Sounds of Islam defended

An Indian radio station denies that it is Islamist and that it has aired a "tirade" about the West.

Apna FM says it caters to many religions within the Indian community and is not an Islamist station.

Shalen Shandil, the Hindu host of the weekly hour-long talkback show referred to by NZ First leader Winston Peters, said one caller had begun to express extremist sentiment after the London bombings and the consequent desecration of New Zealand mosques, but was quickly cut off.

"The callers that followed supported what we did. They basically said the attitude this guy's got, he should be removed out of the country."

Mr Peters told the Weekend Herald yesterday that he was astonished the station denied being Islamist.

"They broadcast Islamic prayers five times a day."

He had not listened to the station but said he was basing his comments on information from "informants".

Mr Peters fingered Apna in his election campaign launch speech, pointing to a July 10 show.

"Following the London bombings, all sorts of extremist and anti-Western views were expressed," he said. "Get a transcript and tell me if I am not right."

In Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Peters said Prime Minister Helen Clark had gone on the airwaves "smack in the middle of the programme" at a time when vehement abuse and anti-West sentiment were being expressed.

The Weekend Herald asked Mr Shandil, a Fijian Indian Hindu journalist, for a copy of the transcript of his show, but he said it was with the station's lawyers, who were deciding whether to take legal action for possible defamation.

But he was happy to give his recollections of the callers to the hour-long talkback show, which runs on Sundays from 4pm.

The programme had a telephone interview with Helen Clark and played a clip from an interview with President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan saying, "If you're a Kiwi you've got to follow New Zealand law".

Mr Shandil said a single caller had proposed revenge for the desecration of the mosques. It was the first call he could remember inciting any kind of action - and the man had lasted only five or 10 seconds before being cut off.

Mr Shandil said his talkshow was not always about Islam but the subject was topical following the London bombings.

It was rare for people to call and express anti-West sentiment at any time.

"They would go through and talk about what Islam is really like and take it from there. No one has actually come on and said they don't like what the United States is doing.

"They would talk about Iraq, though. They would talk about what's happening there and that's where they leave it."

The station's general manager, Babu Chatterji, said Apna was music-based and broadcast community messages on behalf of the diverse Indian community.

"Yes, we do have prayers for Muslims. Yes, we do have a Hindu programme every Sunday, and every day we have a Punjabi cultural programme, so it's not just one thing."

Douglas Pratt, a senior lecturer at Waikato University, said the vast majority of Muslims in New Zealand were people who wanted to get away from the extreme versions of Islam.