British TV channel to air daily 'azaan' during Ramadan

One of Britain's main television channels will air 'azaan' or Muslim call to prayer during the holy month of Ramadan.
Channel 4 will become the first mainstream British TV channel to broadcast the call to prayer on a daily basis as part of a season of programmes around the Muslim period of prayer and fasting, which begins next Tuesday.
The headline-grabbing move will see Channel 4 broadcast the three-minute call to prayer at about 3 am (local time) for 30 days from the start of Ramadan on July 9.
Channel 4 will also interrupt programming four times on the first day of Ramadan to mark subsequent calls by means of a 20-second film to remind viewers of the approaching prayer time.

After that date, the channel will air the 3am call to prayer on live TV, and the other four prayer times will be broadcast on its website, The Guardian reported.
The channel has defended its plans of airing 'azaan'.

"Observing the 'adhan' on Channel 4 will act as a nationwide tannoy system, a deliberate 'provocation' to all our viewers in the very real sense of the word," Ralph Lee, Channel 4's head of factual programming, wrote in the 'Radio Times'.
"A mass act of personal sacrifice and worship, it's carried out every year, by increasing numbers of committed Muslims - yet the vast majority of people in Britain won't even be aware of its existence," Lee said.

"Not surprising when you consider its near invisibility on mainstream TV....Contrast this with the way most Muslims are represented on television, nearly always appearing in contexts related to extremism or terrorism," he added, in reference to the channel's aim of dissociating Islam from extremism.
The 'Channel 4 News' weather forecast will feature the sunrise and sunset times, to guide those fasting between those hours.
The 'azaan' will be automatically played at the same time it is played in mosques around London by leading muezzin Hassen Rasool.
Channel 4 believes the Ramadan season, which includes video diaries of British Muslims going about their lives during the 30-day period, will be a hit with younger viewers.

However, it was warned against excessive coverage.
"I wouldn't object to it as at least it gives some balance to the BBC's emphasis on Christianity but Channel 4 has to keep it in proportion. The percentage of Muslims in the UK is very small so few people will be interested in it," Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said.
"It may be a novelty and Channel 4 is good at causing a sensation. We don't want to see any broadcaster becoming a platform for religious proselytising," Sanderson said.