The makers of children’s cartoon Fireman Sam have apologized “unreservedly” after an episode aired in the UK showed a character tripping up and accidentally knocking a page of the Koran on the floor.
Some sharp-eyed viewers have accused the makers of the long-running programme of being “Islamophobic” after clumsy character Elvis was shown slipping over and upsetting some loose pieces of paper – one of which looks like a page from the Muslim holy book:
Channel 5, which is owned by US media giant Viacom, aired the episode in the UK last month and has now been forced to remove it from its online service.
HIT Entertainment, the producer of the programme, has apologised and cancelled its contract with the Chinese animation studio responsible for making the scene, Xing Xing Digital Corporation in Beijing.
The scene in question lasts for just four seconds:
.@Mattel Has Apologized After A Page Of The Qur’an Appeared In “Fireman Sam”https://t.co/fnUJvwYx0v pic.twitter.com/AVFPfYvCqd
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) July 27, 2016
In it, Elvis is carrying a tray of mugs into an office.
He slips on a piece of paper on the floor, disturbing some other loose papers nearby.
The loose pages then fly up into the air as they, and the character, come crashing to the floor.
Some Twitter users have now identified one of the loose pages as coming from the Koran.
The page which caught their eye apparently shows verses 13-26 of chapter 67, which focuses on the origin of existence.
Miqdaad Versi, assistant secretary general, said on Twitter: ‘Have no idea what went through the producers’ minds when they thought this was a good idea #baffled’.
For those looking for the verse reference here, it is Surah Mulk (67), verses 13-26 (h/t @AssedBaig) pic.twitter.com/367xLWQFT6
— Miqdaad Versi (@miqdaad) July 26, 2016
A spokeswoman for the multinational firm Mattel, which owns the show’s makers Hit Entertainment, said ‘It has been brought to our attention that in an episode of Fireman Sam (Series 9, Episode 7), an image of the Quran is briefly depicted.
‘The page was intended to show illegible text and we deeply regret this error. We sincerely apologise for any distress or offense it may have caused.
‘We will no longer be working with the animation studio responsible for this mistake.
‘In addition, we are taking immediate action to remove this episode from circulation and we are reviewing our content production procedures to ensure this never happens again.
‘Again, we apologise unreservedly to our viewers.’
