America sees launch of Muslim TV

For Asad Mahmood Butt, the journey to Buffalo, N.Y., has been an eventful one. He is the anchor/producer at Bridges TV, the first American Muslim television network in English. He presents a 30-minute daily news segment, which he hopes will expand into a nightly chat show, within the year. It reports on issues affecting the American Muslim community.

The channel has been a long time coming, Butt says.

"I wish I had the station when I was growing up because then, you didn’t see many South Asians on TV, in the media, in the news," he says. "Bridges TV will provide for American Muslims a chance to see role models who aren’t doctors, or professors or engineers. It’s about creating an alternate identity for them. It also aims to build lines of communication between different communities."

Born in Lynnfield, Mass., Butt is the middle child in a Pakistani-American family. His elder sister is a lawyer and his younger sister is studying business. Not surprisingly, he grew up under a fair amount of pressure to follow in the footsteps of his father, who is a doctor. He even studied math and computer science at Bates College in Maine. But his career choice lay elsewhere.

"In my sophomore year, I was rather upset by the quality of photographs in the college newspaper," he says. "So I decided to apply for the job and got my first taste of journalism. I made editor-in-chief during my senior year. And I was well and truly hooked."

His parent’s doctoral hopes for Butt were set aside.

Butt’s first job was an entry-level position at WHGH-TV; he spent three years learning the ropes and worked his way up to producer. He simultaneously earned his graduate degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University. That led to his next job as a reporter in Bangor, Maine, at WBII.

After a mere week and a half, he received a call from Bridges TV Chief Executive Officer Muzzammil Hassan, offering him a job. "Asad was perfect for the job," says Hassan. "It was a fantastic decision for us to hire him."

For Butt, Bridges TV is more than a job. It is a chance to give back to his community and to his country.

"Post-9/11, the world has dramatically changed for American Muslims," he says. "It is almost as if Americans discovered that Muslims were living in the country, and Muslims discovered they were also living in the country. As Muslims, we now have to defend ourselves, our religion. 9/11 created a dialogue about what Islam means and what it means to be an American Muslim. Bridges TV is an attempt to provide a platform for meaningful discussion."

The programs are a mix of current affairs and lifestyle shows, with an hour or so a day of religious content. Everyone at Bridges TV knows the powers-that-be are scrutinizing their actions.

"I am a journalist, first and foremost. Every day I do my best to present the story as-is - no preconceived notions, as fair, as balanced as possible," Butt says, in an emphatic voice.

The media coverage for the network launch has been extensive and "overwhelmingly positive," Butt says.

Fox News said, "Bridges TV can remove a lot of misconceptions about Islam and Muslims in America. And after 9/11 there appears to be a significant interest among Americans in Muslim cultures."

But detractors have not been too far behind. Radio talk show host Mike Gallagher was quick to challenge Bridges TV on the same channel.

"The timing is wildly inappropriate," he says. "We are at war with Muslim extremists. We understand all Muslims are not terrorists, but the fact is there were Germans who were Nazis, we didn’t see the U.S. introduce a German TV network on American airwaves at the height of World War II. It might be nice if Mr. Hassan had waited till we conquered the Islamist terrorists before he could even dream of such an ill-conceived idea."

While Gallagher is in the minority with such extreme views, Butt clearly disagrees with his statement. "A lot of people have said since 9/11, where is the Muslim voice, where is the Muslim outrage when there were beheadings going on in Iraq or Afghanistan, or when there were kidnappings. We aim to be outlet for the American Muslim community to respond," he says.

Controversy is not something Bridges TV will shy away from, says Butt. "We would be doing a disservice if we didn’t take a look at contentious topics," he says. "Once we generate a bit of revenue, we will have long format news-magazine pieces about controversial topics like honor killings, hijabs, the fact that some Muslims are bending the word of the Quran for their own agenda. But we will mix this with stories that are positive, ones that get lost, you don’t see them on mainstream TV, like a sitcom or drama starring a Muslim, or a movie about one who isn’t a terrorist."

Butt has no qualms about the future of Bridges TV. With 10,000 subscribers already paid up, there is clearly a great demand for programming catered to this niche. With Bridges TV, will rise the fortunes of Butt.

Until then, he is a motivated 25-year-old, enjoying his job and the 12-hour days it calls for, 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"I am a typical American Muslim. My friends are from all backgrounds - African-American, white and Muslim, Catholic, Jewish, Hindus, you name it," he says. "I am religious. I fast, I pray. I also love the Red Sox. I cried with joy when they won."

He misses Boston, especially Anna’s Taqueria. For Butt, there is almost nothing better than their chicken super burrito.