German
broadcaster defends image of Angela Merkel in mock-Islamic garb
ARD
says photomontage on Bericht aus Berlin of cloaked chancellor with
minarets in Berlin misunderstood ‘on many levels’
Kate Connolly in
Berlin
Tuesday 6 October
2015 21.28 BST
German TV bosses
have defended their decision to depict Angela Merkel wearing a black
Islamic cloak against a backdrop of minarets on the Berlin skyline
during a news item about refugees.
The ARD television
programme Bericht aus Berlin was inundated with complaints on Tuesday
after the photomontage of the German chancellor wearing the
full-length cloak often worn by Iranian women was used as a backdrop.
Many accused the
public broadcaster of anti-Islamic propaganda. The onscreen display
accompanied an item by presenter Rainald Becker about the threat to
German values.
Becker asked: “How
is life changing? Indeed, how do we react when refugees have problems
with equality, with women’s rights, with freedom of the press and
free speech? These are questions for which we don’t have an answer,
and questions that stoke fear.”
But ARD rejected the
criticism, saying that the photomontage had been misunderstood “on
many levels”.
A statement posted
on its Facebook page, said: “The graphic had a direct connection to
the presentation by Rainald Becker of a report about the values of
our society. He was speaking about the achievements of our western
society: freedom of speech, press freedom and equality. These
freedoms were reflected in this graphic.”
It admitted its aim
had been to polarise, but said it “decisively rejected any
accusation that we are peddling anti-Islamic propaganda”.
The row comes in a
week in which it has been estimated Germany may receive as many as
1.5 million refugees this year, and amid growing concerns as to how
the country will cope in both the short and the long term with the
challenge of integration.
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