Ulema wants Ban on Celebrities Hosting Ramzan Shows
To prevent controversies, religious scholars and Ulema have suggested banning Celebrities and Anchorpersons who are “not well-versed in Islamic teachings” from performing the special Ramzan transmissions throughout the month of Ramzan.
On Tuesday during a meeting with Religious Affairs & Interfaith Harmony Minister Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, expressed deep worry over several immoral shows that had previously aired during the month of Ramzan.
The meeting was attended by Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, Council of Islamic Ideology Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz, Syed Iftikhar Hussain Naqvi, Arif Hussain Wahidi, Tanveer Ahmed Alvi, Ghulam Rasool Nasir, Ibrahim Khalil Al-Fazli, Mufti Zamir Ahmed Sajid, and Sheikh Nayar.
The scholars and Ulema fully supported the minister’s letter to PM Imran Khan on the issue. They insisted private tv channels avoid broadcasting content disguised as recreational programmes that were clearly contradictory to Islamic injunctions. “Religious chaos might be caused in the country as a result of hosts’ inadequate knowledge of Islam.”
Religious leaders urged media companies to provide educational programmes that would foster religious unity and remove inequalities among people from all walks of life. They also complained that several commercials shown on private Television channels violated social, religious norms and culture.
It is worth noting that Minister Qadri wrote a letter to Prime Minister Imran asking that religious scholars conduct Ramazan transmission Television shows in order to avoid controversies. The religious affairs minister also said that in recent years, certain anchors who were not well educated with Islamic teachings had been hosting shows during the month of Ramzan.
“Because of a lacking of Islamic knowledge, they produced several religious debates and social media hype that has had a bad influence on the community.” Qadri insisted on a dress code for show hosts and guests in order to preserve the holiness of the holy month of Ramzan.
“No contentious topic should be presented in the programmes, while all sacred individuals should be respected.” Furthermore, the minister lamented that Television Channels should refrain from broadcasting leisure and entertainment programming, especially during Sehar and Iftar timings.
“Such content should likewise be avoided in religious shows.” Unethical content and commercials should not be aired.”He added that TV shows should be based on content that not only conveyed authentic Islamic knowledge but also promoted religious unity among all parts of society.
He went on to say that TV shows should provide content that not only transmitted real Islamic knowledge but also promoted religious harmony among all parts of society. Qadri insisted Imran Khan order the information ministry and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to issue relevant guidelines for all Television channels.
