British Police have accused Channel 4 of distorting Muslim preachers speeches while investigating allegations of Islamic extremism arising from a documentary made by it.
London, Aug.9 : British Police have accused Channel 4 of "distorting" Muslim preachers' speeches while investigating allegations of Islamic extremism arising from a documentary made by it.
Channel 4 has been reported to broadcasting watchdog Ofcom for "heavily editing" the words of Islamic imams to give them more sinister meaning in Dispatches: Undercover Mosque, reports The Daily Mail. The programme also featured footage of a number of mosques
West Midlands Police launched an eight-month inquiry after the programme's secret filming depicted radical preachers at British mosques calling for the West to be "taken over" by Muslims.
One was shown glorying in the Taliban's murder of British Muslim soldier Jabron Hashmi in Afghanistan, saying: "The hero of Islam is the one who separated his head from his shoulders."
But officers soon began to suggest that Channel 4 itself should be prosecuted for inciting racial hatred.
The police and Crown Prosecution Service jointly announced there was no likelihood of successfully prosecuting either party.
The CPS's reviewing lawyer, Bethan David, said the imams' speeches had been "completely distorted".
Miss David advised police against invoking the Public Order Act 1986 against Channel 4, stating she found insufficient evidence racial hatred had been stirred by the programme, and no evidence that had been the broadcaster's intention.
Channel 4, however, claims that the documentary revealed "chilling" messages of "hatred and segregation", and insisted it was confident Ofcom would reject the 'extraordinary' complaint.
ANI