way correlated or referenced to the present day. It is strictly a historical context and reading of the Koran by a Koranic scholar." *sigh* Is this fellow playing taqqiya or simply ignorant? |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2007-07-20 12:05 |
| #3 One complaint over this? VisionTV must have bangup ratings... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-07-20 10:33 |
| #2 The television program left some wondering how the Pakistani preacher, who claims that Jews control the world through a secret conspiracy involving financial institutions, made it on to Canada's government-regulated airwaves. I am wondering how anyone could possibly be surprised. Canada's entire academic and media establishment carry water for jihad every day. They can hardly wait to offer over their daughters for rape and their necks for the knife. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-07-20 10:27 |
| #1 scripture requires Muslims to either fight jihad or finance it Bad, bad, baaaad dhummi to let it being brodcast in English. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-07-20 10:16 |