Channel 4 will screen a Muslim call to prayer every day during Ramadan

Boss Ralph Lee claimed the fact that 2.8 million UK Muslims will celebrate the holy month from next week put last year’s Royal celebrations in the shade. He added: “Nearly five per cent of the country will actively engage in Ramadan. “Can we say the same of other national events that received blanket coverage on TV such as the Queen’s coronation anniversary? “I want to set out to provoke people to think about Islam in ways that aren’t associated with terrorism.” But UKIP accused Channel 4 of a cynical PR stunt and said it risked further inflaming tension between communities in the wake of the Woolwich killing of soldier Lee Rigby - allegedly linked to Islamic extremists. A spokesman said: “This is a priceless piece of attention seeking. I cannot believe that the majority of mainstream Muslims want to see this. It will inflame community tension.” Tory MP Conor Burns said: “I find it extraordinary Channel 4 would pursue this politically-correct tokenism. “What would happen if they were to do this type of thing during a Christian festival such as Lent?” Channel 4 will screen a full three-minute chant by Hassen Rasool, a muezzin or prayer call leader, from the start of Ramadan next Tuesday. It will then break into its regular schedule to mark the first prayer of each day at 3am. On the first day Channel 4 will also air 20-second bursts of the chant at four other prayer times — 1.11pm, 5.26pm, 9.20pm and 10.49pm. Radical preacher Anjem Choudary, accused of encouraging terrorism, said he welcomed any move to promote Islam. He added: “Islam is the fastest growing ideology in this country — by some accounts Britain could be a Muslim country by 2015.” Abu Zakariyya, of the radical Islamic Emergency Defence group, added: “We want to see Sharia law in the UK and only God knows if this could be a step towards it.”