- Katie Freeman, 44, was disguised as a Muslim for a new Channel 4 documentary
- The show follows her around Manchester in the week after the Arena bombing
- Her perception of Islam changed after receiving a raft of racist abuse every day
- Producers have come under fire for the show's stereotypical 'brownface'
A white British woman was peppered with racist abuse when she went undercover as a Muslim for a Channel 4 documentary - but the show has sparked a race row over "brownface."
Katie Freeman threw on a hijab and was given a bigger nose, fake teeth and darker skin for "My Week As A Muslim," which followed her around Manchester in the week after the terrorist attack in the city.
The show had been planned before Salman Abedi killed 23 people by detonating a rucksack outside an Ariana Grande concert, but producers made the decision to carry on regardless.
But when the trailer was posted on YouTube through the broadcaster's official channel on Tuesday, many questioned the way she was transformed, seemingly to conform to stereotypes.
One commenter said: "Who on earth thought it would be a good idea to put prosthetics on somebody to make them a caricature of people of a different race (as if being white and Muslim are exclusive anyway???) On primetime TV in 2017??? Madness!!!'
Another added: "Did they... brownface her?????"
The founder of Faith Matters, Fiyaz Mughal, was also furious about the programme. "This is trying to drive ratings by racial stereotyping. Channel 4 needs to apologize," he said. "If you are trying to bridge divides, what message does it send to Muslim communities that people think of you in a certain way?"
“My week as a Muslim” looks like the most offensive tv show of this year
— Junior Levi (@JuniorMortimer) October 17, 2017
Ms. Freeman, 44, said her experience on the show changed her outlook on Islam entirely.
When she first started she said that she would try to avoid sitting next to a Muslim because "you see them and think 'they're going to blow something up.'"
But as she strolled through the city, she was shocked at the racist comments that were routinely shouted at her, and how it made her feel.
As she walked past her local pub, one person shouted "f****** Muslims, in this town?" while another ranted about "them [Muslims] round here."
The abuse was so great that Ms. Freeman even considered pulling out of the show at one stage.
"It makes me ashamed to live here. I was raging and fuming inside. But I also felt vulnerable. What harm was I doing?" she said.
However, she was eventually convinced to stay by her host, 49-year-old Saima Alvi, who told her she faces such abuse every day.
"It’s very humiliating that I am pigeon-holed, or put in the same box as a terrorist," Ms. Alvi said. "[But] we did click straight away. Our friendship has gone beyond this."
"What I have learned is that there are genuinely nice people who are unfortunately misled about Islam," she added.
"The programme allowed Katie to meaningfully walk in the shoes of someone from a different background and to experience what it is like to be part of the British Pakistani Muslim community rather than just observe it as an outsider," the show's executive producer, Fozia Khan, said.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
