DC Alden, author of the excellent The Horse of the Gates, and a reader of this august journal (!) shares the following with us;
“I’m sure you’re probably aware by now but there was a newspaper review on BBC News this morning with a female Muslim blogger. She began with a piece about Christians offering sanctuary to Muslims wishing to leave Islam’s embrace. I didn’t catch the whole package but what I did see appeared bizarre. She claimed that Muslims who leave Islam are in no danger at all and in fact are free to choose whichever religious path they prefer. I think we know that this is completely false and perhaps an attempt to paint Islam in a positive light in the wake of the obvious (and as yet unmentioned by the Beeb) Islamic terrorist attack in Belgium”
Anyone else catch it? Thoughts?
Hard to believe? Am I living in the same world as these guys?
1.2.2 Truth and Accuracy
We seek to establish the truth of what has happened and are committed to achieving due accuracy in all our output. Accuracy is not simply a matter of getting facts right; when necessary, we will weigh relevant facts and information
to get at the truth. Our output, as appropriate to its subject and nature, will be well sourced, based on sound evidence, thoroughly tested and presented in clear, precise language. We will strive to be honest and open about what we
don’t know and avoid unfounded speculation.
Impartiality
Impartiality lies at the core of the BBC’s commitment to its audiences. We will
apply due impartiality to all our subject matter and will reflect a breadth and
diversity of opinion across our output as a whole, over an appropriate period, so
that no significant strand of thought is knowingly unreflected or underrepresented.
We will be fair and open-minded when examining evidence and
weighing material facts.
1.2.4 Editorial Integrity and Independence
The BBC is independent of outside interests and arrangements that could
undermine our editorial integrity. Our audiences should be confident that our decisions are not influenced by outside interests, political or commercial pressures, or any personal interests
We will be rigorous in establishing the truth of the story and well informed when explaining it.
If you complain about this they will reply that they are unable to control or vet the views or what their independent contributors espouse.
In general they have a point, they couldn’t have brought someone like Anjem Choudray on and been responsible for what ever he says.
Having said that the people who are responsible for interviewing these people should have sufficient knowledge of their subject to be able to challenge when a contributor says something that is wrong.
If you are going to challenge the BBC then it is here you must do it as they have a watertight get out if you challenge what the guest said.
All the major schools of Islamic law (Shari’ah) agree that converts from Islam (apostates) should be put to death, their marriages annulled, and their children and property taken away. This tradition is upheld and taught by most Muslim religious leaders around the world today. In countries like Iran, Sudan and Saudi Arabia the death sentence for leaving Islam is actually part of the law. Whilst in Egypt there is technically no law banning apostasy, converts are still actively punished by the police and often face imprisonment, beatings and torture on various pretexts in order to try to force them to return to Islam. Some have died in prison. Several have had to flee the country. Converts have sometimes been arrested under the country’s emergency legislation which allows for the holding of suspects without charge or trial for indefinite periods.
http://barnabasfund.org/UK/News/Archives/Christian-Couple-Imprisoned-for-Conversion.html?&quicksearch=apostates
PS
In addition, if a Muslim converts to Christianity, then he he will be unable to leave his native Islamic country, even if he has been granted a visa to leave. The reason is obvious. If the convert leaves (ie escapes), he will have escaped the allah mandated punishment.
i cant think of any other religion in this world except islam where if you leave there religion your family,your freinds,your workmates would shun you and 9 times out of ten you would have to go into hiding in fear of your life accussed of being a apostate,see muslims are not stupid,in public including bloggers etc they will put out the perception that they reject extremism,in private so called muslim moderates have been caught out preaching the most vile homophobic,anti semetic sexist and anti christian hatred from inside there mosques as proved in channel 4s 2 undercover mosques documentarys and this trojan horse islamist plot in birmingham,sorry.but i just dont trust this religion called islam and followers in england or all over the world where they see non muslims as nothing but sub humans as proved in the kidnapping and forced conversion to islam of those poor black christian schoolgirls in nigeria.
fake, the album from the mmouth of madness was produced by Phantom not the band Sewer you see
rock http://sewerblackmetal.bandcamp.com
I can see why Islam will kill the apostate.
The religion(sic) has been unreformed now since the start of the Middle Ages-and has not had one thinker that dared to question the Korans ludicrous crap about Christ having a body double at Calvary.
Qutb at least had a plan for Islam and his own people…but what it`s got to do with the west is nobodys business-as long as Islam is faced down as it stands.
If Islam had a brain-a thinker-it would indeed be a dangerous force…but it is just the neighbourhood bully, and doesn`t like it up `em!
It thinks the BBC speaks for us-and will get ever nastier as long as the BBC is allowed to act like it does just that….
I can cope with hearing different opinions.
The safe ghouse is in the UK, so not exactly the same scale as faced by apostates in Islamic countries.
I’d like to see the evidence for the ‘Islamic terrorist attack in Belgium’, and why the BBC should report it as such when there isn’t any evidence of it. I’m sure you wouldn’t say the same if a white supremacist was the prime suspect, right?
The BBC has of course covered the statements by the Belgian government that the suspected motive is anti-semetic as well as this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27567396
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27566530
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27562915
As is so often the case when one takes just a few moments to check, the posts here bear little semblence to reality.
Given the attack occurred the day before the EU elections on the mainland then who knows what were the perpetrator(s) motives? Maybe it was UKIP?
However, as the majority of anti-Semitic attacks in Europe originate from Islamic sources, then odds on that is where the blame lies. Might be a couple of lone racists but the odds are against that.
Also, given the BBCs reluctance to call the Boston bombings anything other than the deeds of white supremacists, at the time, they are not the go to guys for this sort of news. Even now they are reluctant to discuss the role of the Islamic beliefs of the two brothers and their role in the killings. Ditto the Woolwich atrocity.
So, as people here have no compunction to stay silent, blaming the people most likely to be to blame is not that unreasonable, if a tad previous.
Indeed, prime suspect undoubtedly. But you cannot say as the author has: ‘in the wake of the obvious (and as yet unmentioned by the Beeb) Islamic terrorist attack in Belgium”.
So the BBC shouldn’t report that as fact should it?
And the statement is simply false:
‘Also, given the BBCs reluctance to call the Boston bombings anything other than the deeds of white supremacists, ‘
This site made that point based on an article citing a number of suspects, with white supremacists at the top.
The BBC’s lack of interest in who is likely to have carried out the attack is in direct contrast to the slavering speculation which was rife at the BBC at the time of the Toulouse and Boston murders – both carried out by Islamists as it turned out, but both clearly had the barely-disguised BBC finger of blame pointing at ‘right-wing extremists’ at the time.