“Have you not considered how God presents an example, [making] a good word like a good tree, whose root is firmly fixed and its branches [high] in the sky? It produces its fruit all the time, by permission of its Lord. And God presents examples for the people that perhaps they will be reminded. And the example of a bad word is like a bad tree, uprooted from the surface of the earth, not having any stability. God keeps firm those who believe, with the firm word, in worldly life and in the Hereafter. And God sends astray the wrongdoers. And God does what He wills.” (The Qur’an 14: 24 – 27)

One would love to believe that journalism is in the business of disseminating the truth, articulating facts and presenting a balanced opinion. Unfortunately, many journalists have deviated from these lofty aims and have fallen prey to using distortions and fabrications to boost the sales of their newspapers. On 13 May 2013, The Times published a front page article entitled “Extremists Preaching to Students in Britain”. The article is based on a report written by the discredited, Islamophobic and neo-conservative group Student Rights. The report has been heavily criticised by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. For instance, Pete Mercer, vice-president welfare officer for the National Union of Students dubbed the report a “witch-hunt”. Hines also takes the testimony of Chris Roche who was one of the troublemakers who was asked to leave the auditorium at the “Islam or Atheism: Which Makes More Sense?” debate that took place at UCL on Saturday 9th March 2013 because he was being disruptive and disrespectful to women who asked to be seated separately. In his 2008 documentary, ‘Muslims Under Siege’, Peter Oborne, the  Daily Telegraph's chief political commentator, investigated how press coverage of terrorism had affected the portrayal of Islam and Muslims and fostered intolerance in Britain. At the time he said, “You are, in the media, able to tell lies about Muslims – to misrepresent them, fabricate stories about them in many ways that shame Britain."

The article misrepresents the views of many popular mainstream lecturers and speakers on Islam. It is unfortunate that Hines refused to be fair, balanced and just. Hines’s lazy journalism overlooked the fact that most of the assertions he made against iERA have been addressed via their Press Pack and those against Hamza Tzortzis, specifically, have been addressed and clarified on Tzortzis’s website. Neither iERA or Tzortzis reject freedom of speech absolutely and we facilitate gender separation (we are obliged to do this in accordance with equalities legislation) at our events in order to make them as inclusive as possible. Hines also took most of the quotes of the other speakers mentioned out of context as they were not talking about life in the West but in the context of Islamic law.

Concerning “favouring a brutal system of Islamic law”, Muslims completely reject the accusation that Islamic law is brutal. The few penal laws in the Shariah serve as a deterrent to ward off the occurrence of crime in society. To contextualise this further, Islamic law requires higher burdens of proof for conviction compared to the liberal tradition of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’. For example, there are many preconditions for the punishment for theft to be applied.[1] Professor of Law at Harvard University Noah Feldman states, “Today, when we invoke the harsh punishments prescribed by Shariah for a handful of offences, we rarely acknowledge the high standards of proof necessary for their implementation.”[2] In this regard the prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) said, “…if a person has a way [e.g., alibi, an excuse] let them go for it is better for a judge to make a mistake in dismissing charges than in applying the punishment on an innocent.”[3] Islamic law considers certainty as one of the criteria for passing criminal judgements.

The article claims to have attempted to contact the speakers. Mr. Tzortzis was not contacted before publishing. Other agencies have also reported The Times‘s distortions and fabrications, these include The Sun, The Telegraph, The BBC and The Independent. Thus in light of the above, iERA would still like to give The Times and Nico Hines the opportunity to clarify these issues and create a space for open, frank and nuanced discussion. To accept this invitation they can contact iERA at media@iera.org.uk. This invitation is open to all media agencies.

“And not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel evil by that deed which is better; and thereupon the one whom between you and him is enmity will become as though he was a devoted friend.” (The Qur’an 41:34)

We hope that Nico Hines retracts his article. If he does not, then we encourage people to complain to The Times and the Press Complaints Commission about this (when we issue an upcoming action alert) as this type of journalism seems to be politically instigated which is particularly outrageous in the light of the Leveson Inquiry which criticised the collusion of politicians with the Press.

Footnotes:

[1] ‘Abd ar-Rahman I. Doi revised and expanded by ‘Abdassamad Clarke. Shari’ah: Islamic Law. Ta-Ha. 2008. p 2388-390.
[2] Ibid
[3] Reported by Al Tirmidhi in his Sunan

• iERA stands for the Islamic Education and Research Academy

• iERA is a global dawah organisation committed to presenting Islam to wider society. www.iera.org.uk

• To contact our media team please email media@iera.org.uk or call 07947511605

• iERA is a registered charity in England and Wales: 1134566