Channel 4 to broadcast Muslim call to prayer every day during Ramadan

Channel 4 sparked a debate today after announcing it will broadcast the Muslim call to prayer every morning during Ramadan.

The broadcast is part of an examination of the religious event which sees millions of Muslims around the world fast for a month.

Ralph Lee, the channel’s head of factual programming, Lee said it had previously been nearly invisible on mainstream TV.

Mr Lee said he expected the channel to receive criticism for broadcasting the traditional call to prayer, known as the adhan starting next week, but added: “Nearly five per cent of the country will actively engage in Ramadan this month. Can we say the same of other national events that have received blanket coverage on television, such as the Queen’s coronation anniversary?”

The channel will broadcast the call to prayer at sunrise and on the internet.

Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, assistant general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), said the move was “a brilliant idea”.

“It recognises that Islam and Muslims are very much part and parcel of modern-day Britain,” he said.

But Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said he wondered if it was “another of Channel 4’s publicity-seeking stunts”.

He added: “Given that the BBC devotes hundreds of hours a year to Christianity, with two or three church services every day on its radio stations, and hardly any mention of minority religions, a few minutes devoted to Islam doesn’t seem unreasonable.

“At the same time, we should also acknowledge that only five per cent of the population is Muslim, so it really needs to kept in proportion.”

Hundreds of people took to Twitter to voice their opinion on the move.

Tommy Robinson, leader of the English Defence League, wrote “wrong” next to a link to an article about the move, while others attacked the “Islamification of the UK”.