IslamophobiaTV
IslamophobiaTV
As-salamu Alaykum,
Bismillah. Alhamdulillah wasalatu wa sallam 'ala Rasulillah
I am writing you today to introduce you to an ambitious project and I would like to mobilize the entire Muslim ummah, insha'Allah, to make this a success. We need your help and this letter's purpose is to marshal the support, any kind of support of the Muslims(and non-Muslims), to get this project off the ground. The idea is to create an Islamic TV station/channel here in the West whose primary mission is to combat Islamophobia through the various means and angles at our disposal.
If you read some of the things I have written on my blogs you will see that I personally believe that Islamophobia can be countered on three fronts:1. Presenting authentic Islamic information 2. Presenting a human face to Islam countering the attempts to demonize and dehumanize all Muslims. After all I say that the first step in curing the disease of Islamophobia is to get to know a Muslim personally.3. Exposing the unabashed evil and evil strategies and tactics of those who whom we rightly label as Islamophobes. This endeavor will m Islamophobia TV the first Islamic station of its kind here in the West, Insha'Allah.
The basic idea is to have a running documentary of Islamophobia wherever it is found. We will be primarily focusing on the West, which includes the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. It also includes Latin America(the Caribbean, Central America and South America). There is also Islamophobia in places like Israel, which we all know, but there is Islamophobia in places like Eritrea, Russia, and Nigeria, which we may not all be familiar with. I would like to address and document it all Insha'Allah!
The project right now is in Phase One so please check it out as the site is up and running. we also have a Youtube page
http://islamophobiatv.wordpress.com, which is moving to:
http://islamophobiatv.org
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Islamophobia-TV/178990555489628?ref=ts
http://www.youtube.com/user/IslamophobiaTV
Twitter: @IslamophobiaTV
We are also on vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/ and, dailymotion[both just added:search IslamophobiaTV]
http://www.dailymotion.com/IslamophobiaTV
Let me now describe the phases to you:
Phase One
In phase one I hope to find as many videos related to Islamophobia on the web as possible, This could range from Islamophobic events or rallies, or even speeches.
A few Islamophobes have spoken at my university. It could also include video recorded debates with Islamophobes. This gave me the idea to post speeches from anti-Islamophobes and various Islamic scholars and intellectuals that refute the nonsense of the Islamophbes .
Part two of Phase One will include videos that we upload ourselves. In this part I would like to focus on recorded interfaith events, Muslim events such as Qur'an graduations and recitations, Ramadan events, short documentaries as well as interviews with ordinary Muslims, Imams, and Islamic scholars The sky is the limit!
So I am hoping people will scour the net like I have for these videos and send them to me as well as make your own videos and send them to me. Also if anyone would like to be part of the "staff" please email me as soon as possible and I will add you as a user on the site, that way you can go to the dashboard yourself and add videos and upload your own and write blurbs for each video. We moderate all comments on the website, so there will have to be some type of "shura" system in place so that someone does not go off on their own and censor comments simply because they don't like the comment. There is a responsibility that will come with gaining access control to the site as one of the moderators, users and admins(henceforth called the "staff"). However one thing I will not be flexible on is this: absolutely no links to any anti-Islamic websites are allowed, even if they are posted just to refute them. You can post the content and where it is coming from without providing a link.
So right now I am looking for investors, writers, producers, journalists, interviewers, videographers, camera men/women, hosts, prominent Muslims(scholars, intellectuals), a street team, marketers, tech people, artists, website developers, and just anybody who can dedicate time to promote the project as well as find relevant videos.
To Recap:
1. To find as many videos where Islamophobes give talks, speeches, are present at rallies, protests, and are involved in debates. Then we would find writers to write informative articles about the videos and the Islamophobes in question, and post them to the site.
2. Find as many videos as possible of anti-Loons, Muslim and Non-Muslim, where they give talks, speeches, are present at rallies, protests, and are involved in debates with the 'phobes and write about it. We would post these videos to the site.
3. Find as many journalists, and even ordinary non-journalists, as possible, to attend these types of events, record them so we could upload the videos and then get writers to write about it.
So this way we could make a running, continuous video documentary of Islamophobia in the U.S. and around the world.
Phase Two
I would like to go from a blog format and YouTube/Facebook social media format to a webmagazine/internet newsmagazine type format page with the goal of becoming a satellite streaming channel like HudaTV. In this phase we will not abandon the social media aspect, but the hope is to convert the blog into a website that will become the Official website of IslamophobiaTV. If you are familiar with Al-Jazeera, they have an official website and TV station. That is the eventual goal of converting the blog into a regular website..
In this phase we will continue as before but we will need to add many more elements to create a variety to capture a wider audience of Muslims and non-Muslims. This is where investors and donations will play a big part. Get your masjids involved! "My masjid" already has a radio show on AM radio and I hope to include it in the project and expand it in some way. Nothing like this exists in the West so we will be the trendsetters insha'Allah.
Here are my ideas for the type of programming for this project. If you have any more ideas, suggestions, comments, or even criticisms, please email me. I know that this is an ambitious project, but if we can get a large chunk of the Muslim community to help, Insha'Allah, it will be a success!
Religious Programs- We can have scholars answer questions live or sent in, geared toward clearing up common misconceptions about Islam. This could have to do with fatawas in an "Ask the Mufti" style or just plain answering other questions that dispel myths about Islam in an "Ask The Imam" or "Ask the Scholar" style .
Also, if any of the scholars/imams teach religious classes they could record them and upload them or Islamic University Online or Madinah Institute can transfer their lectures to the site as programming. Religious programming can include Qur'an recitation and the likes.
Debates- As well as posting recorded debates between Muslims and non-Muslims, we could also set up on-site or in-studio debates between prominent Islamophobes and qualified Muslims.
Talk Shows- Talk shows can be of any type, but the many goal is to keep it halal and showcase the ordinary lives of Muslims as they face the challenges of Islamophobia and living as a Muslim in the West.
Keynote Speeches- We can invite various speakers, Muslims and non-Muslims, to speak on a prearranged topic related to Islamophobia and record it.
Research Presentations- we can invite scholars to present their research on topic related to Islamophobia, as a lecture or speech.
Lectures- On any Islamic topic, does not have to be Islamophobia related.
News Shows- News shows are very important to countering the "police-blotter" driven narrative that presents Muslims as either terrorists, submissive, oppressed women, or tries to present ghuluw(extremism) as normative Islam. We also want to counter the other media tendency of presenting "Liberal/Progressive/ Modernist" Muslims as mainstream Islam or "Moderate Muslims. I have no intention of excluding them since they are also Muslims and are victims of Islamophobia, some by virtue of Looking "Arab", "Middle-Eastern", or Muslim. However there is no need to be politically correct and present the Muslims the West feels most comfortable with or who are seen as the most acceptable type of Muslim. We want to show Islam in all its diversity without sacrificing correct 'aqeeda and daw'ah.
Discussion Panels- I think this type of show speaks for itself by name so I will not discuss it there. But i am willing to take any suggestions as I am for any of the proposed programming. I am very focused on finding hosts for this genre of programming, so if you think you qualify or know someone who might, please let me know.
Documentaries and Docudramas- I saw a documentary called "American Ramadan" a few years back. You can Youtube it to get an idea of what I am looking for in a quality, halal film.
Movies- Keep it halal. Again we are not trying to be mainstream, we are the alternate source that counters corporate and government controlled-media that invariably shows Muslims in some sort of negative light, whether it be as extremists or assimilationists.
Sit-Coms- "Little Mosque on the Prairie" is a show that comes to mind for this genre. We can try to get Zarqa Nawaz to allow us to show episodes on the site and channel in the beginning before we get ambitious enough to produce or shop for producers who are creating these type of "Muslim Cosby Shows".
Drama- Same goes for this genre. I have yet run into a drams show exclusively about Islam, though. Anyone know please alert me to it.
Other Video- Situation on the Street- I had an idea where Muslims could go around their respective cities and interview on camera non-Muslims and Muslims to get their opinions about Islam, Muslims, and Islamophobia.
Interfaith Events- find a way to record all of your masjid's or Islamic organizations' interfaith events and upload the video.
Live Book Reviews- We could do a show where people review, deconstruct, critique, and discuss any book on Islam, especially if the book is Islamophobic in content. Robert Spencer's "Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam" comes to mind.
Comedy- There are many ahadith about laughing and smiling too much, as it weakens the qalb and our iman. But the Prophet(saws) used to tell jokes. Halal jokes. And with the situations that Muslims are facing in the West, being able to laugh is good medicine. And Muslims are some of the funniest people I know, even when it's dark, cynical, sarcastic humor. I think a halal Muslim comedy show would be great
Phase Three
This is the phase where we become a full fledged TV station with a an official website and the goal of establishing offices in cities around the world. Some of us do not like to think that far ahead, but as you can see, I am a planner, so I want this goal to be in the back of everyone's mind as we take on this project and embark on what I think is a worthwhile journey.
Anyone interested in the project or who can direct me to someone who would be useful please email me ASAP. Forward this to anyone you think will be interested.
abuhanifah34@gmail.com
May Allah Guide us to success. Ameen.
Barak Allahu Feek
Waslam
Muhammad Sameel 'Abd al-Haqq
Bismillah. Alhamdulillah wasalatu wa sallam 'ala Rasulillah
I am writing you today to introduce you to an ambitious project and I would like to mobilize the entire Muslim ummah, insha'Allah, to make this a success. We need your help and this letter's purpose is to marshal the support, any kind of support of the Muslims(and non-Muslims), to get this project off the ground. The idea is to create an Islamic TV station/channel here in the West whose primary mission is to combat Islamophobia through the various means and angles at our disposal.
If you read some of the things I have written on my blogs you will see that I personally believe that Islamophobia can be countered on three fronts:1. Presenting authentic Islamic information 2. Presenting a human face to Islam countering the attempts to demonize and dehumanize all Muslims. After all I say that the first step in curing the disease of Islamophobia is to get to know a Muslim personally.3. Exposing the unabashed evil and evil strategies and tactics of those who whom we rightly label as Islamophobes. This endeavor will m Islamophobia TV the first Islamic station of its kind here in the West, Insha'Allah.
The basic idea is to have a running documentary of Islamophobia wherever it is found. We will be primarily focusing on the West, which includes the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. It also includes Latin America(the Caribbean, Central America and South America). There is also Islamophobia in places like Israel, which we all know, but there is Islamophobia in places like Eritrea, Russia, and Nigeria, which we may not all be familiar with. I would like to address and document it all Insha'Allah!
The project right now is in Phase One so please check it out as the site is up and running. we also have a Youtube page
http://islamophobiatv.wordpress.com, which is moving to:
http://islamophobiatv.org
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Islamophobia-TV/178990555489628?ref=ts
http://www.youtube.com/user/IslamophobiaTV
Twitter: @IslamophobiaTV
We are also on vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/ and, dailymotion[both just added:search IslamophobiaTV]
http://www.dailymotion.com/IslamophobiaTV
Let me now describe the phases to you:
Phase One
In phase one I hope to find as many videos related to Islamophobia on the web as possible, This could range from Islamophobic events or rallies, or even speeches.
A few Islamophobes have spoken at my university. It could also include video recorded debates with Islamophobes. This gave me the idea to post speeches from anti-Islamophobes and various Islamic scholars and intellectuals that refute the nonsense of the Islamophbes .
Part two of Phase One will include videos that we upload ourselves. In this part I would like to focus on recorded interfaith events, Muslim events such as Qur'an graduations and recitations, Ramadan events, short documentaries as well as interviews with ordinary Muslims, Imams, and Islamic scholars The sky is the limit!
So I am hoping people will scour the net like I have for these videos and send them to me as well as make your own videos and send them to me. Also if anyone would like to be part of the "staff" please email me as soon as possible and I will add you as a user on the site, that way you can go to the dashboard yourself and add videos and upload your own and write blurbs for each video. We moderate all comments on the website, so there will have to be some type of "shura" system in place so that someone does not go off on their own and censor comments simply because they don't like the comment. There is a responsibility that will come with gaining access control to the site as one of the moderators, users and admins(henceforth called the "staff"). However one thing I will not be flexible on is this: absolutely no links to any anti-Islamic websites are allowed, even if they are posted just to refute them. You can post the content and where it is coming from without providing a link.
So right now I am looking for investors, writers, producers, journalists, interviewers, videographers, camera men/women, hosts, prominent Muslims(scholars, intellectuals), a street team, marketers, tech people, artists, website developers, and just anybody who can dedicate time to promote the project as well as find relevant videos.
To Recap:
1. To find as many videos where Islamophobes give talks, speeches, are present at rallies, protests, and are involved in debates. Then we would find writers to write informative articles about the videos and the Islamophobes in question, and post them to the site.
2. Find as many videos as possible of anti-Loons, Muslim and Non-Muslim, where they give talks, speeches, are present at rallies, protests, and are involved in debates with the 'phobes and write about it. We would post these videos to the site.
3. Find as many journalists, and even ordinary non-journalists, as possible, to attend these types of events, record them so we could upload the videos and then get writers to write about it.
So this way we could make a running, continuous video documentary of Islamophobia in the U.S. and around the world.
Phase Two
I would like to go from a blog format and YouTube/Facebook social media format to a webmagazine/internet newsmagazine type format page with the goal of becoming a satellite streaming channel like HudaTV. In this phase we will not abandon the social media aspect, but the hope is to convert the blog into a website that will become the Official website of IslamophobiaTV. If you are familiar with Al-Jazeera, they have an official website and TV station. That is the eventual goal of converting the blog into a regular website..
In this phase we will continue as before but we will need to add many more elements to create a variety to capture a wider audience of Muslims and non-Muslims. This is where investors and donations will play a big part. Get your masjids involved! "My masjid" already has a radio show on AM radio and I hope to include it in the project and expand it in some way. Nothing like this exists in the West so we will be the trendsetters insha'Allah.
Here are my ideas for the type of programming for this project. If you have any more ideas, suggestions, comments, or even criticisms, please email me. I know that this is an ambitious project, but if we can get a large chunk of the Muslim community to help, Insha'Allah, it will be a success!
Religious Programs- We can have scholars answer questions live or sent in, geared toward clearing up common misconceptions about Islam. This could have to do with fatawas in an "Ask the Mufti" style or just plain answering other questions that dispel myths about Islam in an "Ask The Imam" or "Ask the Scholar" style .
Also, if any of the scholars/imams teach religious classes they could record them and upload them or Islamic University Online or Madinah Institute can transfer their lectures to the site as programming. Religious programming can include Qur'an recitation and the likes.
Debates- As well as posting recorded debates between Muslims and non-Muslims, we could also set up on-site or in-studio debates between prominent Islamophobes and qualified Muslims.
Talk Shows- Talk shows can be of any type, but the many goal is to keep it halal and showcase the ordinary lives of Muslims as they face the challenges of Islamophobia and living as a Muslim in the West.
Keynote Speeches- We can invite various speakers, Muslims and non-Muslims, to speak on a prearranged topic related to Islamophobia and record it.
Research Presentations- we can invite scholars to present their research on topic related to Islamophobia, as a lecture or speech.
Lectures- On any Islamic topic, does not have to be Islamophobia related.
News Shows- News shows are very important to countering the "police-blotter" driven narrative that presents Muslims as either terrorists, submissive, oppressed women, or tries to present ghuluw(extremism) as normative Islam. We also want to counter the other media tendency of presenting "Liberal/Progressive/ Modernist" Muslims as mainstream Islam or "Moderate Muslims. I have no intention of excluding them since they are also Muslims and are victims of Islamophobia, some by virtue of Looking "Arab", "Middle-Eastern", or Muslim. However there is no need to be politically correct and present the Muslims the West feels most comfortable with or who are seen as the most acceptable type of Muslim. We want to show Islam in all its diversity without sacrificing correct 'aqeeda and daw'ah.
Discussion Panels- I think this type of show speaks for itself by name so I will not discuss it there. But i am willing to take any suggestions as I am for any of the proposed programming. I am very focused on finding hosts for this genre of programming, so if you think you qualify or know someone who might, please let me know.
Documentaries and Docudramas- I saw a documentary called "American Ramadan" a few years back. You can Youtube it to get an idea of what I am looking for in a quality, halal film.
Movies- Keep it halal. Again we are not trying to be mainstream, we are the alternate source that counters corporate and government controlled-media that invariably shows Muslims in some sort of negative light, whether it be as extremists or assimilationists.
Sit-Coms- "Little Mosque on the Prairie" is a show that comes to mind for this genre. We can try to get Zarqa Nawaz to allow us to show episodes on the site and channel in the beginning before we get ambitious enough to produce or shop for producers who are creating these type of "Muslim Cosby Shows".
Drama- Same goes for this genre. I have yet run into a drams show exclusively about Islam, though. Anyone know please alert me to it.
Other Video- Situation on the Street- I had an idea where Muslims could go around their respective cities and interview on camera non-Muslims and Muslims to get their opinions about Islam, Muslims, and Islamophobia.
Interfaith Events- find a way to record all of your masjid's or Islamic organizations' interfaith events and upload the video.
Live Book Reviews- We could do a show where people review, deconstruct, critique, and discuss any book on Islam, especially if the book is Islamophobic in content. Robert Spencer's "Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam" comes to mind.
Comedy- There are many ahadith about laughing and smiling too much, as it weakens the qalb and our iman. But the Prophet(saws) used to tell jokes. Halal jokes. And with the situations that Muslims are facing in the West, being able to laugh is good medicine. And Muslims are some of the funniest people I know, even when it's dark, cynical, sarcastic humor. I think a halal Muslim comedy show would be great
Phase Three
This is the phase where we become a full fledged TV station with a an official website and the goal of establishing offices in cities around the world. Some of us do not like to think that far ahead, but as you can see, I am a planner, so I want this goal to be in the back of everyone's mind as we take on this project and embark on what I think is a worthwhile journey.
Anyone interested in the project or who can direct me to someone who would be useful please email me ASAP. Forward this to anyone you think will be interested.
abuhanifah34@gmail.com
May Allah Guide us to success. Ameen.
Barak Allahu Feek
Waslam
Muhammad Sameel 'Abd al-Haqq
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