Cape Town Muslim radio station, Voice of the Cape, has apologised for 'a number of deeply offensive and hurtful attacks on Jews and the Jewish religion' during a broadcast.Notice the timeframe. The broadcast was in September 2004; the apology was this week.
The offending comments were made by Egyptian student Sheikh Muhamed Colby in a September 2004 programme titled Human Rights And Religion, in which he suggested that Jews were intent on world domination, and were ready to spill Muslim blood.
After a complaint by the Jewish Board of Deputies, which was represented by Advocate Anton Katz and attorney Mervyn Smith, the Broadcasting Monitoring and Complaints Committee ruled that Voice of the Cape should apologise for the comments, which were found to have amounted to hate speech.
The ruling, made in September but only ratified by the committee on Monday, required Voice of the Cape to broadcast a scripted and unreserved apology once on its main news bulletin and at the beginning and end of the programme which contained the original offensive comments.
The station was also ordered to adopt a set of measures to prevent the broadcast of any further offensive material.
In its apology, Voice of the Cape said Colby's statements did not represent the station's views.
'In no way do we hold the Jewish community in contempt. Islam teaches us to respect all religions. We apologise unreservedly and unequivocally for any offence or harm caused to the Jewish community as a result of the broadcast.'
Colby's speech suggested that white Europeans, Zionists and Americans were responsible for a number of human rights violations, including the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
"As far as Judaism is concerned, they believe that they are the chosen nation by God Almighty," he said. "They believe they have been created to enslave and subjugate humanity and take full control of all matters of life.
"When they look at any other religion or sect, other than Judaism, they look at that sect as a means of enslavement, killing, slaughtering, murdering; any form, any means, as long as they reach their aim and their goal."
Colby said the "protocol of the wise Zionist" involved asking what steps could be taken to take "total control of the world".
"This is how they control the nation. This is how they control everything."
Colby said the blood of Muslim people was halaal (permissible) for Jews.
"We are seeing... that the blood of the Muslim is running through the streets and nobody is doing anything about it... " he said.
If the Muslim radio station truly believed the words of the apology, why did they wait 16 months when they were ordered to apologize?
UPDATE: It's Almost Supernatural has been following this, and has many details on how it was covered. (Hat tip Soccer Dad.)