Station which broadcast “terrorist” lectures closed down

Iman FM, which aired content for Muslim listeners in Rotherham and Sheffield, had its licence suspended by Ofcom on July 4.

The watchdog spent three weeks investigating and hearing appeals, before taking the station permanently off air.

Iman FM broadcast 25 hours of pre-recorded lectures by Anwar al-Awlaki during Ramadan.

The Yemeni-American propagandist was killed by an American drone strike in 2011.

He helped publish an Islamist recruitment magazine called Inspire and repeatedly called on Muslims to commit religious violence.

The US government and UN Security Council both condemned him as a terrorist.

But the station aired his violent views, including one lecture in which he urged listeners: “Prepare whatever strength you have for jihad.”

The lectures were played without any reference to the speaker’s identity or connections.

They mostly concerned the life of Mohammed, with the offending messages appearing later in the series.

Station owner Iman Media UK admitted it was a “reckless” mistake, saying staff had not listened to all of the material before airing.

Instead of scrutinising the tapes, volunteers were probably catching up on sleep after performing religious rituals late into the night, they told Ofcom.

But the watchdog condemned “extremely serious breaches” of the broadcasting code and “a failure to run basic compliance checks”.

In its final judgement, Ofcom said: “Anwar al-Awlaki’s comments were not merely polemical or aggressive. He made a direct call to members of the Muslim community to prepare for and carry out violent action against non-Muslim people.

“He also made indirect calls on members of the Muslim community to commit violence, condoning and encouraging acts of crime, terrorism or violent behaviour.

“No attempt was made by the licensee to place the statements in a context to make them potentially less harmful.”

It added: “There is no evidence that the licensee’s purpose in broadcasting the content was to incite crime or lead to disorder.

“However, the evidence is that the licensee acted extremely recklessly in broadcasting extensive content it had not fully listened to or checked the source of and that this approach fell substantially below the standards expected of a responsible broadcaster, including one that is run by a team of volunteers.”

The station described itself as “established by a group of individuals, whose main aim is to create a cohesive society, identify community needs and offer solutions within the boundaries of the company”.

Iman Media UK caused controversy last year when it invited celebrities who praised an Islamist assassin to speak at Choudhry’s Orient Express in Masbrough.

Two of al-Awlaki’s lectures also condemned the “evil actions” of Jews, called jihad “worship” and urged “clandestine special operations” against the “enemies of Allah”.

Iman FM issued statements on its Facebook page when its licence was suspended, but these have since been removed.

A Change.org petition to keep the station open has attracted around 300 signatures, but makes no mention of why it was closed.