The Islam Channel, said to be the most-watched Muslim TV channel in the United Kingdom (UK), is facing investigation by the Office of Communications (Ofcom), a government-approved regulatory and competition authority for broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries in the country.
According to a report in The Telegraph, the Islam Channel is accused of ‘glorifying violent Islamic movements, inciting hostility against the West and portraying Jihadist causes in a sympathetic light’.
The TV channel, which reportedly claims to have 2 million viewers every day and is estimated to be watched by 60 per cent of British Muslims will be investigated for allegedly breaching the rules on impartiality and inciting extremism. If found guilty, the channel will face penalty.
The action came after a report was submitted to Ofcom accusing the channel of recurringly broadcasting material praising the October 7 (2023) Hamas attack on Israel and comparing the latter with the Nazis. The channel is also accused of providing a platform to extremists, failing to maintain impartiality in its political coverage and misleading viewers about important facts.
The Islam Channel is accused of legitimising Jihadist groups
As per the report, a report highlighting multiple violations by the TV channel was submitted to the Ofcom by Dr Taj Hargey, the Director of Oxford Institute for British Islam.
Dr Hargey, who is considered to be a liberal thinker within British Islam, claimed in his report that the Islam Channel consistently breached the Broadcasting Code between November 2024 and January 2025.
He alleged that the channel portrayed Islam as under siege from an oppressive West, and presented Hamas, Iran and other Islamist Jihadist groups as legitimate resistance movements against Western secular liberal democracies and presenting a one-sided view in its coverage of Gaza by not including pro-Israel speakers. He further alleged that the Islam Channel promotes a narrow Wahhabi-Salafi version of Islam and excludes Muslims belonging to Shia, Sufi and Ahmadi denominations and also secular Muslims.
“Islam Channel epitomises hideous Islamic fundamentalism in the UK. It purports to represent British Muslims, but its sectarian ideology is nothing but an insidious initiative to mainstream Muslim extremism and fanaticism in this country. It revels in their ‘them and us’ narrative, inhibiting any effective social cohesion. Ofcom needs to take action to mitigate the channel’s incendiary language and partisan guests who do not subscribe to traditional British values,” Dr Hargey told The Telegraph.
The Ofcom reportedly mandates that a broadcaster’s content should not cause harm or undue influence or incite crime, disorder or violence. The Islam Channel is accused of breaching the requirement. The Ofcom is currently assessing the complaints against the channel to decide whether or not to proceed with an investigation.
