Pictures & Videos

Islamic TV channels

Q: I have a question that watching TV is not allowed in Islam then why so many Islamic tv channels. Why we are watching Islamic knowledge on TV? Why so many people create videos of Islamic knowledge and upload it on YouTube and other sites? I hope you will give me answer.

Children watching videos in school

Q: I have a question regarding my little brother who is going into a Islamic School in Chicago. He is only 7 years old. In his Islamic school they show kids Islamic/non-Islamic videos of animate objects on the screens, sometimes for educational reasons and sometimes for fun. I know watching these things are not permissible but in his case what should one do to stop this evil? How should this matter be approached?

Also his school has qualified teachers that are teaching there from the Deobandi school of thought. When we can't change their mindset then due to him being only 7 years old, is it permissible to participate in these kind of things. Also we are left with no choice of putting him into any other Islamic school because the situation is much worse and the government wants every child to be in school. If the answers can be mentioned in detail that would be highly appreciated.

Silhouettes and emoticons

Q:

1. Are silhouettes of people (pictures of people in black, without the face having nose, eyes, etc.) considered tasaweer and haraam?

2. Similarly, are emoticons that are made up of symbols like =, (), :, etc. as compared to emoticons that are obviously tasaweer also considered haraam?