Radio station FunX scraps Ramadan show after death threats

Radio station FunX decided to scrap its show Ramadan Late Night after multiple of its employees received death threats. DJ Moradzo told broadcaster NOS that the threats came from "purists" or "extremists" who believe music and Ramadan should not mix.

Ramadan Late Night was started last year, with the idea that people celebrating Ramadan can share their experiences. According to the radio station, the program received so many positive reactions that it was decided to repeat the concept this year. "This has provoked unexpectedly strong reactions on social media. According to some people, music and Ramadan do not go together," FunX said in a statement.

Several FunX employees and the people around them were threatened with death, the station said. "And since their safety is paramount, we had to hire extra security. An unacceptable consequence of an initiative that was meant to bring people together."

DJ Moradzo told NOS that one of the threats he received told him to imagine leaving the station one night, to find two guys getting off a scooter and riddling his chest with bullets. Another threat said that he would be "shot to pieces". According to the FunX DJ, an Instagram account with some 40 thousand followers, which is run by a man previously convicted of child sexual abuse, set its followers on the station.

Due to the threats, FunX decided to scrap Ramadan Late Night, but that does not mean the station will avoid the topic of Ramadan altogether. "Ramadan is a daily reality in the lives of some of our audience, so we will not shy away from this topic," the station said. "Our goal now more than ever is to bring people together in this time with inspiring stories, tips recipes, etc. We will do this from today by giving this topic a place throughout our programming and across all our channels."

Moradzo said that the threats were reported to the police.