Czech TV station fined for Islamophobia
Friday, August 29, 2008 Czech TV Nova was fined 100,000 korunas by the Council for Radio and
Television for broadcasting xenophobic and Islamophobic content.
The station broadcast a report about Syrian Mohamed Fahed, who had killed his Czech common-law wife in Zelesice, near Brno (see here and here
for more on the incident). Fahed had said that where he came from, the
Kurdish areas of Syria, a man was allowed to kill his wife. The
reporter said that in Syria there's Sharia law, which allows a husband
to kill an unfaithful wife.
The Brno Muslim community
complained to the Council, which decided that the report was xenophobic
and Islamophobic, misleading regarding Islamic law. According to the
council Syria is not run by Sharia law, and in any case Sharia law does
not allow a husband to take justice into his own hands.
Nova denies the allegations and will go to court.