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My Week as a Muslim documentary sparks racism row My Week as a Muslim documentary sparks racism row
(35 minutes later)
A Channel 4 documentary in which a white woman is given the appearance of a Pakistani Muslim in order to experience public attitudes and Islamophobia has caused “deep offence”, the Muslim Council of Britain has said.A Channel 4 documentary in which a white woman is given the appearance of a Pakistani Muslim in order to experience public attitudes and Islamophobia has caused “deep offence”, the Muslim Council of Britain has said.
For the programme, to be aired next Monday, makeup artists darkened the skin of Katie Freeman and gave her a prosthetic nose. She was dressed in traditional Muslim clothing, including a hijab.For the programme, to be aired next Monday, makeup artists darkened the skin of Katie Freeman and gave her a prosthetic nose. She was dressed in traditional Muslim clothing, including a hijab.
A spokesperson for the MCB said: “The use of brownface and blackface has a long racist history and it is not surprising that it has caused deep offence amongst some communities. Had we been consulted, we would not have advised this approach.A spokesperson for the MCB said: “The use of brownface and blackface has a long racist history and it is not surprising that it has caused deep offence amongst some communities. Had we been consulted, we would not have advised this approach.
“We do, however, laud the apparent goals of the documentary – to better understand the reality of Islamophobia, which has become socially accepted across broader society.”“We do, however, laud the apparent goals of the documentary – to better understand the reality of Islamophobia, which has become socially accepted across broader society.”
In a press release announcing the documentary, Channel 4 said it was “an immersive programme that will explore what it’s like to be a Muslim in Britain today, and challenge some of the assumptions and prejudices that different communities in the UK have about each other”. In a press release announcing the documentary, Channel 4 said it was “an immersive programme that will explore what it’s like to be a Muslim in Britain today and challenge some of the assumptions and prejudices that different communities in the UK have about each other”.
The programme, made by The Garden Productions, used “radical methods … to offer insight into the everyday lives of people from two separate cultures”.The programme, made by The Garden Productions, used “radical methods … to offer insight into the everyday lives of people from two separate cultures”.
Freeman, 44, who lives in a predominantly white area in the north-west of England, is given makeup and prosthetics to be “fully immersed into a Pakistani Muslim family living just a few miles away”. Freeman, 44, a healthcare assistant who lives in a predominantly white area in the north-west of England, is given makeup and prosthetics to be “fully immersed into a Pakistani Muslim family living just a few miles away”.
The documentary was filmed a few days after the terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena, in which 22 people were killed and 250 injured. Home Office figures released this week showed a spike in hate crime in the aftermath of terror attacks in Manchester and London earlier this year. The documentary was filmed a few days after the terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena, in which 22 people were killed and 250 injured. Home Office figures released this week showed a spike in hate crime in the aftermath of terror attacks in Manchester and London this year.
In the film, Freeman experienced hostility from neighbours. Afterwards, she said: “It makes me ashamed to live here. I was raging and fuming inside. But I also felt vulnerable. What harm was I doing?” Freeman initially says of Muslims: “You see them and think they’re going to blow something up.” Driving through a Muslim neighbourhood, she says: “You wouldn’t even think this was England.”
After a trailer for the programme was aired this week, critics took to social media. A woman called Firdos wrote: “You continue to hijack our stories & distort them and US. We are not your Halloween costumes. Stop using us, we are not a cultural commodity.” But, dressed as a Muslim woman, Freeman experiences hostility from neighbours. Afterwards, she says: “It makes me ashamed to live here. I was raging and fuming inside. But I also felt vulnerable. What harm was I doing?”
Her host, Saima Alvi, 49, says Freeman’s experience is “what I face every day. This is me for life.”
After a trailer for the programme was aired this week, there was criticism on social media. A woman called Firdos wrote: “You continue to hijack our stories & distort them and US. We are not your Halloween costumes. Stop using us, we are not a cultural commodity.”
Ayesha tweeted: “I’m fuming. I just heard about the upcoming @Channel4 programme ‘My Week as a Muslim’. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”Ayesha tweeted: “I’m fuming. I just heard about the upcoming @Channel4 programme ‘My Week as a Muslim’. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
Shelina Janmohamed, the author of Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World, told the Guardian: “Increasing understanding of Muslims at a time when divisions and hatred are rising – some of which is violent – is more vital than ever.Shelina Janmohamed, the author of Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World, told the Guardian: “Increasing understanding of Muslims at a time when divisions and hatred are rising – some of which is violent – is more vital than ever.
“It’s a shame if efforts are derailed by basic errors such as ‘brownfacing’ which reinforce rather than challenge such prejudice. I hope the programme lets the experiences of Muslims shine through rather than being a form of television tourism.”“It’s a shame if efforts are derailed by basic errors such as ‘brownfacing’ which reinforce rather than challenge such prejudice. I hope the programme lets the experiences of Muslims shine through rather than being a form of television tourism.”
The programme was “offensive” and “deeply disturbing”, said Fiyaz Mughal, the founder of Tell MAMA, an organisation that monitors anti-Muslim abuse and attacks. Fiyaz Mughal, the founder of Tell Mama, an organisation which monitors anti-Muslim abuse and attacks, said the programme was “absolutely shocking” and a “complete catastrophe”.
“They could have simply taken a secret camera and given it to a group of Muslim women and they would have captured a whole range of different things like that,” he told the Huffington Post. “Just think for one second if that was done against the Jewish community. There would be legitimate accusations of antisemitism, which would be correct and clear. So why is this okay for the Muslim community, in the desire to reach what I think is a laudable objective?
“Or they could take a woman like her and get her to spend a week with a Muslim family and see whether her opinion changed … you don’t need to change your looks.” “They could have simply taken a secret camera and got Muslim women to record things that happen to them every day. But they tried to maximise their audience by putting a twist on it, a twist that has badly backfired,” he told the Guardian.
Channel 4 had “something to answer for”, he added. “If [the programme proposal] hit my table, or the table of many other people from minority communities, I could tell you they would find it offensive to put someone in a prosthetic face, widen their nose and make them look a certain way.” Fozia Khan, the documentary’s executive producer, said: “The programme allowed Katie to meaningfully walk in the shoes of someone from a different background and to experience what it is like to be part of the British Pakistani Muslim community rather than observe it as an outsider.”
In a statement, Fozia Khan, the documentary’s executive producer, said: “The programme allowed Katie to meaningfully walk in the shoes of someone from a different background and to experience what it is like to be part of the British Pakistani Muslim community rather than observe it as an outsider.”