London July 29 (IANS) A British community radio station has been shut down after broadcasting 25 hours of lectures by an Al Qaeda recruiter.
Sheffield-based Iman FM claimed on Friday that its staff were "not aware of the background" of American hate preacher Anwar al-Awlaki who was killed by a US drone strike in Yemen in 2011 the Independent reported.
The station broadcast a series of his lectures entitled "The Life of Mohammed" throughout the holy month of Ramadan in June sparking complaints to broadcast regulator Ofcom.
Awlaki s lectures included "a direct call to action to members of the Muslim community to prepare for and carry out violent action against non-Muslim people" and "statements clearly condoning and encouraging acts of crime terrorism or violent behaviour".
The regulator said the content including calls for "virtuous jihad" and anti-Semitic statements was in "serious breach" of the broadcasting code amounting to hate speech.
"Ofcom has decided that it is necessary in the public interest to revoke the licensee s Broadcasting Act licence and that the licensee is unfit to hold a broadcast licence " a spokesperson said.
"The service has been off-air since July 4 and will not be reinstated " the Independent quoted the spokesperson as saying on Friday.
Iman FM also broadcast parts of Awlaki s tirades that took aim at the mainstream media and Western society which Ofcom said "aimed to undermine social cohesion".
--IANS
ksk/vm
