March 5, 2018

Ofcom has imposed a £2,000 financial penalty on Karimia Ltd, after material broadcast on its service, Radio Dawn, broke Ofcom’s broadcasting rules.

Radio Dawn is a community radio station broadcasting to the Muslim community in Nottingham and the surrounding areas.

Under Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code, licensees must not broadcast material likely to incite crime and disorder. In addition, they must not broadcast hate speech or content that abuses or denigrates individuals, groups, religions or communities, unless there is strong contextual justification.

Ofcom’s investigation found that a piece of devotional music broadcast on Radio Dawn (a “Nasheed”) broke these rules, by glorifying historic battlefield victories against non-Muslim people, and suggesting that similar acts committed now would bring honour to Islam.

Ofcom concluded this was a serious breach of the Broadcasting Code, which warranted the imposition of statutory sanctions. These include a financial penalty and a direction to the broadcaster to air a statement of Ofcom’s findings on a date, and in a form, to be determined by Ofcom.

The fine of £2,000, which takes into account the station’s size and limited resources and the steps it has taken to ensure future compliance with the rules, will be paid by Karimia Ltd to HM Paymaster General. To read Ofcom’s Decision in full, click here.