A Muslim radio station has been reprimanded by Ofcom after an Islamic scholar advised a sick listener to ignore the advice of non-Muslim doctors.
The scholar, who was described on the phone-in programme as “the Mufti”, said that it was unacceptable for a diabetic to miss fasting days during Ramadan on the recommendation of a non-Muslim.
“If it is a non-Muslim doctor who is giving the advice, well their advice carries no weight. It has no importance whatsoever,” he told a caller during a phone-in on Radio Dawn, which broadcasts in Punjabi to Muslims in Nottingham.
The advice was potentially harmful and discriminated against non-Muslims, Ofcom found. The caller had rung in to ask when it was permitted under Islamic law for a diabetic taking insulin to follow their doctor’s advice to fast in winter, when the days were shorter, rather than during Ramadan, which this year fell in May-June.
Muslims are meant to avoid eating and drinking during daylight for the entire month of Ramadan, but there are exemptions for those with ill health.
The Mufti, a legal expert who gives rulings on religious matters, told the caller that non-Muslim doctors were over-cautious and could be ignored. “Look, if the doctor is a Muslim and a religious person, then his advice carries weight. But if he is not a Muslim . . . a non-Muslim doctor will tell you to stop fasting even if you have a minor headache,” he said during the late-night show in May this year. “What you have to do is check who is giving the advice. A proper Muslim doctor who is religious will not give you wrong advice.”
Ofcom launched an investigation after a listener complained that the Mufti’s advice was dangerous, and yesterday concluded that the station had breached two rules against the broadcast of harmful and offensive material.
It said: “The advice provided could clearly have led listeners with diabetes — a potentially serious health condition — to either refrain from seeking medical advice because their doctor was not a practising Muslim, or to disregard or otherwise question legitimate medical advice which they had received because it had not been given to them by a practising Muslim doctor.”
The media regulator rebuked the Mufti for saying that Muslims with “mild diabetes” are not permitted to give up fasting. Diabetes UK, the charity, says there is no such thing as mild diabetes. Ofcom found that the Mufti’s denigration of non-Muslim doctors was “discriminatory and potentially offensive”. It noted that he failed to make clear that he was not medically qualified.
Karimia, which owns the Radio Dawn licence, has apologised. Radio Dawn claims to have 15,000 listeners.
Behind the story
Islamic law states that Muslims may delay or forgo their fast during Ramadan if it poses a danger to health (Kaya Burgess writes).
Those who are pregnant or have a medical condition can make up their fast at other times of year or pay fidyah, a form of donation, which usually goes to feed those in need.
Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, a leading Islamic scholar and one of the country’s most senior imams, said that there was no requirement for the doctor who advises on fasting to be a Muslim because it “is a matter of health and life”.
The NHS has drawn up guidelines on fasting in consultation with Islamic scholars. They include advice that those with type 1 diabetes should not usually fast.