Channel 7 says it will continue to broadcast the soap opera <i>Fah Jarod Sai</i> despite complaints by the Muslims for Peace Foundation that it misrepresents their religion and culture.
'Fah Jarod Sai' has been criticised for shallow stereotyping of Muslims and their culture.
Bangkok Broadcasting and Television (BBTV), which operates Channel 7, said there was no intent to insult Islam or its followers.
The soap opera or lakorn, directed by Siam Sungvaribudh, is broadcast on Channel 7 on Monday and Tuesday nights. It is a romance involving a mixed-race Thai girl named Michelle and Sharif, a royal officer in the fictional desert kingdom of Hinfara.
Fah Jarod Sai, or "Where the Sky Meets the Sand", is adapted from a popular novel of the same name written by Sopak Suwan, who spent time living in the Middle East.
Bangkok Post columnist Kong Rithdee said the TV adaptation was too "silly" to be taken seriously by anyone.
"Like a mirage or an opium dream, this is a romantic vision fuelled by risible, naive, dumb, Orientalist fantasy," he wrote.
Palakorn Somsuwan, managing director of BBTV, said the company had conducted a review of the 12-episode series after studying the complaint from the Muslims for Peace Foundation.
The broadcaster late on Friday issued a statement saying that the fictional events portrayed were produced for entertainment purposes and the production aimed to follow the original literary work.
"At the beginning of the soap, there is a written message declaring the intent of the production is for entertainment," said Mr Palakorn.
Channel 7 executives on Saturday met with the Office of the Sheikhul Islam of Thailand, or the Chularatchamontri, and agreed to adjust the scripts of the remaining eight episodes with assitance from the office.
Mr Siam, who is also the managing director of Dara Video Co, which produced the series, thanked the foundation for its comments. However, he insisted that his main aim was to be faithful to the novel which was written more than 30 years ago.
Before the production, he added, the company submitted the scripts of all 12 episodes translated into English to the Egyptian embassy and the Culture Ministry of Egypt for examination and comment.