Why does the BBC air Islamist propaganda?

13 March 2010

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The Islamic Forum of Europe is decried by most Muslims as vicious and unrepresentative, says Andrew Gilligan. So why did Any Questions air its views?

The IFE don’t even speak for the Muslims of east London, let alone the UK. Tower Hamlets is a Bangladeshi community — but the IFE are the heirs of a religious party that fought against the liberation of Bangladesh. Whatever the BNP might like to think, most British Muslims have no truck with fundamentalism, and many actively despise the East London Mosque crowd.

Those other Muslims may not have the same PR clout. Their mosques — and there are, by the way, 41 other mosques in Tower Hamlets — tend to be smaller and scruffier. But it is those moderate, liberal or secular Muslims, the vast majority, whom the BBC betrayed last week.

The story of the IFE infiltration is an important one, receiving coverage in national newspapers from the Mail to the Guardian — but the deeply flawed Any Questions is, so far, the only mention it has had on the nation’s broadcaster. Though Muslims know perfectly well what goes on at the mosque, parts of the white establishment suffer from a multicultural cringe.

The IFE are the enemies of everything the average BBC liberal — not to mention the average Muslim — stands for. It is time to stop legitimising them.

Andrew Gilligan is London editor of the Telegraph Media Group.

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Cassandrina

March 13th, 2010 7:33am Report this comment

This QT was a travesty and worse than the Nick Griffin and Daniel Hannon QT which previously marked a new low on QT.
There were many complaints made on this loony left wing and radical QT, and of Dimbleby showing his usual bias and encouraging the audience activists in their ridiculous talk and antics.
The radio 4 Feedback programme reflected these complaints, as they did for the bbc's 5 days of continuous Lord Ashcroft negative coverage (with nothing on other non-doms).
The beeboid political news editor gave the usual bbc excuses and arrogant denials, even attempting to link it with the Brown bullying issue to balance issues, in spite of no person really complaiining of this, except me on the fact that the bbc tried to explain this as normal behaviour for a very hardworking PM with limited patience (nothing about him being incompetent which is why he continuously loses it.)

Mohammed Amin

March 14th, 2010 1:27pm Report this comment

I did not listen to the BBC "Any Questions" programme mentioned, and therefore cannot comment on it. However, I was struck by Andrew Gilligan's statement in the second paragraph that “They [East London Mosque activists] also control the Muslim Council of Britain.”

No evidence is offered for this. I am aware that the MCB Secretary General, Dr Abdul Bari, is also chair of the East London Mosque. However, many people have multiple roles, and I would like Andrew to explain his assertion in more detail and outline his evidence for the alleged control.

Although I chair the MCB’s Business & Economics Committee, this comment is written in a personal capacity.

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