Dec 16
Assalamu’alykum,
Channel 4 who loves to make documentaries relating to Muslims have started a new 3 part series called ‘Make Me a Muslim’, where 6 volunteers, including: one gay, a lady who gets paid to show off her body, a alcoholic who loves to watch porn and one Muslim who lives with his Christian girlfriend.
I’ve already posted what I thought of program on muslimways forum: http://muslimways.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,10/topic,1979.0
40 Responses to “Channel 4: Make Me a Muslim”
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December 17th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
on one station we had the Liverpool nativity with the message we should welcome asylum seekers to this country, while on the other we have a program with Muslims trying to push their beliefs on British people. Anyone who comes into this country should be pleased they are in this country and keep their beleifs within their own community
December 17th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
This programme should have been called ‘Make Me Hate a Muslim.’
December 17th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
I’m a muslim, and i thought thsi programme is absolutely rubbish. It doesnt make any sense trying to make a non-muslim live the life of a muslim because muslims choose to do the thing they do because they BELIEVE. If someone doesnt believe in something they wont want to do it and it just all seems complicated. But for a lot of muslims these things are very easy and we love it. I think aim of this programme should have been to get non-practising muslims to start practising, or to teach non-muslim about the BELIEFS.
December 17th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
quote: ‘Muslims trying to push their beliefs on British people’
NO MUSLIM is trying to push their beliefs on anyone in Britain. The non-muslim documentary producers decided to create a documentary in which volunteers live the life of a muslim. Obviously, this means change to one’s life and complying by new rules. Those VOLUNTEERS wanted to take part in the programme by their own will. How many people have you met in the real world pushing non-muslims to follow Islam? However, the whole approach was horrendous, you can’t suddenly start living a new life without understanding WHY certain changes are being brought about and one needs to start with the basics. As an anecdote, you cannot plot y=5x+3 on a graph until you know what all the symbols in y=mx+c stand for. One needs to start with the basics by; bringing volunteers who actually have a genuine interest in Islam and Imams who can communicate clearly and understand the British culture.
December 17th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Some people are so ignorant.
Muslims are not trying to push their beliefs on other people, and those who think they are, are simply narrow minded. Why be so ethnocentric, when we’re not even abiding your own laws?
December 17th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
This is a disgraceful attempt, by Channel 4 and the few so called ‘muslims’ involved, to stir-up emotions within the massive muslim population of this once great nation and entice them into thinking that british people are unlawful, slobbish, unsophisticated louts who need salvation in the form of organised religion. How dare somebody who has a distinct lack of intelectual independance and an obvious inability to admit to scientific fact try to tell me and many others that their way is the way forward. If I had the stupidity to believe in the existance of any deity, creator, or supreme being in any form I would pray to him to strike down these idiots and send them straight to hell. I am outraged and incensed by this production and can only agree with Enoch Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech. You lot can stick this country, I have had enough and am off to greener pastures with greater respect for the conservation of society.
December 17th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
The programme was an absolute disgrace!! why cant they have literate ENGLISH SPEAKING, relatable muslims for the non-muslims to speak with!! Once again the media choose illiterate, intimidating, self-righteous muslims to represent and WE ARE NOT LIKE THAT!! They didnt ONCE talk about the mercy god, the love of god..but instead scared and insulted the poor lot on extreme rules and the ” Do nots” that were completely taken out of context!! Im so so heartbroken that once again muslims are made to look like complete idiots and this was such a bad representation of islam. They should have concentrated on the theme of islam and what faith means- not imposed their harsh rules and activities on them. Im sure the prophet pbuh would have been disappointed at what he saw.
December 17th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
I am soooo angry with aajmal masood for picking such illiterate people to represent us. Yeah, this programme has done NOTHING to help us muslims or t help non-muslims understand islam- except the opposite. Forget the do’s and don’t!! Teach them what islam means and leave the rules for later. The prophet in his day, pbuh, would talk about gods mercy..not his wrath. He did everything in stages but kept emphasising the lovegod has for us. these people did NOTHING to show that side of islam, what a disappointment
December 17th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Oh woow, subhan’Allah soo many comments! Thanks guys, love the points you guys made, almost surprised because I thought there might be some anti-Muslim comments, but looks like so far a lot of people being very reasonable and logical.
When I was watching the second part today I thought this program must be a joke to a lot of Non-Muslims. Also did anyone else feel very intimidated by the lack of knowledge the Muslim lady had? and How weird and intimidating that short black* imam was.
* Sorry not meant to be racist but it’s the only way to specifically describe him “imam”.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
this program is so wrong. im an english lad. but ive got plenty muslim mates they dont even pray or fast and there muslim. there out with us partying with us on friday nights drinking alcohol going to lap dancing bars and casino with us and go drunk to home i knw its wrong but this is life especially if there living in the western world. im going out with a muslim girl she teach me stuff but the way this program going on u cant eat pork or bacon or drink well my gf does she been bought up in strict muslim family. im sorry but now a days u see muslim people they dont wear the scarff its low tops and jeans etc. well u cant judge a person because of their religion and the colour of skin im sorry were all humans and this is coming from a english boy.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
What are the chances of Channel 4 having a follow up seris on the same lines and format called
“make me a Christian”
December 17th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
yeah how come we cant have a series make me a christian be fair. i think its wrong on how we start on other religion im athiest myself and still think its harsh the comment that have been said about religion. ive watched this program and i dont agree you cant walk in someone house and say well you cant eat that or drink that you cant wear that. its wrong. the bit that upset me in the program was that the young muslim man ash whos family think that his partner aint good for their house at the end of the day you cant help who you fall in love with. what i think she should stay the same why does she have to change just to make someone else like her she is who she is.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
I STRONGLY AGREE YOU CANT HELP WHO YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH IF THAT WAS TRUE THE WORLD WOULD BE SUCH A BORING PLACE GOOD ON YOU.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
I agree with the comment made about this program being a farce. The show has recruited people who do not wish to even give this a fair go. I am not a Muslim, in fact I am a complete atheist and yet I feel embarrassed that they have essentially placed a group of bigots in the show. They seem to have no respect for the Islamic culture, why are they even there. if at the end of the day were not respecting theire islamic culture how they going to respect ours this is were we people go wrong one person fucks up and they blame all of them.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
Make me a muslim? Why?
Serious question.
Is there a spiritual appeal? Is there a sense of belonging within the community? Does one get closer to the creator?
Because the muslims I know have told me directly that they stay because of the intense pressure from friends and relatives. It has nothing to do with spiritual peace or closeness to God.
It is fear of retribution if you do not get on board.
That sounds more like a cult to me.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
^ Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world.
May be it’s time you research into why, perhaps read a translation of the Qur’an. Then you can say I don’t want to become Muslim because it doesn’t appeal to me.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:38 pm
I saw the program today and was a bit confused, can someone tell me what religion they where talking about? I am a practicing Muslim, a trained Imam and PhD student in Islamic studies - therefore know a bit more about Islam than the average person - and I can assure you that the program had nothing to do with the Islam (or at least as we know it). I am appalled by channel 4.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
I can not comprehend the notion of this series. It preaches the repression of women. I strongly disagree with forcing one’s belief on another.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
They can quit whenever they want. They are doing it for the fame and the money, otherwise why would they VOLUNTEER?
December 17th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
quote: ‘Make me a muslim? Why?’ I would suggest reading the sacred texts of all the religions you have an interest in and comparing them to see which one is the most logical and a judgement onto which one you think is the most truthful. Some good translations are found online or you could pop into your local library. Yes there is a spiritual appeal; many believers if not all feel the presence of God and a realisation to the meaning of life. I don’t think feeling as part of a community is the reason to become a believer but rather the result of becoming a believer. There are always people who follow a religion to various degrees therefore sometimes even looking at the majority of ‘believers’ of a faith, can give you a very wrong picture of the religion itself. You could also watch short clips by Dr Zakir Naik (a medical and spiritual Indian doctor) on Youtube. You will find in general that muslims are genuinely lovely people of whom the believers, have true tranquility in their (big) hearts.
December 18th, 2007 at 8:34 am
I think someone mentioned this; but I don’t think it was made clear enough that these peoples were VOLUNTEERS! This is a TV programme, and although dealing with a serious and sensitive issue - this would never happen in the REAL WORLD!!!
As a recent convert to Islam, coming from a white christian background, and having spent my youth doing the normal things such as binge drinking, promiscuity etc.I can sympathise with some people’s fears about preceived “restrictions” that Islam is seen to impose. But people seem to have this irrational fear of being told by a Muslim that things are bad for us! If a doctor told you to give up alcohol because it was not good for you, would anybody react as badly as if an Imam told you to the same?
If your wife/girlfriend asked you to give up porn/lapdancing clubs/clubbing because it was bad for your relationships, would the reaction be the same if the Imam advised you the same?
I just think that people have become so obssessed with the media portrayal of the “Bad Muslim extremists” that they are no longer open to hearing about a different religion, which is a peaceful, respectful and caring religion that enhances the lifes of all its followers.
December 18th, 2007 at 8:52 am
I agree with the comment about having a program called Make me a Christian. People in the UK find it difficult to separate Religion from Politics from Class and Creed and so I think a lot of the anger in this program from the volunteers is the fact that they don’t know how to embrace religion as a whole and unfortunately their anger is being directed at islam. This program is about confrontation and to be honest if they had sat down with the volunteers for an hour a day and read the Koran I think they would have a very different opinion. and what is Ash doing with Karla? she has some serious issues she needs to sort out
December 18th, 2007 at 10:47 am
ok time for my piece :):
after watching the episode i knew it was going to be a “have a dig” type of programme about Islam as soon as the moaning started.
In no way shape or form does Islam impose things upon people. it is upto the people themselves to seek a way of life that can fit these guidances into their lives etc. note, the word guidance…not laws!!!
as soon as the non-muslim people started moaning….i thought to myself “why are you on the programme then?”
if i wanted to go on a german course i wouldnt go “why should i learn german, whats german got to do with me?”
things such as hiding food when fasting is somewhat childish and although i agree that the muslim sister on the programme came out ina rather aggressive manner….someone willing to learn about a new religion would go out of thieir way or shall i say out of their comfort zone in doing so.
one clip that summed it up was after the fast where one of the non-muslims was gasping for food….he completely lost the basic idea of why he was fasting!!!
i agree that the organisers imposed things the wrong way.
however they failed to reflect on the basics first and also WHY they are doing certain things and how they relate to every day life.
how the woman can complain that a hijab is worse than wearing nothing is beyond me….if she goes out wearing nothing she is bound to be pestered….if she wears a hijab a man would think twice!
to the person who says that he knows muslims who drink, gamble eat pork etc….don’t judge the majority by the minority….
what if i said i have a christian friend who is a catholic and he sleeps around etc….does that make all catholics bad?
December 18th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
This program is more of provoking a reaction from the “contestants” which wasn’t hard judging from their background, if they want to alienate people they did a good job. It was also bad editing, how is devoting a quarter of the second episode on wearing the Hijab teaching people about the fundamentals of Islam?
This was a really good opportunity to help study Islam objectively, I’m sure that the English public had many burning questions to ask, but not one person asked any though, it was more of this is what you should do. Questions like evolution, the universe to more current issues like Jihad, activism in Islam, to women rights were not discussed.
One of the biggest flaws of this program is that the preachers lost sight of the one of the most important things that God gave us and that is free will, in that I choose to become a Muslim. If there’s one thing that we have learnt from History is that forcing a faith or an ideology on anyone has drastic consequences.
To summaries they totally lost the plot
December 18th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
yeah that is true though i know alot of muslim people that go out clubbing drinking alcohol this is the 21 centuary mate wake up. im not saying all muslim are doing it its people like urself that make people think bad about the religion……….
you say this in ur comment what if i said i have a christian friend who is a catholic and he sleeps around etc….does that make all catholics bad? no matter what religion or back ground ur from u have to face up to it people do stuff like this. one day when ur in town have a good look around the girls and boys whether there muslim or not look at their behaviours u will see muslim girls dressed in low cut clothes revealing their body and flesh in the program the guy in the program goes ur only allowed to show that to ur hubby im not fighting with you im just telling you my point the worlds changed mate. my muslim guy and girl mates they drink smoke go partying etc and when there at home with the family they say its pressure by family and friends to make them stay in the religion. other wise if it was up to them they be doing what they want when they want.
December 18th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
I find it interesting how they have not really mentioned the massive issue of Islam being homophobic. One of the volunteers is gay and the initial mention of this - they tried to find a woman in the street to be his wife. FFS. After that - nothing has been said about this.
December 18th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
I have to say that the programme made good viewing…that’s the bottom line for channel 4. It was an excellent view. None of the contestants could deny that they benefitted somehow from the ‘experiment’. I thought ajmals explanations were very good, the others were lacking in ‘people skills’-but their hearts were in the right place. I did find it strange that some of the ‘volunteers’ were so negative in their approach-the choice of contestants was chosen for that reason-to stimulate debate/friction-i think if non-muslims viewed it objectively(without bias) it was constructive in explaining islams views on society. I felt the muslims on the programme were representative of muslims in general, you had reverts & ‘born’ muslims there.
December 18th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
As kerrys sister from the programme [glamour model] im annoyed that some of you seem to think she is a social idiot who went into this with her eyes closed and not wanting to fully take part.But when you get told you deserve to be raped because of the job you do how involved would you want to be?Bare in mind all you saw was an edited version the people running the experiment were rude to the point her fiance refused to take part in it.My sister may be a glamour model an like getting drunk and having a giggle but she also a mother and is having her 3rd child by c section this coming friday.She is a wonderful person and was edited to look like a stupid bimbo and as for one comment regarding the ”contestants” upbringing as her sister i can verify we were brought up not dragged up.
December 19th, 2007 at 12:03 am
There will come a time (in this so called tolerant society) when everybody will be forced to stop sitting on fence. Then we will see what people realy think about Islam (and all religion for that matter, its just that Islam is the most violent in our times). All that I read above is simply bollocks written by, mostly illiterate, indoctrinated fools. Humanity will save the existence of mankind (not necessarilly on this planet either). Hopefully when this time comes, we will collectively have rid our minds of this terrible affliction called religion. The only true cause of suffering over the last 2000-3000 years has been mankinds obsessions with unfathomable design. Surely the great free thinkers of the world and even greater scientists have shown the world that there is no design, simlply evolution. This rock that we live on is 4.5 Billion years old (FACT) and exists in its current nutrient rich, life enabling state by propability and chance (FACT). There is no ultimate creator (FACT) You fucks should get a grip and wonder what the fuck your going to do when you get old and realise you have pissed your life against the wall in the hope of something better. FUCK THAT!!!! I have a life and consider the notion of not living that life to the full, in fear of not being let into some notional, extremely improbable, wonderland (heaven, for all you illiterates), extremly unitellectual and annoying.
December 19th, 2007 at 12:30 am
What I can’t believe is so many people here are judging Islamic belief without knowing the basic fundamentals. Read the Qur’an translation book, it’s available free everywhere.
Islam if the fastest growing religion, so it can’t be that bad as Channel 4 and The Sun makes it out to be.
December 19th, 2007 at 12:42 am
Hello to all. I have just finished watching the “Make Me a Muslim” on 4od. I come from a town in the West of Ireland which has a very large Muslim population and a mosque. After watching the 3 episodes I am ashamed that I have not taken the time to get to know the Muslim people in my town. Ok, I might not agree with all of Islams teachings but I am sure that Muslims find my Catholic faith equally strange. At the end of the day I have my faith and they have theirs and if you ask me there seem to be quite a lot of similarities between the faiths. Anyway, I’m slighty gone of track but I just wanted to say as a result of the programme I will do my upmost to mix and intergrate more with my Muslim neighbours. Keep up the good work C4. Regards.
December 20th, 2007 at 11:56 am
It’s a shame that some people have to resort to giving aggressive, unmannerful and derogatory remarks (in reference to a specific comment above). It is important that you respect the beliefs of others and not drop to a very shallow level if you want any form of respect. I think you are the one who is illiterate jumping to false conclusions without adequate knowledge to base your opinions upon.
December 23rd, 2007 at 12:29 pm
To the person who claims that one of the imams said that the model deserves to be raped if she wears revealing clothes. THat is not what he said !!! He said that it would encourages rapers and arouse their desire. It is the same as saying that if you walk into a dangerous neighborhood wearing flashy expensive clothes don’t be surprised if you get mugged .
December 31st, 2007 at 10:59 pm
how dare yo assume all indigenous english are christians many of us in the deep north are pagan i worship thor and you will feel the full force of our hammer both christian and muslim for scoffing at us !
January 6th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Hi I watched this program and I thought this was just another publicity stunt for Islam. The people they were using included a glamour model. Now I am not one to be stereotypical but to preach about spirituality to this genre of people and then for them to say they have been uplifted spiritually by Islam is just a load of rubbish. If they had visited a Church, a Mandir, a Gurudwara or a Synagogue the same result would have ensued. The amusing thing is that there is so much emphasis put on getting the British people to integrate with muslims. However there is no movement or tolerance towards British culture. Why is there not a programme where Muslims are expected to learn about other faiths? The answer is because there is no tolerance in their religion. Everyone fears Islam and that is not the so-called Islamophobia but that it is because there beliefs are so extremist. Instead of trying to educate believers of other faiths and getting them to convert (which is always their ultimate goal) why do they not concentrate on the British muslims that are in clubs getting drunk, taking drugs, failing at school, sleeping with many different women and men. Also why is it that on the programme basic humanity was coined under the term of Islam when in many Islamic countries such as Iraq, Iran, Sudan , Algeria basic humanity and religious tolerance is not present. The Imam could not even give a sufficient explanation of why one should not eat pork; his explanation saying that it is condemned in the Koran, it is a dirty animal. It is almost a case of Simon says. When halal meat is prepared the animal is bled to death. Is that humane? Is that peaceful? Also if Islam is so against idol worship why is it their most important aim in life is to do Hajj and walk around a huge cube (Kabbah). Also if you actually think about all the conflicts that are occurring in the world (barring N. Ireland) they all involve the religion of “Peace”- how ironic. Examples- unrest in France, UK, Spain, Israel-Palestine, all of the Middle East, Africa, Chechnya and Russia, India, Indonesia and Malaysia. There is no depth in the faith and many of the followers are narrow minded and I feel that instead of having the British public opening up to them maybe they should embrace us. Why is it no other faiths are causing a racket? Islam has spread by the sword through many nations and now I feel it is spreading in Britain not physically but via the media and political correctness. If the religion is peaceful why is it that when a cartoon is produced they feel it necessary to burn and kill people? If you were truly a religion of peace the people would conduct themselves in a more civilised manner. Christianity and Hinduism, Judaism and many other faiths are constantly being ridiculed but do the people feel the need to attack people? No because they realise that spirituality and acts of violence do not go together. A handful of muslims are tolerant and this fact should never be forgotten. It is not the majority that are tolerant it is the minority in their faith.
Also if Islam is a religion of peace then why such the strong anti-semitic views. The muslim council of Britain tried to ban Holocaust day saying that it never occurred. If people do not make a stand then our freedom will be taken.
January 14th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
there was two people on the show who were very arrogant.nobody forced them to go on the show and the way they were behaving was disgusting, two main people were the taxi driver and the female with the muslim boyfriend (i can see why his parents would not accept her in the family)
January 15th, 2008 at 1:21 am
Salaam to you all,
I just wanted to thank you all for the comments that you made about the programme. It has been interesting reading some of the comments on the internet about both the participants and the mentors, of which i was one of them - the apparently Islamically uneducated female Mentor.
I’m interested to know the following:
a) how does one become intimidated by anothers lack of knowledge? especially as we, as Muslims, know that Allah is the only all Knowing… we are all learning and I never professed to be all knowing - i am learning just as all Muslims should be
b) as Muslims we are all supposed to make excuses for anothers actions. How many of you had full knowledge of what happened during the pre show consultations, the full 3 weeks of filming, and the reasons we were all chosen? i think none, therefore none of you have a sound basis to be so critical, remember we have to follow the example of the Prophet.
c) how many of you are professional mentors? if any of you know anything about mentoring, then you will know that you have to create access for the mentee to take steps to the final destination. I am completely happy with the way I interacted with the mentees and that my intention was pure, as only Allah and I know.
d) isn’t gossip and chastising others frowned upon in Islam?
e) since when do any of you know me and my level of education??
May Allah forgive you and I for all the mistakes that we have made and bring peace, understanding and forgiveness to our hearts and minds.
Salaam and the very best of health and Imaan to you all
Dawn
February 14th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Assalamu alaykum Dawn
Thank you for your comment. I do agree with most of the points you have made, as they are general.
I think you have to also remember that being part of such a programme you will most likely have a lot of critism, so don’t let other peoples words effect you, as you said, you and Allah know.
May Allah reward you for your effeorts.
InshaAllah if you ever do mentoring on such a scale again, try to be more patient.
There were a lot of things in the programme that i didnt like, not any particular mentor, but just overall. However, I guess there was some good in it also.
March 23rd, 2008 at 12:28 pm
i think this was a great programe
when is the next show aired?
please continue the good work.
May 1st, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Salaam,
I gotta admit this program was really good i think the imams did a good job however in some parts of the program they didnt quite explain to the non - muslims to why its neccessary not to do certain things in Islam!!!!
To be honest it think most of the volunteers might eventually convert to islam because most of them were looking for spiritual ways to live their lives!!