Ulema propose to ‘ban anchorpersons, celebrities’ from hosting Ramazan shows

Religious affairs minister holds pivotal meeting in this regard

ISLAMABAD:

In an unprecedented development, religious scholars and Ulema have proposed to “ban anchorpersons and any celebrities” who are “not well-versed with Islamic tenets” from conducting the special Ramazan transmission during the holy month to avoid any controversies.

During a meeting with Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Minister Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri on Tuesday, they also expressed profound concerns about some unethical programmes telecast in the holy month of Ramazan in the past.

The scholars and Ulema extended full support to the minister’s letter written to Prime Minister Imran Khan on the matter.

They urged private television channels to stop broadcasting stuff in the garb of entertainment and recreational shows, which were directly in contradiction with Islamic injunctions. “Due to the inadequate knowledge of presenters on Islam, religious chaos could be created in the country.”

The religious leaders called on media owners to produce informative programmes which could create religious harmony and remove differences among the people of all segments of society.

They also pointed out that some advertisements being telecast on private TV channels were against social, cultural and religious norms.

It is pertinent to note that Minister Qadri had written a letter to PM Imran proposing that TV programmes pertaining to the Ramazan transmission should be hosted by religious scholars in order to avert controversies.

On the occasion, the religious affairs minister said for the last few years, some anchors, who were not well-versed with Islamic teachings, had been conducting programmes during the holy month of Ramazan.

“Due to lack of Islamic knowledge, they had created many religious controversies and social media hype that had negative impact on the people.”

Qadri maintained that there must be a dress code for the hosts and participants of programmes in order to maintain the sanctity of the holy month of Ramazan.

“No controversial topics should be discussed in the programmes, while keeping the respect of all sacred personalities in view.”

Further on, the minister deplored that TV channels should avoid airing entertainment and recreational shows particularly during Sehr and Iftar timings.

“Moreover, such stuff should also be avoided in the religious programmes. Unethical stuff and advertisement should not be broadcast.”

He emphasised that TV programmes should be based on such content which not only imparted true Islamic knowledge, but also promoted religious harmony across all sections of society.

Qadri urged the prime minister to direct the information ministry and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority to issue relevant guidelines for all the TV channels.

Council of Islamic Ideology Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz, Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, Arif Hussain Wahidi, Tanveer Ahmed Alvi, Ibrahim Khalil Al-Fazli, Ghulam Rasool Nasir, Syed Iftikhar Hussain Naqvi, Mufti Zamir Ahmed Sajid and Sheikh Nayar Abbas Mustafvi attended the meeting.