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October 3, 2006

Czech Republic: The TV Documentary That Angered Muslims

Earlier we wrote of Czech fears of Islam, and in the comments beneath, our reader Czech Infidel mentioned a documentary, providing a link. I have seen this documentary, and think it is worth being seen by our readers.

The documentary is called "I Muslim" and it provides an accurate view of Islamic belief, provided by the CTV broadcasting company to a community which had had little experience of Islam. In 1996 there were no mosques in the Czech Republic, only an occasional prayer room. There is a mosque at Prague, another in Brno, and one at Teplice.

According to the US's religious freedom report for 2005, there are 20,000 to 30,000 Muslims in the nation, though these figures come from Muslim leaders. The true figure is probably about 10,000 to 15,000. Most Muslims in the Czech Republic have come from Bosnia, with a large population increase in the 1990s. There are now Muslims from the Middle East and other nations.

Since 2004, Islam has been officially recognized in the Czech Republic, which entitles Muslim centers to public funding.

Directed by Jiri Ovecka (pictured), "I Muslim" was first broadcast on October 7 last year on CTV's second channel, states the Prague Post.

When it was first shown, there was little reaction, but gradually a movement of protest gained ground among Muslim leaders. What seemed to annoy them the most was the use of an undercover reporter doing secret filming.

The reporter, a man called "Habib" claimed to be the son of a Muslim who died when he was aged 10. He made 20 or more visits to the mosque in Cerny Most, and the speeches of the mosque sermons are enlightening.

One sermon claims that Czech national hero, Jan Palach, who set fire to himself as a protest against Russian occupation, would have been a far bigger national hero if he had been not a mere martyr, but a martyrdom bomber, and took with him a few Russians.

At one stage "HAbib" tries to bring a woman atheist with him, whom he describes as his fiancee. The mosque leaders treat her as a second class citizen, and insist she is segregated into the women's area rather than the main areas of the mosque. They tell Habib that it is wrong for a Muslim man to marry an atheist woman, and they urge him to dump her.

The program deals with honor killings and forced marriages, as practised in Germany, and also deal with the 'islamization" of societies. One Muslim shamelessly says that as soon as there is a majority of Muslims in a country then it is "natural" for them to demand sharia law.

By the time the protests about Danish cartoons became a global phenomenon, the Muslims in the Czech Republic began to voice their anger about "I, Muslim".

"It was made in a confrontational style," said Vladimir Sanka of the Islamic Center in Prague. "We see it as a one-sided documentary, which evokes a distorted look at Islam in the eyes of the Czech public."

Official complaints were filed with the Czech Radio and Television Broadcasting Council (RRTV). The Council of Arabic Ambassadors condemns the program, called it a deliberate attempt to distort the truth. The station could have received a fine of 10 million Koruny ($416,000), but I am informed that the claim was dismissed. The documentary is factual, and does not invent its facts.

The director, Jiri Ovecka, defended his decision to use hidden camera footage. He said: "I wanted to get real opinions of the local Muslim community on the issue - find out what the differences are between Czech and foreign Islam."

With a hat tip to "Czech Infidel", who informs us that the team are now working on a new documentary about forced marriages, the whole video can be seen on Google Video HERE. It is 28 minutes long.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at October 3, 2006 7:13 PM

Comments

Posted by: Czech Infidel at October 4, 2006 2:12 AM

Posted by: Celsius at October 4, 2006 5:42 PM

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