Ofcom has imposed a financial penalty of £2000 on The Pakistan Muslim Centre (Sheffield) Limited in relation to its community radio station Link FM 96.7. Reason: failing to comply with broadcast content rules.

In an advisory on its website on Friday, the British broadcasting regulator said that Link FM 96.7 on December 16, 2020 broadcast a Nasheed titled “Jundullah” (meaning “soldiers of Allah” in Arabic) during an episode of its Breakfast Show. The same Nasheed was broadcast again on a separate episode of the same programme on December  22, 2020.

Ofcom’s decision published on August 9, 2021found that the Nasheed contained an indirect call to action cumulative effect of the lyrics and imagery was to condone, promote and actively encourage others to participate in violent acts as a form of devout religious expression.

“We found that the Nasheed contained material likely to encourage or incite the commission of crime or lead to disorder, and was also potentially offensive and not sufficiently justified by the context. We therefore found the programmes had breached Rules 3.1 and 2.3 of the Broadcasting Code,” the regulator said.

Ofcom has imposed a sanction on the licensee of a financial penalty of £2,000 and a direction to broadcast a statement of Ofcom’s findings on a date and in a form to be determined by the regulator.