~ UK TV LISTINGS ~

[HOUDA-K]

~ THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO ~




The film "The Road to Guantanamo" will be shown on Thursday evening on Channel 4 at 9pm. I think a must see for every Muslim in the UK.

The article below is from the Guardian and was written by the lawyer representing the British Guantanamo detainees.




Out of sight

Can a film right the wrongs committed in Guantánamo? Clive Stafford Smith, who has represented many of its prisoners in court, reports:

Clive Stafford Smith
Tuesday February 14, 2006
Guardian

Only a fool wants never to learn from his mistakes. Government should always have a process for this. When a train crashes, or a ferry capsizes, Britain traditionally holds a public inquiry to learn what went wrong.

In America, a congressional committee sometimes plays this role, although most cases fall into the cauldron of civil litigation. While I often feel that the courtroom is pointlessly adversarial, it has been said that cross-examination "is the greatest engine for exposing truth known to human kind". Often, though, there will be no inquiry, and no lawsuit; there are some mistakes that our leaders would rather not expose to public criticism or debate. The iconic catastrophe of Guantánamo Bay falls into this category.

Consider the undisputed facts: 38 Guantánamo prisoners were found innocent, even by biased military tribunals, after being held for three years. At least eight of these conceded innocents are still there. More than 250 prisoners have been released, apparently because they were not a danger to the US after all.

For the most part, each has vanished back into the faraway country whence he came. Nobody has asked why President Bush branded them the "worst of the worst" among the world's terrorists, although we now know that no senior al-Qaida officer in US custody was in Guantánamo - they have been held in secret prisons around the world (some in Europe).

Five hundred prisoners remain in chains in Guantánamo, many with compelling claims of innocence, yet on December 20 2005, the US Congress passed a law barring their access to any US court.



When we ignore the fact that the Titanic is steaming towards the iceberg, the ship is destined to sink. Thankfully, the media - and in this case the medium of film - occasionally stand in for the public conscience. Instead of an inquiry or a lawsuit, Guantánamo will now go before the jury at the Berlin film festival in Michael Winterbottom's latest work, The Road to Guantánamo (co-directed by Mat Whitecross).

Three young men from Tipton - Rhuhel Ahmed, Asif Iqbal and Shafiq Rasul - were among the victims of Guantánamo. I have been privy to the best evidence that the Americans can throw at them, and their story goes essentially uncontradicted, as it is presented in the film. They went to Pakistan for Iqbal's marriage, just prior to the attack on Afghanistan. When the friends gathered shortly before the wedding, they got caught up in the moment and embarked on a well-intentioned but unwise escapade into Afghanistan to help the victims of the war. They felt this would fulfil their Muslim duty of zakah, or charity.

A couple of days in they recognised the folly of the venture, but getting back out proved more difficult. Recklessness then dissolved into tragedy, as what had originally been the Tipton Four lost a member. Munir Ali disappeared in the crowds. Nobody knows what happened to him, and his family may never know.

The remaining trio were probably betrayed by locals looking to collect on the $5,000 bounty being offered by the Americans for foreigners. They were swept up by Coalition allies, and shuffled into a container that was then machine-gunned by General Dostrum's forces, killing many inside. In American custody they were beaten and abused, before ultimately being dispatched to Guantánamo Bay for two years. In 2004 they were released without charge.
The Road to Guantánamo weaves commentary from the Tipton lads between credible re-enactments of their nightmare. This may be the only inquiry that Guantánamo ever gets. If so, what are the lessons we might learn?

First, that the Tipton lads were, paradoxically, the lucky ones: Munir is presumed dead, and nobody seems to care. Second, the Tipton Three are now free; 500 prisoners in Guantánamo are not. They are free because they are British nationals. Eight British residents remain in Guantánamo, four years into their ordeal, locked up without legal rights. The British government refuses to do anything for these people, although Jamil el Banna has five English children and another, Shaker Aamer, has four; some of these residents had lived here for more than of 20 years. Human rights are for human beings, rather than simply people from Britain, yet Tony Blair negotiated one set of legal rules for British citizens - most favoured nation status - and left the British residents at the mercy of the original Bush plan.

Third, the Tipton Three were extraordinarily lucky that the Americans tried to exaggerate the evidence against them. Virtually everyone in Guantánamo has been accused of visiting the al-Farouq training camp in Afghanistan. Disproving this is difficult. Fortunately the Americans insisted that Ahmed, Iqbal and Rasul not only visited the camp, but appeared on a videotape with Osama bin Laden there. The tape was made in 2000. MI5, setting out to help corroborate the prosecution for a US military tribunal, learned that Rasul was working at a Birmingham Currys at the time.

Finally, Winterbottom's film puts paid to the myth that everyone in Guantánamo is a terrorist, itching to blow up Americans. Given the appalling treatment that many prisoners receive, it is a tribute to their Islamic faith that they do not feel this way. Instead of assaulting the US embassy, Ahmed, Iqbal and Rasul have spent months helping Winterbottom tell the truth.

The film should not be a substitute for a full inquiry, but merely the impetus to get one off the ground. Setting aside what the Americans have done, the British government has been complicit in the seizure and mistreatment of many of the victims of Guantánamo, and the still more secret prisons beyond. Abusing the Tipton Three did not make the world safer for democracy, but it did hold hostage the values our society should hold dear. Until we expose these crimes, and learn what led people to commit them, our world will continue to repeat them.

Clive Stafford Smith is legal director of Reprieve {(reprieve.org.uk). The Road to Guantánamo is at the Berlin film festival today, and will be shown on Channel 4 on March 9.

Read reviews of the film here:

http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/article...ssid=1&sid=ENT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4708148.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4715474.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4715474.stm

http://www.britfilms.com/newsandeven...antanamowinsat

[Lotfi-]

i watched it last night,, i just feel sorry for the guys!!!

[snow_white]

Me too, I thought I would be but still watched it!

[HOUDA-K]

Who's Afraid of Islam?

New three part series, in which Mark Little examines modern Islam and the fears surrounding the world's fastest growing religion.

Time: 22:20 to 23:10 (50 minutes long).
When: Sunday 19th March on RTÉ 1




Dispatches: Iraq's Missing Billions

With Iraqi society descending into civil war, Dispatches investigates what has happened to the 23 billion dollars entrusted to the British and American coalition for the rebuilding of Iraq. Reporter Ali Fadhil, an Iraqi doctor and journalist, examines whether the coalition has kept its reconstruction promises: to restore basic services such as electricity and water and build new schools and medical clinics.

Time: 20:00 to 21:00 (1 hour long).
When: Monday 20th March on Channel 4





Indian Independence

Series recalling history's defining moments. At the stroke of midnight on August 14, 1947, the ruling British Empire handed over governance of India to its people. As midnight approached, celebrations across the country turned sour and fights began between warring religions, the impact of which still reverberates across the subcontinent to this day.

Time: 20:30 to 21:00 (30 minutes long).
When: Monday 20th March on BBC 4





The State of Russia: Terror in Moscow

One chilly Wednesday evening in October of last year, several hundred people had just settled down for the second half of a musical in a Moscow theatre when a mysterious figure arrived on the stage in paramilitary fatigues. The man, who many mistook for one of the actors, was a Chechen gunman, one of 41 to infiltrate the theatre that night.

Time: 22:00 to 23:05 (1 hour and 5 minutes long).
When: Monday 20th March on more4





The State of Russia: Beslan

The school siege at Beslan was the bloodiest act of terrorism ever to take place on Russian soil. Yet beyond this horrible truth remain many unanswered questions. There is no agreement on who the terrorists were, how many they numbered, where they came from, how they got to Beslan, what they wanted, whether they were all killed or captured, and just how the siege, which began on September 1st 2004, ended so catastrophically.

Time: 22:00 to 23:05 (1 hour and 5 minutes long).
When: Tuesday 21st March on more4





Culture Shock

It's Cultural Appreciation Week and Penny and the gang all have to swap households with other students and write a report on the experience. Once Penny gets past the hurdle of fasting during Ramadan with her Pakistani family, she learns to appreciate a culture she knew very little about.

Time: 22:45 to 23:10 (25 minutes long).
When: Tuesday 21st March on Disney





Europe's Angry Young Muslims (Part 3 of 3)

Are Muslims becoming part of Europe's multi-cultural fabric? Or are they a community apart? Recent events have all made the position of Europe's Muslims a hot and emotive topic. Roger Hardy takes a look at these big issues.

Time: 19:05 to 19:30 (25 minutes long).
When: Wednesday 22nd March on BBC World Service Radio




Analysis: The Prophet and the State

Long before the 7/7 bombings, a confidential Home Office internal report warned the government that radicalism and extremism amongst a minority of Britain's Muslim population had become a threat to security and community cohesion. Andrew Brown investigates.

Time: 20:30 to 21:00 (30 minutes long).
When: Thursday 23rd March on BBC Radio Four


Islamic Monuments of The World (Part 8 of 13)

Abdullah Salam Mosque, and the famous Bahia Palace of Morocco, a landmark known for its Andalusian influence.

Time: 12:00 to 12:30 (30 minutes long).
When: Friday 24th March on Artsworld




Michael Moore's The Awful Truth

In this episode, discover the awful truth behind the US-led sanctions against Iraq, and how these sanctions are doing more harm to the children of Iraq than to Saddam's PR.

Time: 16:00 to 16:30 (30 minutes long).
When: Sunday 26th March on Reality TV





Osama's Hideout

He's played hide and seek with US and UK special forces since 2001. Why haven't the world's best agents been able to track down public enemy number one?

Time: 22:00 to 23:00 (1 hour long).
When: Sunday 26th March on History Channel





Mind the Gap

Sarah Joseph is editor of the Muslim lifestyle magazine Emel. Once a fervent Roman Catholic, she converted to Islam in what now seems like very different times before the 1989 fatwa was proclaimed against Salman Rushdie. What can be done to bridge the widening gap between religions?

Time: 23:30 to 00:00 (30 minutes long).
When: Sunday 26th March on BBC Radio Four

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Dispatches: Living With Illegals

With the Government announcing a further toughening-up of our immigration laws, filmmaker Sorious Samura goes undercover to understand why thousands of Africans risk their lives every year trying to break into the UK. Sorious lives alongside people who are prepared to undertake perilous journeys and scavenge to survive, in the pursuit of a better way of life in the UK.

Time: 20:00 to 21:00 (1 hour long).
When: Monday 27th March on Channel 4





The Flight of The Shah

Series recalling history's defining moments. This edition focuses on 16 January 1979, when Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, left his ancestral homeland forever. People took to the streets, burning his picture and tearing holes in banknotes bearing the imperial symbol. In a modest Paris suburb, his successor Ayatollah Khomeini awaited the call that would bring him out of exile to a tumultuous welcome.

Time: 20:30 to 21:00 (30 minutes long).
When: Monday 27th March on BBC 4





Globe Trekker: Iran

Ian starts his journey in Tehran, the busy and polluted capital, where he visits the Shrine of the Ayatollah, last resting-place of Khomeini. After skiing in Dizin, he travels 300 miles to Bandare - E Torkaman on the Caspian coast, where he goes sturgeon fishing and sees a Turkman wrestling bout, before embarking on a 22-hour train journey to Esfahan, Iran's most popular tourist destination. Taking a flight to Shiraz, he experiences the Islamic festival of Ashura, treks out to find the Qashqai Nomads in the south of Iran, then hitch hikes to the 2500-year-old city of Persepolis and the magnificent Citadel at Bam which was sadly destroyed in an earthquake.

Time: 22:00 to 23:00 (1 hour long).
When: Monday 27th March on Travel Channel





Mindfield

June Sarpong hosts a debate in which an audience is brought face-to-face with top High Court barrister John Cooper and asked to consider a future without multiculturalism, without religious schools and without any allowances for cultural differences.

Time: 20:00 to 21:00 (1 hour long).
When: Tuesday 28th March on BBC 3





Hostage TV

In 2002, over 800 civilians were taken hostage in a Moscow theatre. It happened with the whole world watching. How has mass media and modern technology transformed terrorism?

Time: 23:00 to 00:00 (1 hour long).
When: Tuesday 28th March on National Geographic





Lent Talks

Via Dolorosa - Jesus Meets his Mother: Fourth in a series of talks for Lent recorded in Jerusalem. Professor Mustafa Abu Sway, Director of the Islamic Research Center at Al-Quds University, reflects on how Muslims have understood the life and death of Jesus and the importance of his humanity as expressed in the figure of Mary.

Time: 20:45 to 21:00 (15 minutes long).
When: Wednesday 29th March on BBC Radio Four





Globe Trekker: Arab Gulf States

Megan McCormick ventures into perhaps the most misunderstood region in the world - the Arab Gulf States. Her journey begins in the oil fields of Kuwait and later she joins in the festivities for Liberation Day on the streets of Kuwait City. Crossing the Arabian Gulf to the United Arab Emirates, she explores the exciting cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, goes shopping and visits a unique desert golf course before crossing the border to Oman. Here she swims in a Wadi and visits the mystical tomb of Job.

Time: 15:00 to 16:00 (1 hour long).
When: Friday 31st March on Travel Channel





Islamic Monuments of The World (Part 9 of 13)

The Rais Palace and De Pasha Palace in Algiers; Golconda, a remarkable town in Andhra Pradesh in India; and the celebrated Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

Time: 08:00 to 08:25 (25 minutes long).
When: Saturday 1st April on Artsworld



The Doha Debates

The Doha Debates are a public forum for dialogue and freedom of speech in Qatar - each month invited speakers debate the burning issues of the Arab and Islamic world in front of an audience who are encouraged to participate by asking questions.

Time: 18:10 to 19:00 (50 minutes long).
When: Sunday 2nd April on BBC World

[HOUDA-K]

World's Most Luxurious Hotel

Take a tour behind the scenes at the seven-star Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai, known as the worlds most luxurious hotel.

Time: 22:30 to 23:30 (1 hour long).
When: Monday 3rd April on Discovery Travel and Living





Faith and The State Conference

Recorded coverage of the IPPR conference on the State of Faith: politics, religion and the state, including a speech from Charles Clarke and a panel debate including David Blunkett.

Time: 12:00 to 14:00 (2 hours long).
When: Tuesday 4th April on BBC Parliament





30 Days: Muslims and America

Using the same experimental approach that proved so popular in Super Size Me, Oscar-nominee Morgan Spurlock asks what happens when people spend 30 days living in someone else's shoes. David Stacey is a good Christian husband and father from West Viriginia. Like many of his fellow Americans, he has gained new awareness in recent years of the Muslim presence in the country, but has yet to gain any real understanding of the religion or community beyond his own assumptions. For 30 days, he lives with Shamael and Sadia Haque, a Muslim couple living in Michigan in one of the largest Muslim communities in the USA, and immerses himself in the Muslim culture and community. As he befriends his Muslim host family and adopts their customs, can he reconcile his faith with a belief system that does not recognise Christ as the son of God? And how does his experience influence his opinion of a religion closely associated in many Americans' minds with Osama Bin Laden and 9/11?

Time: 23:10 to 00:10 (1 hour long).
When: Wednesday 5th April on Channel 4



Islamic Monuments of The World (Part 10 of 13)

Uzbekistan City's vast range of Arab and Mughal influences; Zaituna Mosque in Tunis; and Java's royal palace of Keraton in Yogyakarta.

Time: 08:00 to 08:25 (25 minutes long).
When: Friday 7th April on Artsworld





Night Waves: Paradise Now

Matthew Sweet and guests discuss Paradise Now, a new film by Hany Abu Assad exploring the fears and motivations of Palestinian suicide bombers which has already attracted controversy.

Time: 21:30 to 22:15 (45 minutes long).
When: Friday 7th April on BBC Radio Three





UN Convention Against Torture Committee

Recorded coverage of the Joint Committee on Human Rights session on the UN Convention Against Torture.

Time: 22:00 to 00:00 (2 hours long).
When: Friday 7th April on BBC Parliament





A Rough Guide To Torture: Egypt

Juliet Morris explores the shameful side of four popular holiday destinations that never appears in their tourist brochures. In the shadow of the pyramids Juliet finds Egypt employing some disturbing interrogation techniques.

Time: 03:35 to 03:40 (5 minutes long).
When: Saturday 8th April on Channel 4





A Rough Guide To Torture: American Style

America sells itself as The Land of the Free but do its policies also involve the abuse of human rights?

Time: 03:40 to 03:45 (5 minutes long).
When: Saturday 8th April on Channel 4





World in Your Ear

Rosie Goldsmith tunes in to radio stations across the Middle East, from Israel to Afghanistan. What do listeners enjoy in those countries, how is the news reported there, and what is life like for broadcasters? Highlights include the first Kurdish radio programme to be broadcast legally in Turkey.

Time: 17:30 to 17:54 (24 minutes long).
When: Saturday 8th April on BBC Radio Four





The World Debate

Bangladesh explores whether democracy and developing countries are compatible.

Time: 20:10 to 21:00 (50 minutes long).
When: Saturday 8th April on BBC World

[HOUDA-K]

Hunt For Bin Laden

As the world focuses on Iraq, the US are still continuing to fight in Afghanistan. Soldiers reveal their terrifying kill or be killed stories whilst seeking out Osama Bin.

Time: 16:00 to 17:00 (1 hour long).
When: Sunday 9th April on History Channel



Bangladesh - Can Democracy Deliver?

In this World Debate, presented by Stephen Sackur, we bring together an audience of young Bangladeshis in Dhaka and London to ask a panel including members of the government, the opposition and independent experts what the future holds.

Time: 18:10 to 19:00 (50 minutes long).
When: Sunday 9th April on BBC World





Christianity And Islam Debate

Recorded coverage of the debate in the House of Lords introduced by the Lord Bishop of Rochester to call attention to the case for better co-operation between Christianity and Islam in international affairs.

Time: 14:45 to 17:15 (2 hours and 30 minutes long).
When: Monday 10th April on BBC Parliament





International Law

Clive Anderson presents the series looking at key legal issues. Since WW2, Britain and the US have been at the forefront of developing international legislation governing such disparate areas as war, trade, the environment and human rights. But how much have these global agreements been damaged by events such as Guantanamo Bay and the Iraq War? Leading international lawyer Philippe Sands and former US State Department legal adviser William H Taft are among the guests.

Time: 21:30 to 21:59 (29 minutes long).
When: Tuesday 11th April on BBC Radio Four





Sleeper Cell: Al Faitha

Brand new thriller. Darwyn Al-Sayeed is a Muslim ex-con who has just been released from prison and finds his way to an Islamic extremist named Farik, who recruits him to join a terrorist sleeper cell planning an attack in Los Angeles. But is Darwyn all he seems?

Time: 22:00 to 23:05 (1 hour and 5 minutes long).
When: Tuesday 11th April on FX





Munich: Mossad's Revenge

In September 1972, at the Olympic Games in Munich, 11 Israeli athletes were killed after being taken hostage by Palestinian terror group Black September. It was an event that shook the world, nowhere more so than in Israel, where grief swiftly turned to anger. In the following year 11 men with links to the Palestinian cause were mysteriously murdered in locations around Europe and the Middle East. The perpetrators of the murders were never found. Israel has always officially denied that it used its intelligence service, Mossad, to conduct a campaign of covert revenge, but gradually evidence of a secret assassination policy has emerged. This month Steven Spielberg's film Munich has reignited the controversy surrounding the campaign. Now, for the first time, members of Mossad, and the assassins who carried out their state-sanctioned murders, tell the story of their country's response to the Munich massacre. Munich: Mossad's Revenge pieces together the true extent of Mossad's mission through the first-hand testimony of those involved, including former deputy head David Kimche, ex Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Rami Adwan - who as a child saw his father Kamal Adwan massacred - and Ankie Spitzer, the widow of one of the murdered athletes who is critical of Mossad's campaign.

Time: 01:55 to 02:50 (55 minutes long).
When: Wednesday 12th April on S4C





Commons Faith Schools Debate

Recorded coverage of the House of Commons debate on Faith Schools in Westminster Hall.

Time: 22:10 to 23:40 (1 hour and 30 minutes long).
When: Thursday 13th April on BBC Parliament





Islamic Monuments of The World (Part 11 of 13)

The magnificent Fatehpur Sikri, near Agra, the remains of the Azahara palace in Medina, Spain, and Beijing's 1,000-year-old Niu jie ('Ox Street') mosque.

Time: 09:45 to 10:10 (25 minutes long).
When: Friday 14th April on Artsworld





Redeeming the Past

The Reverend Donald Reeves returns to Bosnia with former Balkans correspondent Eve-Ann Prentice to search for glimpses of hope which have arisen from some of the darkest moments of the Balkan War during the 1990s. Listening to accounts which are both moving and horrific, they learn of the resilience of the human spirit and the power of forgiveness to transform lives in the wake of murder, rape and torture.

Time: 15:30 to 16:00 (30 minutes long).
When: Friday 14th April on BBC Radio Four





Any Questions? (with Inayat Bunglawala)

Jonathan Dimbleby chairs a topical discussion from Pembury, Kent. Panellists include Conservative Vice Chairman Margot James, former Labour MP Tony Benn, Spectator columnist Rod Liddle and Inayat Bunglawala, Media Secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain.

Time: 13:10 to 14:00 (50 minutes long).
When: Saturday 15th April on BBC Radio Four





Séideán Staire: Shiism Waiting for the Hidden Islam

(Caitheann an clár seo súil ar conas ar bunaíodh an Shiism) A film about Shiism, the second largest Islamic denomination, charting its foundation and struggles in the Middle East through to its success in the recent elections in Iraq. The filmmakers travel to Iran, Lebanon and Iraq to interview major contemporary Shiite figures and followers

Time: 19:00 to 20:00 (1 hour long).
When: Sunday 16th April on TG4





The Wonderful World of Neem

Charles Haviland explores the science behind the great neem tree of South Asia, known in India as the village pharmacy. It is claimed that it can be used as an organic pesticide, a spermicide, a weapon against malaria and a natural toothbrush. Recently the tree has been at the centre of an ugly bio-piracy battle over who has the right to profit from it.

Time: 21:00 to 21:30 (30 minutes long).
When: Monday 17th April on BBC Radio Four