Viewers react to controversial 'brownface' doc about life as a British Muslim: "Why not ask an actual Muslim?"

Channel 4's My Week as a Muslim was always going to court controversy.

Following a white woman with anti-Islamic views as she was dressed in a hijab, had her skin darkened and was given a prosthetic nose so that she could experience negative treatment regularly doled out to Muslims, it drew criticism as soon as the first trailer was released.

A spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain said: “The use of brownface and blackface has a long racist history and it is not surprising that it has caused deep offence amongst some communities. Had we been consulted, we would not have advised this approach.

But the spokesperson did recognise the programme's attempts to understand what it was like to be on the receiving end of anti-Muslim abuse.

“We do, however, laud the apparent goals of the documentary – to better understand the reality of Islamophobia, which has become socially accepted across broader society.”

But after watching the documentary on Monday night, many viewers were united by one sentiment – if you want to know what life is like for a Muslim in Britain, ask a Muslim...

https://twitter.com/megsteinberg/status/922556073806106624

https://twitter.com/KhuramAhmedLive/status/922555146860662785

https://twitter.com/helen_a15/status/922553994609876992

https://twitter.com/ZabMustefa/status/922554451231207424

https://twitter.com/TheAnisaSubedar/status/922554265180221440

https://twitter.com/DanFarr_3/status/922564118174826496

Nevertheless, there were some viewers who felt there was something in the documentary's approach of giving its subject first-hand experience...

https://twitter.com/CatKngCharlesSt/status/922742804622856192

https://twitter.com/shakil_90/status/922566916639559682

https://twitter.com/ravenwolf68/status/922742501005553664

If you didn't see My Week as a Muslim, you can catch up here and decide for yourself.