A censorship row has erupted after an Islamic civil association accused President Javier Milei’s government of deliberately taking a weekly show dedicated to the faith off the public airwaves.
In a series of social media posts, the Centro Islámico de la República Argentina (CIRA) highlighted the removal of its regular Sunday morning show, El Cálamo, from the listings of free-to-air TV Pública.
The programme “was removed from TV Pública’s programming without any explanation,” said the NGO.
“Freedom of expression is a fundamental right to live in a fair and open society, and is an essential component of democracy,” it added.
“The decision to remove the programme without any reason for such a measure constitutes an act of discrimination, censorship and Islamophobia that harms and undermines interreligious dialogue and coexistence,” said the CIRA statement.
The culture and education show, which has been broadcast every Sunday at 8am since 2011, promotes the Muslim community and the Islamic faith. The wider community provides the content, with the state channel facilitating the broadcast.
Government officials say the show’s removal is temporary and that it could return to the air.
Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni revealed this week in response to questioning that the programme was on “pause” as the Milei administration revamps programming. Its removal is due to “a revision of the grid” and not for reasons of censorship.
However, when asked about the programme's potential return, he avoided committing himself: “It's a decision to be taken by the station's authorities.”
But according to the civil association, the decision to take it off-air is unfounded and deliberate, possibly as a result of external pressure. Islamic authorities consider the move to be an act of censorship linked to Argentina’s new political alignment with Israel in the Milei era.
CIRA official Martín Saade speculated that the order to take the programme off-air appeared to have come “from the highest levels” of government, reinforcing, he said, the perception of hostility towards his community in line with President Milei's international stance.
“This administration's violence towards us is not a style, it is a method,” he alleged.
Since taking office last December, Milei has introduced massive public spending cuts. His government wants to sell off state media outlets and the President has tasked Adorni and Diego Chaher, the trustee of TV Pública, with overseeing the process.
The controversy is not new. El Cálamo was suspended back in March for two months due to an alleged debt related to musical rights that CIRA assured had been paid. On that occasion, the programme returned to the screen after negotiations.
To support its case, CIRA highlighted that other religious programming on state TV – including shows such as Claves para un mundo mejor, La santa misa, Ángelus and Shalom AMIA – have continued to be broadcast normally, reinforcing the Muslim community's sense of unease.
– TIMES/PERFIL
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