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Islamic Human Rights Commission
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URGENT ALERT: UK – Protest the BNP\’s racist and Islamophobic broadcast
The far-right British National Party (BNP) were allowed to an inflammatory party political broadcast today Friday 28th May 2004.
Despite a campaign calling on the police authorities, the electoral commission and the TV regulator Ofcom the broadcast was allowed to go ahead.
IHRC is calling on campaigners to write in protest to the Ofcom and the Commission for Racial Equality asking for specific action.
Suggested action:
(a) Please write to Ofcom with regard to this broadcast. Some talking points are included below:
(i) The broadcast on 28th May clearly violates many of the principles in Ofcom’s code for programmes, notably its concern for ethnic and other minorities.
(ii) The BNP’s broadcast clearly stereotyped practicing Muslims by repeatedly showing veiled women and people praying and misquoting the Qur’an. The stereotype propounded the idea that Muslims are a violent action, and clearly claimed that such beliefs exemplified ‘Muslim fundamentalism’ which was incompatible with democracy and women’s rights.
(iii) This was portrayed as a truth that only the BNP were brave enough to tell. Muslims and their belief system were clearly targeted as the biggest threat to British citizens’ security at the beginning of the broadcast, and the election claim was that the BNP would remove this problem.
(iv) Ofcom should penalise the BNP for violating the code and make known such penalties as soon as they are decided.
Please email, fax or write to:
Stephen Carter
Chief Executive – Ofcom
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London
SE1 9HA
Tel : (020) 7981 3040
Fax: (020) 7981 3333
stephen.carter@ofcom.org.uk,
(b) Contact the Commission for Racial Equality and demand that they take the case of this broadcast to the police for investigation. The broadcast clearly incites hatred against Muslims by claiming that they are a violent part of British society who hate all those who do not share their faith, and indeed are commanded to kill them.
Contact:
Trevor Phillips
Chair
CRE
St Dunstan\’s House
201-211 Borough High Street
London SE1 1GZ
fax 020 7939 0001
email info@cre.gov.uk
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“And what reason have you that you should not fight in the way of Allah and of the weak among the men and the women and the children, (of) those who say: Our Lord! Cause us to go forth from this town, whose people are oppressors, and give us from Thee a guardian and give us from Thee a helper.”
Holy Qur’an: Chapter 4, Verse 75
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Islamic Human Rights Commission
PO Box 598
Wembley
HA9 7XH
United Kingdom
Telephone (+44) 20 8904 4222
Fax (+44) 20 8904 5183
Email: info@ihrc.org
Web: www.ihrc.org
