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Islamic apologists in the West frequently boast of what they claim to be high levels of piety and morality in majority-Muslim countries, as opposed to the galloping decadence of the post-Christian West. In all too many cases, however, that piety and morality is a manifestation of a fear of actions like this one. It is a piety of coercion, not of conviction.
“Protesters storm offices of Iraqi TV channel that broadcast music during Islamic holy day of Ashura,” by Fatma Ben Hamad, France 24 Observers, September 4, 2020 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
On August 31, a group of men set fire to the Baghdad headquarters of Dijlah–a media group of news and entertainment TV channels. The Dijlah music channel had continued its usual programming in the days leading up to the holy day of Ashura, an important day of mourning for Iraq’s Shiite Muslim population. Our Observer, a reporter working for the Dijlah news channel, said that this attack is about more than just religion.
On August 20, Muslims celebrated the Hijrah (Prophet Muhammad’s journey from Mecca to Medina in the year 622 AD), which also marks the start to al-Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar[.]
This holy month is particularly significant for Shiite Muslims. In the year 680, Iman Hussein Ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed and an important figure in Shia Islam, was murdered in Kerballa, Iraq along with members of his family. The day he was martyred is known as Ashura and it marks the start to a somber, 40-day period of mourning for Shia Muslims. Ashura is always on the tenth day of the month of al-Muharram (which fell on August 30 this year). Many people travel to Kerbala to see his tomb during this time.
On August 30, Baghdad’s public prosecutor ordered the arrest of the president of the Dijlah media group because the group’s music channel had continued to broadcast during the ten days of al-Muharram that lead up to Ashura. This time is intended to be a period of mourning for Imam Hussein. Even though there is no law banning media outlets from broadcasting music at this time, most outlets only broadcast poems, prayers and lectures on religion.
The next day, civilians stormed the offices of Dijlah, located in the centre of Baghdad, setting fire to the buildings and smashing equipment. Videos of the protest march to Dijlah’s headquarters and the attack on the buildings circulated widely on social media. They show a giant fire burning in the Dijlah building.
Some of the photos and videos posted online by the assaillants [sic] show them carrying flags marked with Shiite prayers mourning the death of Iman Hussein. Some of the protestors also spraypainted these prayers on the outer walls of the building.
“Our equipment was ransacked under the watch of security forces”
Bashir Al Kubaisi is a journalist and producer at Dijlah. He told the FRANCE 24 Observers team about what happened the day of the attack:
The day before Ashura began, we noticed that there was a violent campaign against Dijlah on social media. Our music channel “Dijlah Tarab” [which translates to “Dijlah music”] promotes the Iraqi musical tradition. Because it only broadcasts music, we continued our musical program as normal during al-Muharram. The campaign against us targeted our entire group, including the news channel where I work even though we had adapted our normal programming for the holy month and created several special programs. This “online army” didn’t differentiate between the two channels and continued to hurl insults at Dijlah Tarab.
At 4:30pm on August 31, a group of civilians forced their way into our offices on Avicenne Street in Baghdad. There were security forces on hand in front of the buildings. There were also governmental vehicles about 40 or 50 metres from there. Even though they were there, they didn’t stop the group from entering by force. It was a clear violation of private property. I don’t think that the Iraqi constitution permits this kind of violence.
Most of our equipment was destroyed, as security forces looked on. Photos and videos taken at the scene document both their presence and their failure to act….
“Protesters storm offices of Iraqi TV channel that broadcast music during Islamic holy day of Ashura,” by Fatma Ben Hamad, France 24 Observers, September 4, 2020 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
On August 31, a group of men set fire to the Baghdad headquarters of Dijlah–a media group of news and entertainment TV channels. The Dijlah music channel had continued its usual programming in the days leading up to the holy day of Ashura, an important day of mourning for Iraq’s Shiite Muslim population. Our Observer, a reporter working for the Dijlah news channel, said that this attack is about more than just religion.
On August 20, Muslims celebrated the Hijrah (Prophet Muhammad’s journey from Mecca to Medina in the year 622 AD), which also marks the start to al-Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar[.]
This holy month is particularly significant for Shiite Muslims. In the year 680, Iman Hussein Ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed and an important figure in Shia Islam, was murdered in Kerballa, Iraq along with members of his family. The day he was martyred is known as Ashura and it marks the start to a somber, 40-day period of mourning for Shia Muslims. Ashura is always on the tenth day of the month of al-Muharram (which fell on August 30 this year). Many people travel to Kerbala to see his tomb during this time.
On August 30, Baghdad’s public prosecutor ordered the arrest of the president of the Dijlah media group because the group’s music channel had continued to broadcast during the ten days of al-Muharram that lead up to Ashura. This time is intended to be a period of mourning for Imam Hussein. Even though there is no law banning media outlets from broadcasting music at this time, most outlets only broadcast poems, prayers and lectures on religion.
The next day, civilians stormed the offices of Dijlah, located in the centre of Baghdad, setting fire to the buildings and smashing equipment. Videos of the protest march to Dijlah’s headquarters and the attack on the buildings circulated widely on social media. They show a giant fire burning in the Dijlah building.
Some of the photos and videos posted online by the assaillants [sic] show them carrying flags marked with Shiite prayers mourning the death of Iman Hussein. Some of the protestors also spraypainted these prayers on the outer walls of the building.
“Our equipment was ransacked under the watch of security forces”
Bashir Al Kubaisi is a journalist and producer at Dijlah. He told the FRANCE 24 Observers team about what happened the day of the attack:
The day before Ashura began, we noticed that there was a violent campaign against Dijlah on social media. Our music channel “Dijlah Tarab” [which translates to “Dijlah music”] promotes the Iraqi musical tradition. Because it only broadcasts music, we continued our musical program as normal during al-Muharram. The campaign against us targeted our entire group, including the news channel where I work even though we had adapted our normal programming for the holy month and created several special programs. This “online army” didn’t differentiate between the two channels and continued to hurl insults at Dijlah Tarab.
At 4:30pm on August 31, a group of civilians forced their way into our offices on Avicenne Street in Baghdad. There were security forces on hand in front of the buildings. There were also governmental vehicles about 40 or 50 metres from there. Even though they were there, they didn’t stop the group from entering by force. It was a clear violation of private property. I don’t think that the Iraqi constitution permits this kind of violence.
Most of our equipment was destroyed, as security forces looked on. Photos and videos taken at the scene document both their presence and their failure to act….
