Ofcom  has fined the Islam Channel £20,000 for broadcasting a programme that contained “antisemitic hate speech.”

The watchdog ruled that an episode of The Rightly Guided Khalifas, a religious education series broadcast in November 2018, contained three breaches of the Broadcasting Code.

Confirming that a hefty fine had been imposed on Islam Channel Limited, Ofcom referred to a decision it had made last October over the programme’s contents, which it said contained “uncontextualised hate speech” and breached Rules 2.3, 3.2 and 3.3 of the Code.

Explaining the decision, it said: “Ofcom’s Breach Decision found an episode of the programme The Rightly Guided Khalifas contained uncontextualized antisemitic hate speech which amounted to the abuse or derogatory treatment of Jewish people.

“The Breach Decision found this episode of The Rightly Guided Khalifas ascribed a perpetually negative characteristic to Jewish people; namely corrupting Holy Books and seeking the destruction of Islam in both ancient and more recent times.

“In addition, through the conflation of Israel and Jewish people the content characterised Jewish people as ‘tyrannical’ and having an ‘evil mind’. It was our decision that this content met Ofcom’s definition of hate speech and that Rule 3.2 was breached.

“The programme also used further negative and stereotypical terms to describe Jewish people, including that they were guilty of ‘this crime of distortion [of Quranic text]’.

“It also associated Jewish people with ‘tyranny’, ‘oppression’, ‘troublemaking’ and ‘poisonous acts’. We considered this constituted abusive and derogatory treatment of Jewish people in breach of Rule 3.3.

“In Ofcom’s view, this material would have been offensive to most people who do not share the antisemitic views expressed. We also considered this material would be highly offensive to Jewish people; practitioners of Judaism; and Christian and Muslim people (and others) who esteem the religion.

“In our view, there was insufficient context to justify the broadcast of such content, and it breached Rule 2.3 of the Code.”

The Islam Channel is an English language satellite television channel broadcast in 136 countries worldwide, including the UK.

Ofcom said a financial penalty was necessary to reflect the serious nature of the breaches, and to act as an effective incentive to comply with the code, both for the Licensee and other licensees.

In a statement to the JC the Islam Channel said:" This programme was not made by Islam Channel but was bought in from a third-party production house.

"The episode had been marked as not fit for broadcast and was broadcast in error due to a mistake made by a junior member of staff. Islam Channel regrets that this programme was shown and voluntarily broadcast an apology to this effect.

"Since this breach, which took place nearly two years ago, Islam Channel has undergone significant changes in management and personnel and has implemented new compliance and training procedures to ensure that no such breach occurs in future.

"Islam Channel is committed, not only to providing a voice for the Muslim community in the media, at a time when Islamophobia is at an all-time high, but also to promoting harmonious relations between diverse ethnic and faith communities through its efforts both on and off-air.

"As such it would never knowingly, deliberately or recklessly allow for members of any faith, sect or creed to be offended, as this would be a direct and gross contradiction of its mission and values."