The Australian Communications and Media Authority has taken the unprecedented step of imposing ‘enforceable undertakings’ on Sydney Muslim community radio station 2MFM, after objections to the licence renewal from the Muslim community. The enforceable undertakings require the station to “further encourage participation by members of the wider Muslim community in the Sydney licence area.”

Muslim Community Radio has been criticised several times, because its more moderate approach is seen by critics as not being a true reflection of Islam. In 2005 radioinfo reported this viewpoint from the station:

Sources within Australia’s Muslim Community have told radioinfo the remarks are part of an ongoing campaign of destabilization against the Muslim Community Radio group which won the highly sought after high-powered community licence. Other Muslim groups, which bid against Muslim Community Radiko for the licence and were not successful at the time, have withdrawn support from the station since it was granted its licence in 2001. They say the station is not preaching correct religious philosophy. Sources close to 2MFM say it attempts to avoid politics and prefers to concentrate on religious content, but the problem is the brand of religious teaching espoused by the station is not in keeping with the teachings of Sheik al-Hilali and his supporters.

During the station’s licence renewal process, the ACMA received several objections to the station on the basis that there was not enough involvement by the whole Muslim community. Submissions received included Islamic Radio and Communications Ltd (The Voice of Islam) on 13 August 2010;  The Fatwa Board on 17 August 2010;  The Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) on 1 December 2010; and His Eminence the Grand Mufti of Australia, Sheikh Fehmi N. EI-Imam on 1 December 2010.

Programming on the station, according to ACMA’s licence renewal report, is predominantly in Arabic, given the Qur’an and scriptures are written in Arabic. There is also a significant amount of English programming, as the second most common language among 2MFM’s listeners.

ACMA considered that the licensee is providing a service that meets the existing and perceived future needs of the Islamic community in the Sydney licence area, but because of the number of objections, the regulator has moved to make sure that the station conducts wide consultation across all sectors of the Muslim community so that the station broadcasts content that reflects the widest possible Muslim community of interest.

The licence renewal report says 2MFM submitted 254 letters of support, “reflecting a diverse range of people and organisations within its community interest.” The letters of support were submitted by individuals, companies and Islamic organization, but there were also many negative submissions, although these were largely unsubstantiated with any evidence:

“Submitters to the ACMA objecting to the renewal of the 2MFM licence argued that the service provided by the licensee does not reflect the nature and diversity of the interests of the Islamic community within the Sydney RA 1 licence area. While little evidence was provided to substantiate these claims, the ACMA nonetheless examined the matters raised. As a consequence, the ACMA considered that, for further assurance that 2MFM will provide programming that will meet the diverse existing and perceived needs of the Muslim community in the Sydney RA 1 licence area, it should implement a structured program and consultation strategy to encourage better participation in the operations and programming of the service.”

The ACMA report says the licensee appears to have “made genuine attempts to conduct outreach within the wider Muslim community, [but] it does not have a structured program and consultation strategy to ensure that it is meeting with a broad cross-section of Islamic organisations that are representative of the diverse Muslim community.”

2MFM provides a service to meet the ‘Religious – Islamic’ community interest.  According to the 2006 Census, more that 4% of the Sydney population identify themselves as Islamic. 2MFM has “a healthy participation level,” with 467 members and 104 volunteers, according to ACMA.

After discussion with ACMA on these issues Muslim Community Radio gave the ACMA an enforceable undertaking, “committing the licensee to the implementation of a structured program and consultation strategy.” Under the agreement, 2MFM has undertaken to: 

• Implement a consultation strategy to encourage Muslims from a broad cross-section of Islamic organisations in the Sydney RA1 licence area to participate in the operations and programming of the service
• Amend relevant provisions in its constitution to better align it with the community radio broadcasting industry template
• Amend its presenter policy so that all members are eligible to become presenters.

The ACMA will be able to monitor 2MFM’s compliance with the undertaking, as the licensee has committed to provide reports to the ACMA. See the full list of consultation points and reporting requirements here.

ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman says this is the first time a community radio licensee has offered an enforceable undertaking as part of its licence renewal process: “It demonstrates that the licensee, Muslim Community Radio Inc, has recognised a serious commitment was critical to address concerns identified in the course of the ACMA’s public consultations.”

Read the full licence renewal report at the link below. The station’s website can be found at this link.