Gulf TV in Hebrew seeks to educate Israelis on Islam

Decision to launch channel was made after cast member of Israeli reality show called his shoe Muhammad.

By THE MEDIA LINE NEWS AGENCY
kid watching tv 88 (photo credit: )
kid watching tv 88
(photo credit: )
Leaders of the Support Prophet Mohammed Organization, based in the Gulf state Bahrain, stressed on Sunday the need to establish a TV channel in Hebrew to teach Israelis about Islam's values, the Dubai-based newspaper Gulf News reported. The organization hopes that with the help of television, which they consider to be the most effective medium, and by using people familiar with Israeli society, they can present explanations about Islam to Jews and help them better appreciate the religion, the paper reported. The decision was made after a cast member on the Israeli version of the reality show Survivor, said he had named one of his shoes Muhammad, and the other was named after an Israeli Arab cast member who the Israeli cast member did not get along with. The organization was established in Bahrain after cartoons of the prophet Muhammad were first published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005, which sparked riots among Muslims. The controversy regarding the publication caused a fierce debate regarding the limitations of freedom of speech, and led to the cartoons being re-published as acts of support for the Danish paper by newspapers in Norway, Germany and the Netherlands. Some 100 people lost their lives as police in various countries tried to control the ensuing demonstrations. In addition, Danish embassies in Syria, Lebanon and Iran were set on fire and death threats were issued against the cartoonist and the editor-in-chief of the paper.