Channel 4 cancels screening of film questioning Islam's origins

[rug]

Broadcaster calls off event at its HQ citing security fears after documentary Islam: The Untold Story drew 1,000 complaints

Ben Quinn
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 11 September 2012 11.04 EDT

Channel 4 has cited concerns over security as the reason for cancelling a planned screening at its headquarters this week of a documentary film questioning the origins of Islam.

Islam: The Untold Story, which claimed there was little written contemporary evidence about the origin of the religion, sparked more than 1,000 complaints to Channel 4 and the media regulator after it was broadcast two weeks ago.

Its presenter, the historian Tom Holland, was also the focus of substantial criticism, as well as abuse, on Twitter.

The channel said in a statement on Tuesday: "Having taken security advice we have reluctantly cancelled a planned screening of the programme, Islam: The Untold Story. We remain extremely proud of the film, which is still available to view on 4oD."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/sep/11/channel-4-cancels-screening-islam

[atreides1]

1. They would get the same thing

If they planned to show a documentary about how the Christian church decided what was and wasn't going to be doctrine...more killing and torture then Jason, Freddie, and Michael Myers would be able to handle!

It's unfortunate no one has the guts to make that documentary...

[dmallind]

2. Hell even in England the path to theocracy has begun

When businesses decide not to invest in new opportunities for fear of religious zealotry, religion throttles and begins to exercise control over the economy.

Just as the much further step down the same road where religion throttles and controls laws as in the US.

Control by religion needs to be stopped wherever it is found.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. This isn't "not to invest in new opportunities"; it's not to have a special screening at its offices

and why they wanted to screen it there, after they had already shown it on TV, I'm not sure - the Telegraph puts it as:

The private screening was due to take place at the broadcaster's London headquarters on Thursday before an audience of historians and "opinion formers".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9535854/Channel-4-cancels-Islam-documentary-screening-after-presenter-threatened.html

It seems to be about threats against Tom Holland. The programme is still available online in the UK (I watched it last night) and is scheduled to be shown again on Channel 4at 1:05am (about 4 hours from now).

I can't say the programme showed what he was thinking as 'history'. He said he couldn't find non-Muslim references to Muhammed until decades after the Arabs started conquering other regions like Iraq, Syria or Palestine; however, such references are claimed, within a few years of Muhammed's death, at the same time as those conquests. He should have addressed these in the programme, rather than never mentioning them. He said Mecca was only mentioned once in the Koran; but didn't tell us that Medina is mentioned twice, which puts his hypothesis that Ishmael's shrine (ie the Kaaba, to which the Hajj pilgrimage was made, even before Muhhamed) was somewhere near the Dead Sea into big trouble.

[EvilAL]

4. They should be able to screen

a movie about whatever the hell they want without worrying about insecure Muslims murdering them. This is just insane. Scare people with fear of retaliation in order to get your way.. there's a word for that.