Ummah Channel
{{short description|British Islamic television channel}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox television channel
| name = Ummah Channel
| logo_alt =
| logo_size =
| launch_date = 12 August 2009
| owner =
| former_names =
| sister_channels =
| replaced = 9X
| area = Studio
| headquarters = Blackburn
| website = http://www.ummahchannel.tv/
| timeshift_service =
| sat_chan_1 =
| online_serv_1 =
| online_chan_1 =
| closed_date = 31 July 2017
| country = United Kingdom
| network =
}}
Ummah Channel was an Islamic television channel based in the United Kingdom. It launched in August 2009 by replacing 9X's former Sky EPG slot on Sky Digital.{{Cite web|date=2009-12-14|title=BizAsia.co.uk - The UK's only Asian media news website - News, Features, Interviews, Jobs, Events, Ratings, Bollywood|url=http://media247.co.uk/bizasia/newsarchive/2009/08/ummah_channel_r.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091214070614/http://media247.co.uk/bizasia/newsarchive/2009/08/ummah_channel_r.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-12-14|access-date=2020-08-18}} It was closed down at the end of 31 July 2017 and is no longer broadcasting.
Channels
=Maria TV=
Maria TV launched on 19 July 2012 on the first day of Ramadan. The channel’s name comes from Maria al-Qibtiyya, an enslaved Coptic Christian from Egypt who became one of the wives of Muhammad.{{Cite news|last=Shull|first=Henry|date=2012-10-03|title=Egypt’s Maria TV pitches strict vision of Islam|language=en-US|work=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/egypts-maria-tv-pitches-strict-vision-of-islam/2012/10/02/273f4e04-f122-11e1-b74c-84ed55e0300b_story.html|access-date=2020-08-18|issn=0190-8286}} According to Islam Ahmed Abdallah, Chief Executive of Ummah TV, says the name represents "transferring from slavery to freedom, from Christianity to Islam". Maria TV’s staff includes 30 volunteers and a few dozen women who work there occasionally.
Maria TV aired for six hours of programming on Ummah TV, which showed only fully veiled women. Guests who choose not to wear the Niqab had their features blurred out.{{Cite web|last=Timmermann|first=Lilian|title=Egypt's new women-only Islamic TV channel|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/07/25/egypts-new-women-only-islamic-tv-channel/|access-date=2020-08-17|website=Foreign Policy|language=en-US}}
Criticism
In 2010, in the wake of the May 2010 attacks on two Ahmadiyya Mosques in Lahore, Pakistan, members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community living in the UK were threatened and intimidated. In October 2010 Ofcom criticised the UK-based Ummah Channel for broadcasting three interactive television programmes before and after the Lahore massacre on Ahmadis in May 2010, in which religious leaders and callers alike said that Ahmadis should be killed. These programmes were repeated several times. Ofcom stated that the programme's abusive treatment of the religious views and beliefs of members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community breached UK broadcasting regulations.{{Cite web|date=2010-10-21|title=Hardliners call for deaths of Surrey Muslims|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hardliners-call-for-deaths-of-surrey-muslims-2112268.html|access-date=2020-08-17|website=The Independent|language=en}}
In September 2012, Ahmed Abdallah, the owner of Maria TV, and his son and the channel's chief executive, Islam, were arrested for burning a copy of the Bible during a protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.{{Cite web|title=Maria TV in Egypt: Fully Veiled and on Air - Qantara.de|url=https://en.qantara.de/content/maria-tv-in-egypt-fully-veiled-and-on-air|access-date=2020-08-17|website=Qantara.de - Dialogue with the Islamic World|language=en}}
Closure
The channel closed on 31 July 2017 after apparent financial difficulty. Ummah Channel failed to attract an audience wider than its usual Barelvi Sect (Islam).{{Cite web|last=5Pillars|date=2017-07-24|title=Ummah Channel to close down at end of month|url=https://5pillarsuk.com/2017/07/24/ummah-channel-to-close-down-at-end-of-month/|access-date=2020-08-17|website=5Pillars}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://domain2231506.sites.streamlinedns.co.uk/ Official website]
Category:Television channels and stations established in 2009
Category:Television channels and stations disestablished in 2017