TORONTO – The owners of Bridges TV took their fight for carriage on Rogers Cable to the media late on Wednesday.
An incendiary press release from the English-language Muslim specialty service obviously meant as an unvarnished public attempt to bully the cable company into capitulation, says that by not letting Bridges TV into its channel lineup Rogers is ignoring and discriminating against the Muslim community, is censoring Islam and disrupting dialog between the Muslim community and all Canadians.
By not adding American-owned Bridges TV, Rogers may even be at fault for the fact Muslims in Canada "continue to bear acts borne out of misunderstanding, hatred and ignorance," says the press release.
The missive arrived late Wednesday so we did not get a comment from a Rogers representative. The "highlights" of the release are below.
"One million Canadian Muslims are waiting as Rogers Cable continues to deny them a voice in mainstream media," it says.
"In the aftermath of 911, ten thousand Canadian and American Muslims contributed $100 each to start their own television network," it continues. The channel is on the eligible satellite list and is carried by a number of American satellite and cable operators, it says.
"Unfortunately, Rogers Cable, Canada’s largest television provider is continuing to deny Canadian Muslims a voice in mainstream media," says the release (which neglects the fact that Shaw Communications is Canada’s largest TV provider with 2.1 million cable customers and 830,000 Star Choice subscribers).
"We are very disappointed in the way Rogers Cable has treated this local effort by Canadian Muslims to build mutual understanding and dialog. We had thought that with Ted Rogers’ history of supporting multiculturalism, Rogers Cable would have been the first to embrace this historic and noble project. Canadian Muslims are now wondering if they are being discriminated against by Rogers due to the war on terrorism," said Imam Sheikh Faisal, co-ordinator of the Canadian Council of Imams.
"For over a year, the Muslim community has been receiving a run-around from Rogers Cable. Rogers Cable does not return telephone calls or emails and meeting requests are ignored. It has become clear in recent months that the discussions are at a stalemate and Rogers Cable is ignoring the Canadian Muslim community and its efforts to build dialog and mutual understanding among all Canadians," says the press release.
"The Canadian Muslim community has worked very hard to build our own television network to give us a voice in mainstream media. We are disappointed that it has been one year since CRTC has approved Bridges TV and yet Rogers Cable is still denying us a voice," said Dr. Mohamed Elmasry, president of the Canadian Islamic Congress in Toronto, Ontario.
(Ed note: The list of eligible, or licensed, channels that do not have carriage on Rogers or anyone else is an extraordinarily long one)
"The recent controversy about remarks on Islam made by Pope Benedict XVI deeply underscores the need for improved Christian-Muslim understanding. The war in Lebanon this summer that killed hundreds of innocent civilians on both sides underscores an urgent need for a Jewish-Muslim dialog. The war on terrorism and the arrest of 17 Canadians in June on terrorism charges underscore an urgent need for dialog between the West and the Muslim World. Without a voice in mainstream media, Canadian Muslims will continue to bear acts borne out of misunderstanding, hatred and ignorance," it continues.
"Unnecessary delays by Rogers Cable in launching the only Muslim owned and operated TV network in English is harming the relationship between Canadian Muslims and Rogers Cable," it concluded.
"These delays are sending us a clear message that Rogers Cable wants to marginalize Canadian Muslims and censor Islam," said Mohammad El-Sadek of Toronto, Ontario, as quoted in the statement.
