Peace TV

Peace TV is a nonprofit satellite television network broadcasting globally 24/7 from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Peace TV programs are all in the English language and telecast free-to-air. The founder and president of Peace TV is Zakir Naik, an Islamic preacher from Mumbai, India.

Peace TV
Launched21 January 2006
Owned byZakir Naik (founder and president)
Lords Production Ltd,
a subsidiary of Universal Broadcasting Corporation Ltd[1]
Picture format576i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
SloganThe solution for Humanity
CountryUnited Arab Emirates
Broadcast areaAsia, Europe, Africa, Australia, North America
Sister channel(s)Peace TV Urdu, Peace TV Bangla, Peace TV Albanian, Peace TV Chinese
Websitewww.peacetv.tv

Since 21 January 2006, Peace TV channel has been telecast to more than 200 countries[2] around the world, including in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and North America.[3][4] In 2009, its sister channel (Peace TV Urdu) was launched, which is dedicated especially to the Urdu-speaking viewers around the world and on 22 April 2011, Peace TV Bangla[5] was launched, which is dedicated especially to the Bengali-speaking viewers around the world.

Peace TV network covers live events,[6] lecturing programs for adults and youths, as well as educational programs for children. Its president, Zakir Naik, often calls it an "edutainment channel".[7]

As of May 2020, broadcasting of the channel is banned in India, Bangladesh[8], Sri Lanka[9] and United Kingdom[10].

History

Peace TV was launched on Arabsat on satellite BADR-3 in October 2006.

It is also available free of charge from the LiveStation satellite television computerdiesh.[11]

The channel received £1.25 million in 2009 from the Islamic Research Foundation International, a registered charity owned by Zakir Naik.[1]

In 2011 the UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom investigated the channel for allegations of broadcasting extremist messages. Its programmes have labelled 9/11 terrorist attacks as an inside job.[1]

In 2012, Ofcom ruled the channel broke broadcasting rules which states offensive comments should be justified by the context. It was ruled on the following statements which were broadcast on 8 March 2012 on the Dare to Ask programme:[12]

One group of scholars, they say that if a Muslim, if he becomes a non-Muslim [inaudible] he should be put to death. There is another group of scholars who say that if a Muslim becomes a non-Muslim and propagates his new faith against Islam then he should be put to death.

I tend to agree more with the second group of scholars, who say that a Muslim, if he becomes a non-Muslim and propagates his new faith against Islam, that is the time this penalty is applied.

In response, PeaceTV said they were just repeating the teachings of the Quran.[12] The channel has been operating in India since 2006, but as of 2009 it failed to register with India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, making it illegal. Hathway stopped broadcasting the channel. Zakir Naik denies owning the station, and claims it is run by a Dubai-based company.[13] Peace TV was banned in India in 2012, because the government said it was broadcasting malicious anti-Indian content.[14] Zakir Naik has denied any links to such claims and hopes that the ban would be lifted.[15] However, as of August 2019, Peace TV was still available in India through a free app in the Google Play Store, which had been downloaded over a lakh (100,000) times.[16]

[17] In Bangladesh, there has been a massive debate to stop airing this channel after the Dhaka terror attack.[18][19] The channel has been banned by the Government of Bangladesh after a consultation with its internal security agencies on 10 July 2016.

After the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka on April 2019, which killed at least 250 people, the ensuing investigation on Islamic extremism forced the Sri Lankan cable TV operators to remove Peace TV.[20]

Awards and nominations

In January 2013, Peace TV was nominated for the Responsible Media of the Year award at the British Muslim Awards.[21]

Controversies

A major controversy erupted after the Dhaka terror attack in July 2016 when the investigations revealed that a terrorist involved in the brutal killings followed Zakir Naik's page on Facebook and was influenced by Naik's speeches[22] which seemed to be provocative in nature.[23][24] The terrorist had posted sermons of Naik on social media where Naik has urged "all Muslims to be terrorists" saying "if he is terrorizing a terrorist, he is following Islam".[25]

Following this incident, the channel was banned in Bangladesh.[26] Hasanul Haq Inu, the Information Minister of Bangladesh reasoned that "Peace TV is not consistent with Muslim society, the Quran, Sunnah, Hadith, Bangladesh's Constitution, our culture, customs and rituals."[27][28]

In March 2018, during a show called Strengthening Your Family, The Valley of the Homosexuals, presenter Imam Qasim Khan said that homosexuality was "a very unnatural type of love that is energised by the influence of [Satan]" and called AIDS "a disease [that gay men] contracted because they are homosexual". Khan went on to say, "Even an animal that is defiled by Islam, the pig – as nasty and corrupted and contaminated as a pig is – you never see two male pigs that are trying to have sex together. That's insanity… worse than animals."[29]

In July 2019, Ofcom ruled that three of Peace TV's programmes, including Khan's aforementioned broadcast, breached its rules on hate speech, offence, abusive treatment and incitement to crime. In a statement, the regulator said: "Ofcom considered the breaches in this case to be serious. We are putting the Licensee on notice that we will consider these breaches for the imposition of a statutory sanction."[30] Lord Production, which owns Peace TV's broadcast licence, defended the broadcast, claiming that it did not breach Ofcom's rules. The company claimed that Khan merely offered "a robust stand against homosexuality, but very much from a religious standpoint."[30] It disagreed with Ofcom’s suggestion that Imam Khan’s views constituted hate speech arguing that he did not “call for violence or punishment of homosexuals” and that his aim was to "outlaw the practice of homosexuality itself".[29]

Broadcasting restrictions on Peace TV
CountryStatusDateNotes
 IndiaBannedDecember 2012Allegedly broadcasting anti-India programmes 'not conducive to the security environment in the country'.[31]
 BangladeshBannedJuly 2016Alleged promotion of terrorism (after July 2016 Dhaka attack)[26]
 Sri LankaBannedMay 2019Alleged promotion of terrorism (after 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings)[32]
 United KingdomBannedMay 2020Breached broadcasting regulations on inciting crime, hate speech, abuse and offence[33]

Staff and presenters

Logos
  • Previous logo (2006-2015)
  • New logo (2015–present)
gollark: If it's a ransomware thingy, it is possible that you have already lost some of your files to it.
gollark: If you have an extremely slow disk or something, yes, it would take that long, but... otherwise no?
gollark: I hope you have backups.
gollark: You're only providing honor and glory? Not even an h?
gollark: I'm okay™, I guess.

References
  1. Harper, Tom (11 February 2011). "Banned hate preacher still broadcasting after 'Jews are enemy of Islam' claim". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013.
  2. "About Peace TV". Peacetv.in. Archived from the original on 26 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  3. Aataai Gazi Mahbub (10 May 2007). "Does 'Peace TV' Encourage Interfaith Amity?". OhmyNews. Archived from the original on 25 May 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2007.
  4. Syed Neaz Ahmad (23 February 2007). "Peace TV Reaching 50 Million Viewers – Dr. Zakir Naik". Saudi Gazette. Archived from the original on 7 July 2007.
  5. "Welcome to Peace TV Bangla". Peacetvbangla.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  6. "An Inter - Religious dialogue for Spiritual Enlightenment". The True Call. 13 December 2006. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2007.
  7. "British authorities consider banning Peace TV". The Express Tribune. Pakistan. 30 November 2010. Archived from the original on 23 February 2011.
  8. The Times of India. "Bangladesh bans televangelist Zakir Naik's Peace TV". Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  9. "After crackdowns by India and Bangladesh, Zakir Naik's Peace TV banned in Sri Lanka: Reports". Times Now News. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  10. https://www.thenational.ae/world/peace-tv-stations-fined-300-000-for-hate-speeches-as-it-pulls-out-of-the-uk-1.1019484
  11. "Schedules". Peacetv.tv. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  12. Barrett, David (9 February 2013). "Preachers of hate on British TV: what they said that broke the broadcasting rules". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015.
  13. Wajihuddin, Mohammed (5 April 2009). "Popular religious channel illegal: I&B ministry". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  14. Sharma, Pratul (6 December 2012). "MHA glare on hate channels: Govt puts on notice 24 foreign TV channels showing anti-India content after intel alert". India Today. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012.
  15. Hassan, Rashid (6 July 2014). "Ban on Peace TV will be lifted soon: Zakir Naik". Arab News. Arab News. Archived from the original on 6 July 2014.
  16. Ankit Kumar (20 August 2019). "Despite ban, Zakir Naik's Peace TV continues to reach millions". India Today. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  17. The Hindu. "Zakir Naik's UK-registered Foundation under scanner". Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  18. "This Islamic preacher might have influenced one of the Dhaka terrorists. Now Indians want him banned". The Washington Post. 6 July 2016. Archived from the original on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  19. Dhaka Tribune (6 July 2016). "India may consider action against Zakir Naik, if Bangladesh requests". Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  20. "Lankan cable operators block Zakir Naik's Peace TV". Ada Derana. 1 May 2019.
  21. "Winners honoured at British Muslim Awards". Asian Image. 31 January 2013. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  22. DNA (7 July 2016). "Peace TV of Mumbai preacher Zakir Naik who inspired Dhaka killer funded in Britain". Archived from the original on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  23. NDTV. "Bangladesh Investigating Zakir Naik's Islamist Links: Minister". Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  24. Mid Day (7 July 2016). "Bangladesh asks India to examine Zakir Naik's speeches". Archived from the original on 9 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  25. The Washington Post. "Islamic TV preacher denies link to Bangladesh attack, accuses media of unfair trial". Archived from the original on 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  26. Voice of America (13 July 2016). "After Terror Attack, Bangladesh Bans Peace TV". Archived from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  27. BBC News (11 July 2016). "Bangladesh to ban Islamic TV channel, Peace TV". Archived from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  28. Zee News. "Money collected for charity was routed to Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's Peace TV: Report". Archived from the original on 11 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  29. Drury, Colin (23 July 2019). "Evangelical Islamic TV channel that broadcast show calling homosexuality 'insane' breached Ofcom regulations". The Independent. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  30. Moore, Matt (28 July 2019). "Peace TV faces UK ban after presenter calls gay people "worse than animals"". Gay Times. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  31. "Ban on Peace TV will be lifted soon: Zakir Naik". Arab News. 6 July 2014. Archived from the original on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  32. "After crackdowns by India and Bangladesh, Zakir Naik's Peace TV banned in Sri Lanka: Reports". Times Now News. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  33. https://www.thenational.ae/world/peace-tv-stations-fined-300-000-for-hate-speeches-as-it-pulls-out-of-the-uk-1.1019484
  34. "Our Speakers". Peacetv.in. Archived from the original on 26 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
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