Radio station fined for playing song that 'glorified battlefield victories against non-Muslims'

Radio Dawn was told to by £2,000 for the breach

Radio Dawn has since apologised for the broadcast (Google Maps)

A radio station has been fined by Ofcom after they played a song on air which “constituted hate speech”.

The decision against Radio Dawn, a community broadcaster in Nottingham, was made after they broadcast a particular piece of devotional music known as a Nasheed.

Ofcom ruled it broke the broadcasting code and ruled amounted to "derogatory treatment towards non-Muslim people"

The broadcasting watchdog said the song in question was “glorifying the victories on the battlefield of figures from Islamic history” and then suggesting that “similar violent acts committed against non-Muslim people would bring honour to Islam".

The station, which is aimed at the Muslim community, has since apologised for the song, which it said should never have "slipped through".

The regulator said that the 17-minute Nasheed repeatedly referred to non-Muslim people as Kuffar, (disbeliever in Arabic) and “on one occasion, “Kaafir I Murdaar” (meaning filthy disbeliever in Urdu)".

It ruled that the breaches of the code were “serious” and demanded that the radio station’s license holder Karimia Ltd pay £2,000 and broadcast a statement on air about the Ofcom findings.

Radio Dawn station manager Sana Tariq told The Independent: “We have apologised to Ofcom. This should not have slipped through.”

She said the historic track was written in “Shakespearean Urdu” and was downloaded onto their system by a volunteer who “didn’t quite understand” the meaning.

She said this happened on Boxing Day 2016 when “staffing levels were low” because of the holidays, so it had not been screened by a manager.

“It was probably downloaded because the track is sung in a child’s voice so it sounds quite melodious," she said. "I understand the track was downloaded by someone who didn’t quite understand the meaning of it.”

Ms Tariq, assured that everyone at the station “understands the seriousness” of the issue, that they have “tightened procedures” since the incident and they did not agree with the song.

She added: “Radio Dawn is committed to spreading the message of peace and building trust and bridges between Muslims and the wider community.”

“We work really closely with the British Army, we interview representatives from the police about hate crime, and by carrying out this work we are at the forefront of providing a good example to other groups.”

Ofcom, which has just released the decision, said that the broadcast breached four sections of the code, including not airing material which “contains hate speech” or that which was “likely to encourage or to incite the commission of crime to lead to disorder”.

The regulator said the station also broke a rule which forbids broadcasting “material which contains abusive or derogatory treatment” of various people unless it is "justified by the context”.

The final broken rule said “broadcasters must ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context”.

Two other Nasheeds which were broadcast on the same day did not break any rules.