Friday’s Any Questions broadcast from the London Muslim Centre aka the East London Mosque was part of the BBC’s strategy of embracing Islam.
After the recent C4 Dispatches programme that showcased the unpleasant side of the Islamic Forum of Europe, appeasing Muslims might have seemed a good move by the BBC, what with their desire to promote social cohesion.
The fact that Ken Livingstone was one of the panellists and Mehdi Hasan was another, guaranteed that the programme would be on message.
Predictably, halfway through came the question ‘Does the press demonise Muslims?’
Mehdi Hasan’s outburst was as astonishing as it was hypocritical.
He said the MSM erroneously represent the outpourings of Anjem Choudary as though they were the views of all Muslims. They do this merely because they seek sensational stories. He insisted that the majority of Muslims, including the Islamic Forum of Europe, are moderate and peaceful. He said Andrew Gilligan was a disgrace.
He thought the press has created Islamophobia, which has turned people against Mosques being built in their area because they believe all Muslims are terrorists making bombs.
These ideas might have resonance from an Islamic perspective. But from a UK perspective things look different. Many people who don’t want Mosques do not have a phobia. Their objection to Mosques is likely because they associate them with non-assimilated communities whose cultural practises are at odds with the UK, quite a rational fear one might say. Many people who are perfectly sane don’t wish to be subjected to calls to prayer over loudspeakers several times a day – heaven knows some people find church bells intrusive – and many people, completely right in the head, just don’t want people walking round their neighbourhoods wearing shrouds. Certainly some ordinary English people still hang on to traditional English customs, like monogamous marriage, free speech, as well as new-fangled concepts such as equality for women and tolerance of homosexuality, agnosticism, sex drugs and rock’n’ roll; some of them like keeping dogs, listening to music and looking at cartoons of Mohammed with a bomb in his turban.
Back at the BBC noticing that radicalised Muslims predominantly perpetrate terrorism is considered Islamophobic, as is expressing concerns about such things as the increasing demands from Muslims that we conform to their idiosyncrasies.
All the panellists on Any Questions played it by those unspoken rules, tiptoeing round the subject dutifully, to boldly taboo where no man has tabooed before.
If anyone does want a prime example of demonisation by the press, the New Statesman is it. But Mehdi Hasan’s New Statesman target is Israel, so in that case demonisation is fine.
Any demonisation of Muslims by the media pales into insignificance beside the demonisation of Israel that has been the norm in the MSM for decades.
Even examining areas where Islamic ideology is incompatible with UK ideals is unacceptable in BBC world, whereas decades of the BBC’s treatment of Israel has resulted in hostile hordes, ready willing and able to express their passionately misinformed, phobic opinions in the press.
Exhibit ‘a,’ is the Guardian, closely followed by the Financial Times.
Future generations are affected too. Postcards that were sent to the Israeli Embassy by Spanish children declare: “Jews kill for money,” “Leave the country to the Palestinians” and “Go somewhere where they will accept you.”
They probably didn’t get this directly from the BBC, but it’s indicative of the European malaise that the BBC at once reflects and creates.
Sue you understate how increasingly egregious and politically biased the BBC becomes weekly, against Israel, for Hamas, and for the Islamisation of Britain and Europe.
The Islamic hysteria which the BBC deliberately inflicts on licencepayers in the current ‘Any pro-Islamic Questions’ is the utter pits in unacceptable political propaganda.
For BBC: ANJEM CHOUDARY, the voice of real Islam –
http://www.jihadwatch.org/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/br0nc0s/managed-mt/mt-search.cgi?search=anjem+choudary&IncludeBlogs=1&limit=20
What, moi? Understating something?
You flatter me. Understated is what I wanna be.
“Un-der-stat-ed adj
Achieving its effect through restraint, subtlety, and good taste”
Haha. 😀
The very intensitity and venom of the guardianista/beeboid/islamist response to the programme and quite supportive viewer feedback is an indication of how defensive this deeply sinister group is feeling.
Wilders victory in the Netherlands, together with his belated appearance in the H of L, the dignified EDL gathering with its multi racial contributions, and the public support for the Dubai operation, ( I wish there would have been a pre “improved” HYS on Dubai!) shows how badly the political elite have misread the seachange occuring.
And BBC touts for Islam and Livingstone with its ‘Any pro-Islamic Questions’.
“Islamists get voters out for Livingstone”
(by ex-BBC, now ‘Telegraph’ journalist, Andrew Gilligan)-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/7386900/Islamists-got-voters-out-for-Livingstone.html
Andrew Gilligan should now investigate Muslim entryism into the BBC, which probably far exceeds their Lambeth Council feats.
Sue
Could you drop me a mail when you get a moment please?
Did anyone notice the excellent performance of Ken Clark on Any Questions? I’m sure that most of the new boys in the shadow cabinet would have been severely rattled by the total bias of the show, particularly the loud cheers and applause from the audience every time a loony left idea was expressed by one of the panellists. Old Ken took it all in his stride, maintained his cheery persona, and sailed through regardless. He’s a class act and puts his colleagues to shame.
Shame he’s a rabid Europhile though.
I guess nobodies perfect.
“Back at the BBC noticing that radicalised Muslims predominantly perpetrate terrorism is considered Islamophobic..”
Then there’s the inconvenient fact that thousands have been murdered in Southern Thailand over the last few years. As far as I’m aware, Thailand is not involved in Iraq, Afghanistan or associated with Israel in any particular way.
The conflation of Any Questions Please with those Dimblebore lads was a good clue of what is to come.
The lads prejudices smear anyone who has not been paying their air miles and country piles since 97. Their treatment of anybody but the Tories(useless though they generally are in the media) is cringeing and slimy.
The Mosque Show sounded like a Munich Bierkeller in 1933…very frightening how these perpetual victims cum class warriors get free rein to abuse to vilify and to smear those not of “the faith”. As if Orwell had never existed!
That Red Ken dare show up and spout on sleaze beggars belief but still he got away unchecked…that a Mandelson and Prescott can spew their bile as Paxo gums them up in love bites is despicable…and that an Adonis gets to talk as if anyone but Blair had voted for him to pronounce on policy shows just how bankrupt the political class now is with its house trained quislings the other side of the croissants!
No patriot should be paying taxes that end up as MPs pay rises/expenses or Mandelsons mortgage…so well done Ashcroft! Only the stupid allow this parody of democracy in a free media to go on without actively trying to bring them all to justice in Winchester or somewhere suitable!