New Ch 4 Muslim documentary.

I'm just gonna repost what a Dr said on instagram about this programme and leave this here for thought.

The links between Islamophobia, racialization and racism continue to pop up around us. Consider the new Channel 4 (U.K.) documentary, "My Week As A Muslim," which shows a non-Muslim White British woman "live as a Muslim" for a "social experiment." Katie Freeman, the main character of the documentary, darkens her skin ("brownfaces" and puts on the hijab in an effort to "look like a Pakistani Muslim woman." To be clear, brownfacing (and blackfacing) is demeaning. It perpetuates stereotypes of People of Color. It symbolizes an abuse of power - like a person's skin color can be removed with the snap of a finger. As if brownfacing isn't reckless enough, in the program, Freeman goes so far as saying, "You see (Muslims) and you just think they're gonna blow something up." Not only does she imagine Muslims in a racialized manner, but she views them through the stereotypical prism of violence. Channel 4 has not only missed the mark, but they have carelessly racialized both Islam and "Muslim identity." The documentary suggests 1) that being white and Muslim are exclusive 2) that being Muslim has racial attributes 3) that there is a uniform way of "being Muslim"; and 4) that there is a "visible archetype" of Muslims in the U.K. and beyond. This program should end immediately. It offers nothing of substance. If anything, it's damaging and only reproduces the cancers in our societies.

You sound like what National Socialists said about Jewish people in the 30s.

Fuming Muslims aren't a good sign.

I think Muslim communities should be investigated more thoroughly. There is clearly something wrong with this religion.

Is the outrage justified?

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/oct/19/my-week-as-a-muslim-documentary-sparks-racism-row

TL;DR
Channel 4 disguised a white British woman as a South Asian Muslim who lived with a Muslim family for a week in order to experience "Islamophobia" first hand.

A range of Muslim groups and individuals have branded the programme "racist", "deeply offensive", "absolutely shocking", and "reinforcing prejudice".

I believe that the Muslim community often responds with accusations of racism against proper critique of Islam. But this programme is ridiculous; she basically did "blackface". They gave her a big prosthetic nose and darkened her skin, and she claimed to be someone she wasn't.

I do not understand the journalistic or documentary merit of this. What issues are they exploring that could not be explored with an actual Muslim narrator / subject?

You are right to point this out, however I think saying "representatives of the Muslim community" is a valid characterisation. The MCB is fairly broadly accepted and recognised. I would argue that in the past they have responded to legitimate critiques of Islam as a religion (just as there is legitimate critique of Christianity, etc) with accusations of racism.

I went on to say that I felt this programme was disgusting and racist, and that it would have been far better to have an actual Muslim to allow them to speak for themselves about what they go through

Pure racism.

I've blocked 4News from my screen after quite a few years. Their social agenda is suffocating.

Why the liberal faux outrage at everything?

I think Muslim communities should be investigated more thoroughly. There is clearly something wrong with this religion.

I treat everyone individually, however, I do not like the covering of the face and get called racist for this. I don't get what this show was trying to prove to be honest. There is bad feeling between many people and it largely gets ignored, but anything negative towards a muslim person and all hell breaks loose. And what's all this "hate crime" bs, like it's a worse crime to stereotype someone yet If I get abuse whilst on my bike (and it happens quite a lot) it'a OK. it's like a crime heirarchy rather than each individual case being treated on merit.