I had the pleasure of spending 2 months in the UK this summer. This included Ramadan. And as most of you would know, I usually spend my Ramadan locked away in a TV studio somewhere in London. However, this year, during Ramadan (to a small extent), as well as before and after, I had a chance of actually watching other TV stations. What I saw left me disheartened. Hence this post. The purpose of this post is to highlight some of the issues I see with Islamic channels in the UK, some suggestions and my ideal Islamic channel/programming.
This is not a dig at any one channel, rather, the aim is to highlight the flaws in the hope of seeing improvements. Let me be clear, what I saw of the Islamic channels over the summer, including Ramadan, was nothing short of disappointing. Let me explain:
Problem number 1: Charity appeals
Now, I have another post coming up on this very topic so I won't go too in depth, however, this is one of the biggest complaints I have and I'm sure many viewers have too. SubhanAllah, if you were to flick through the many Islamic, and even Asian, channels after Maghrib on any given night of Ramadan, chances are you would've stumbled upon a charity appeal. Unless you flicked to Peace TV. Don't get me wrong, Ramadan is the month of giving and MashaAllah there were some amazing appeals. Viewers of Islam channel raised over a million pounds on a couple of the nights. Ramadan TV itself has helped raise over 5 million pounds for various charities over the years.
However, Ramadan is also the month when many non practicing or newly practising Muslims come back to the deen and this is the perfect opportunity to give them an Emaan boost. I know many people personally who would hardly ever watch Islamic channels except when it came to Ramadan. Sadly, by having charity appeals from Maghrib to Fajr, we are letting these people down. I wouldn't be surprised if even some of the practicing Muslims got sick of the constant charity appeals and switched to any one of the hundreds of channels available to them on sky.
Sadly, this Ramadan also saw the inception of a TV channel which promised so much but ran a charity appeal 24/7 for the last 10 days or so of Ramadan.
A more balanced approach is required and I will discuss the alternatives below.
Problem number 2: Repeats
Repeats are natural in TV. Sometimes the content is that good. Unfortunately though, for Islamic channels it's usually because there isn't enough content. And that's the sad reality. Many channels are finding it hard to keep up with the amount of content required and are resorting to multiple repeats. What's unfortunate is the number of repeats. Sometimes we are talking about 3 or 4 repeats of the same episode.
Problem number 3: Relevancy and target market
This is a tough one. Many channels struggle with this. Take for example Peace TV. How relevant do you think any of their content is to an average teenager in UK? Even their youth show is presented by a sheikh. Nothing wrong with that for the practicing crowd but for the average teen in UK? Hmm.
Do not for a minute think I don't like Peace TV, I personally love it. It's my favorite Islamic channel in UK. Granted I cringe at their adverts and hate some of the extravagant sets, but, it works for them in their main market: India. I really wish peace TV UK could be independent of peace TV India. I really wish more of their programming was produced and directed in the UK. I really wish they understood the western market better.
Moving on to the slightly weirder case of Islam channel. IC unfortunately tries to cater for almost everyone. Gone are the days it stuck to a strict set of guidelines, some people may remember the non-music, non-free mixing days. Nowadays it's pretty difficult to watch IC without feeling guilty.
By trying to accommodate for the various groups, IC has in turn left its viewers confused. Take for example the QA show. A new Muslim could so easily ring up on 4 different occasions, speak to 4 different shuyookh and get 4 different answers. This is especially sad considering the channel has Islam in its name. That name alone brings great responsibility on the channel to portray a clear and accurate image of the deen.
I don't know whether IC has gone too far. I hope there's still a chance of it turning things around as I truly and sincerely do believe IC has a good understanding of the market and could cater for the Muslims of UK without compromising.
The Solution: The Billion £ Question
During Ramadan, I used to joke with the RTV team saying I just need a billion pounds to create a super duper Islamic Channel. Things actually got so depressing that I started thinking of the things I would change and the kind of programming I would like to see. So, below is my billion pound plan (don't take the figure too seriously):
1. Charity Appeals
I would seriously cut down on charity appeals. As an alternative, I propose mini appeals. Maybe 1 to 2 hours in length. I would also utilise graphics and ticker space for charity purposes in Ramadan. But how do you touch people's hearts enough to get them to donate considering the appeal time is so short? Simple, dedicate that day to a single charity, play their advert more prominently, dedicate a 5 minute slot every 2 hours for their mini documentaries and heartfelt appeals.
2. Documentaries and historical programming
One thing we seriously lack in is good quality documentaries and historical programming. Islamic history is filled with so many interesting stories. What's holding us back? Some of the best documentaries on Islam are produced by non Muslims and then we complain when they're factually inaccurate.
Honestly, this is an ocean of gold waiting to be tapped. We Muslims are not lacking in talent either. We have some amazing youngsters eager to prove themselves in this field. All they need is backing.
Just imagine switching on in Ramadan and seeing a documentary on Islamic Spain. Or a breath taking view of the Haramain. Or an emotional re-enacment on the life of Salahudeen. There are so many stories waiting to be told!
3. Kids programming
Let's be honest, the quality of kids programming on our screens is slightly outdated, low in quality and sometimes, not very informative or educational.
This is one field where I would say we need a whole channel dedicated to kids! There is so much we can do. Cartoons, quizzes, gameshow, Qur'an competitions, Nasheed factor, so so much!
Honestly, kids are the future of Islam in UK. If they don't fall in love with your channel from an early age, you've lost a generation. This is where we can learn from channels like CBEEBIES and better on it. I say that because the first channel my niece turns to when she gets hold of the remote is cbeebies. How amazing would it be if we could create content that would make our children reach for the remote and tune in to the likes of Ramadan TV, Peace TV, etc.
4. Youth programming
Real youth programming. I'm not talking about somebody sat in front of a camera and telling the youth how they should live their lives. I want us to showcase role models. People our youth can look up to. I want youngsters who've turned their lives around to tell their stories. I wanna follow these people around for a while to show that they are humans like the rest of us, but they had a dream and a vision and they set out to achieve it.
I want to create a nationwide football league/challenge and create a buzz about it. I wanna get your average youth involved and excited. I want us to be brave and get out of our comfort zone. Don't just tell the youth what Islam expects from them, show them!
I just remembered, I want Muslim TedX style conferences.
5. Travel & Leisure and Cooking shows
One thing I've noticed during my many travels is that there's no shortage of beautiful places on Allah's earth. Wallahi I've seen some of the most beautiful places on earth, I've seen some dazzling masajid, I've seen some eye opening architecture and I've seen some amazing cultures.
Why are we not showcasing these? This should be one of the easier shows to fund. Just approach ministry of tourism in these countries and watch how eager they would be to get on board.
Cooking shows! Seriously if there's one thing sisters love then it's cooking shows. The amount of positive feedback and requests for a second series RTV received for their first cooking series was eye opening. It could he argued that most channels are doing this already. And you'd be right, but, I want to expand. I want us to cover foods from around the world. I want a street food series. I want "cook-offs”. And so much more.
6. Islamic Educational shows with a difference
One of the easiest shows to produce is a sheikh sat in front of a camera lecturing. I know very well that this isn't going to change any time soon. But, I want us to diversify. Let's get the shuyookh out and about. Let's see a different side to them.
Another way we can break it up is by using graphics, videos and animations to visually illustrate the points the speaker is narrating.
7. Bring Tafseer to Life
There are some amazing tafseer series out there, yet, I sincerely believe we can improve on them in a major way. Let's get footage of places, let's have re-enactments, let's bring it to life. Let's, once again, move away from a Sheikh, sofa, table & camera. For example, Surah Ar-Rahman is a good case study. When Allah (swt) speaks about the various entities: man, sun, moon, stars, trees, etc. Wouldn't it be awesome to have footage of these things and the sheikh narrating over the footage instead of the viewer just seeing the Sheikh's face for an hour?
8. Qur'an Recitations with linked visuals
Pretty similar to above. The best thing about this is that it actually exists already! Yes. An organisation has already created this awesome project. Qur'an recitation with footage linked to the verse being recited. You may have seen a glimpse of it on Ramadan TV this year. This took a lot of time and money but it's there. It looks amazing and it is something which should become a norm.
9. Programming for New Muslims and Newly Practising Muslims
You’d be surprised at the sheer lack of content for this category. Ramadan is usually a time where Muslims, practising and non-practising, try to improve themselves. The ones who’d hardly ever watch Islamic channels, turn to Islamic channels during this blessed month. Wouldn’t it be amazing to teach them the fundamentals of the Deen? Things like how to make wudhu, how to perform salaah. Practically demonstrate these aspects. How beautiful would it be to retain this crowd even after Ramadan?
10. Everything Else
I could write a lot more but it would just drag. So, other things I would love to see an improvement in: Sisters’ Programming, Content for the elderly, Quizzes, Talk Shows, Debates, Live events, better Hajj coverage, News shows, Current Affairs, and a lot more.
To Conclude: Money!
All of the above doesn’t sound too complicated, nor too challenging right? So what’s holding the Muslims back? One word: Money. Yes, sadly, the biggest excuse from every single Islamic channel in the UK is money. We don’t have the funds to do x,y, or z. Or, we don’t have enough funds to execute this show in this way, so we’re going to make some compromises.
Yes, sadly we live in times where Muslims can invest billions in Football clubs & haraam media empires but not a penny in Islamic media. I hope I see a day where this changes. Until that day though, we are losing our youth to the filth they’re being exposed to day in day out...
I would love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below, or, use the contact button above.
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