Thursday, July 28, 2016

“Fireman Sam” withdrawn, apology issued after character steps on Qur’an page



In a show called Troubled Waters, Elvis the firefighter slips on some pieces of paper while carrying a tray of hot drinks. 
One of the sheets flies past the screen and seems to be a page from Islam’s holy book, dealing with punishments for non-believers.
Miqdaad Versi, from the Muslim Council of Britain, tweeted: "Have no idea what went through the producers' minds when they thought this was a good idea #baffled."
firemansam.jpg
Row: Fireman Sam is in hot water over the claims
Twitter user BirdsOfJannah wrote: “Islamophobia in @FiremanSamUK? Why are there Quran pages on the floor & flying over the place?”
Another wrote: “Children's program Fireman Sam stepping on the Quran. SHAME on this program for promoting hatred against Muslims!”
The episode has now been withdrawn from Channel 5’s streaming site and producers HIT Entertainment apologised "unreservedly" to viewers.
The company, which produces shows including Bob the Builder, Pingu and Thomas the Tank Engine, added that it had cut ties with the animation studio involved with the episode.
A spokeswoman said: "It has been brought to our attention that in an episode of Fireman Sam (Series 9, Episode 7), an image of the Koran is briefly depicted. 
“The page was intended to show illegible text and we deeply regret this error. We sincerely apologise for any distress or offence it may have caused.


"Again, we apologise unreservedly to our viewers.""We will no longer be working with the animation studio responsible for this mistake. In addition, we are taking immediate action to remove this episode from circulation and we are reviewing our content production procedures to ensure this never happens again.

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