Ummah Channel

Ummah Channel is an Islamic TV Channel based in the United Kingdom. It launched in August 2009 and was closed down at the end of 31 July 2017 and is no longer broadcasting.

Ummah Channel
Launched12 August 2009
Closed31 July 2017
CountryEngland
LanguageUrdu, English
Broadcast areaStudio
HeadquartersBlackburn
Replaced9X[1]
Websitehttp://www.ummahchannel.tv/

Channels

Maria TV

Maria TV launched on 19 July 2012 on the first day of Ramadan. The channel’s name comes from Maria al-Qibtiyya, an enslaved Coptic Christian from Egypt who became one of the wives of the prophet Muhammad.[2] According to Islam Ahmed Abdallah, Chief Executive of Ummah TV, says the name represents "transferring from slavery to freedom, from Christianity to Islam."[3]

The channel does not want to impose the niqab on female viewers; rather it wants to stress that women who are fully veiled can still succeed in a professional work environment. Several women who work at the channel previously experienced prejudice against them for wearing the niqab, even in industries other than media, and they want to demonstrate that they can convey emotion and messages on television without displaying their bodies.[4]

Maria TV aired for six hours of programming on Ummah TV, which showed only fully veiled women. Guests who choose not to wear the Niqab had their features blurred out.[5]

Criticism

In 2010, in the wake of the May 2010 attacks on two Ahmadiyya Mosques in Lahore, Pakistan, members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community living in the UK were threatened and intimidated. In October 2010 Ofcom criticised the UK-based Ummah Channel for broadcasting three interactive television programmes before and after the Lahore massacre on Ahmadis in May 2010, in which religious leaders and callers alike said that Ahmadis should be killed. These programmes were repeated several times. Ofcom stated that the programme's abusive treatment of the religious views and beliefs of members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community breached UK broadcasting regulations.[6]

In September 2012, Ahmed Abdallah, the owner of Maria TV, and his son and the channel's chief executive, Islam, were arrested for burning a copy of the Bible during a protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.[2][7]

Closure

The channel closed on 31st July 2017 after apparent financial difficulty. Ummah Channel failed to attract an audience wider than its usual Barelvi Sect (Islam).[8]

References
  1. "Ummah Channel replaces 9X on Sky EPG". Biz Asia. 12 August 2009. Archived from the original on 14 December 2009.
  2. Schull, Henry (3 October 2012). "Egypt's Maria TV pitches strict vision of Islam". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  3. Schull, Henry (3 October 2012). "Egypt's Maria TV pitches strict vision of Islam". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  4. Hesham, Heba (31 July 2012). "Maria TV: Exclusive for niqab". The Egypt Monocle. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  5. Timmermann, Lilian. "Egypt's new women-only Islamic TV channel". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  6. "Hardliners call for deaths of Surrey Muslims". The Independent. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  7. "Maria TV in Egypt: Fully Veiled and on Air - Qantara.de". Qantara.de - Dialogue with the Islamic World. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  8. 5Pillars (24 July 2017). "Ummah Channel to close down at end of month". 5Pillars. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
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