American TV Should Be More Like This

From the Australian Herald Sun:

NOTHING beat SBS in the TV ratings on Wednesday night.

But in glum news for the public broadcaster, the nothing was a blank screen on Channel 7.

After a mystery technical snarl sent Seven off the air, viewers remained staunch. And its 48 minutes of beige, blank, soundless screen was preferred over SBS and, at times, the ABC.

At 9.09pm, viewers of the Blue Heelers episode Killing Time found themselves doing just that.

And at 9.30, when Air Crash Investigation was scheduled, the only thing down was Seven, still.

For Melbourne viewers, though, Seven's impromptu version of Blankety Blanks wasn't the worst thing on.

SBS's Dateline program -- tracking a volunteer doctor through the Congo -- had 105,000 fewer Melbourne viewers than Seven's non-event. And the ABC's acclaimed new comedy Nighty Night could have gone to bed early. It drew 35,000 fewer viewers than Seven's ad, sound and vision-free offering.

Even at its lowest point, the blank screen had 88,000 fans -- more than anything SBS ran all day.

I say make the "technical snarl" permanent, change the color at odd times, and call it the ScreenSaver Channel. It'll be a hit. (Also via Tim Blair)

Update: In contrast to another link in Mr. Blair's post, regarding a "moderate" Sheikh's recent endorsement of raping unveiled women, and to counter some of the vulgarities in his comments section, I recommend a fascinating article on Laylat Al-Isra wa Al-Miraj (The Night Journey and Ascension) of Muhammad:

The commentaries of Shaykh al-Maliki on the Night Journey are significant to the future of Islam as a faith and to the Saudi kingdom. This is because the irrational and absurd strictures imposed by the Wahhabis on Muslims and Saudi subjects include a rigorous ban on celebration of the Night Journey, normally observed on the 27th day of the Muslim month of Rajab.

Such is but one of many prohibitions enacted by Wahhabis against the traditions of classical Islam, which make moderate Muslims hate Wahhabism. Wahhabis also forbid celebration of the Prophet's birthday; commemoration of holy men and women (Muslim saints); the maintenance of graveyards; recitation of Fatiha, the first sura or chapter of Qur'an, for the dead; intercessory prayer through Muhammad, his companions, or the Muslim saints, and, of course, the entire practice of Sufism. Possession of the great Sufi books is a crime in the Saudi kingdom. Although Shaykh al-Maliki was the head of the Maliki school of Sunni Muslim law in the kingdom, he suffered from many acts of discrimination and marginalization. Unlike his father and grandfather, he was barred from preaching in the Grand Mosque at Mecca. Nevertheless, his funeral was the largest public event in recent years in the holy city.

Shaykh al-Maliki's writing on the Night Journey stands in direct and eloquent opposition to Wahhabi doctrine. A prominent Wahhabi bigot, Muhammad al-Munajjid, also known for declaring the South Asian tsunami a divine punishment against the celebration of Christmas and the Christian New Year, has declared that commemorating the Night Journey by holding special events is a bida, or forbidden innovation in Islam. By contrast, Shaykh al-Maliki not only encouraged marking this important Islamic spiritual landmark by festivals, but also offered some comments on the Prophet's rapture that would doubtless prove surprising to many non-Muslims.