BNP’s Griffin attacks Islam as row rages over BBC show.
The BBC was under fire on Friday for handing the far-right a “golden opportunity” after BNP leader Nick Griffin appeared on “Question Time”, attacking Islam and defended the Ku Klux Klan.
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johnpi
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plimfix
Dr David Owen, former British Foreign Secretary, appears to be telling a terrific tommy tiddler about his relationship with the BBC, in Christopher de Bellaigue’s fascinating documentary exploring “Uncle Napoleonism” and the history of Britain’s often fraught relationship with Iran.
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fathima
Has anyone else seen the BBC film White Girl? Thoughts? You can watch the whole thing on YouTube (approximately 90min).
The official BBC write-up is as follows:
“This provocative and emotive drama from the Bafta Award-winning writer of Sex Traffic tells the story of the clash of cultures that occurs when a white family relocates from Leeds to an otherwise wholly Asian community in Bradford.
Abi Morgan’s compelling film is told from the perspective of 11-year-old Leah, played by newcomer Holly Kenny, whose world is turned upside down when her mum Debbie (Bleak House’s Anna Maxwell Martin) moves the family to Bradford to escape the fallout from her recent relationship break-up.
Leah becomes friends with her neighbour Yasmin and discovers that the culture she was initially intimidated by isn’t so alien after all. She is soon seeking sanctuary in the rituals of Islam, away from the pain and strife at home. But this innocent fascination turns sour for Debbie when her daughter comes home wearing a hijab, and the family’s violent reaction has explosive consequences for everyone.
And then there’s a review at Times Online which is ridiculous.
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thabet
James Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch, attacks the BBC:
Independence is sustained by true accountability to customers. People who buy the newspapers, open the application, decide to take out the TV subscription – people who choose a service they value. And people value honest, fearless, and independent news coverage that challenges the consensus.
While certainly fearless (or perhaps reckless), only an idiot would describe The Sun or The News of the World as ‘honest’ or ‘accountable’.
And with Britain’s biggest selling tabloids are also owned by the same company which owns its biggest selling and most widely known broadsheet and its main satellite television and radio provider, you can hardly this set-up ‘independent’.
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thabet
The BBC paid £45,000 in damages to Muhammad Abdul Bari, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, for comments made on Question Time by one of the panellists (Charles Moore).
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plimfix
BBC Question Time panellist and Telegraph journo-pundit Charles Moore slanders Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, by claiming Bari condoned the kidnapping and killing of British soldiers in Iraq. However, it is the BBC (funded by the UK taxpayer) which is prosecuted by Bari, who recieves £45000 compensation (given to charity – alhamdulillah) and costs. Interestingly, a joint statement in open court by Bari and the BBC is conspicuous for not naming Moore.
Don’t ask me to explain Britain’s libel laws!
CODA: the right-wing Christian blog Cranmer has leapt to Charles Moore’s defence. Hat Tip to Islamophobia Watch for drawing my attention to this (by email).
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thabet
Stupid versus stupid: I am watching right-wing hack and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad fan Yvonne Ridley debate neoconservative fanatic Douglas Murray on BBC News. They are discussing the murder of Marwa el-Sherbin.
I can’t think of two people better placed to give an opinion on killing of Muslims, given their support for acts of violence which have killed countless Muslims.
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thabet
Our newest frontpager, Richard Bartholomew, has a post on Christian rumblings against Aaqil Ahmed, the BBC’s new head of religious programming.
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plimfix
BBC Panorama (22nd June 2009) The Battle of Swat Valley: “Reporter John Sweeney comes under fire as he joins troops battling to regain territory from the Taliban, whose rule of terror has left shootings, beheadings and burning of schools in its wake.”
I don’t have enough knowledge of the situation to evaluate this programme in depth, but two passing comments. (1) In talking about the history of the Taliban, Pakistani government money was mentioned, but not the CIA funding that I understand effectively created the Taliban, and (2) ‘The Doors’ music and the ‘war drama’ tone invoked during the film rankled me. Swat or ‘The Miscreants’ (as the Pakistani army call the Taliban) really don’t need dramatizing to bring home the horror, injustice and stupidity of what’s going on. The facts speak for themselves — and I would have liked more of those, and a few less shots of John Sweeney in his flak jacket.
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plimfix
I’m posting a link to a video of a TV broadcast, although I haven’t actually watched it. The truth is, I don’t have a strong enough stomach. For those of you with iron guts or an endless supply of sick bags at the ready, here, on BBC TV’s This Week, talking about Iran, is… Martin Amis. Oh, dear.
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thabet
This is appalling:
What kind of journalism is that?
(John Ware, in case you don’t know, made a documentary about the charity Interpal which was aired, controversially perhaps, during Israel’s freedom struggle against Lebanon.)
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thabet
I have noted this before: Sky News offers more critical coverage of Israel’s attempts at peace than BBC World.
Talking of which, here is the latest offering from the Partner For Peace (aka The Only Democracy In The Middle East):
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thabet
To all the people* complainig about Aaqil Ahmed’s appointment: the role is not a religious role; it is head of religious programming at the BBC.
*These complaints are probably coordinated from the ‘Christian lobby’. See Sunny’s posts on this.
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plimfix
On Guardian CiF, Sunny Hundal welcomes the new BBC head of religion, but his indignation at the media smear campaign organised against Aaqil Ahmed is attracting the usual rabble of anti-dhimmi headcases and atheists quoting the creed of Dawkins. Erm, hello, Aaqil’s is a media job, NOT a religious appointment.
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thabet
Dogs receive more attention from the BBC than people who are found guilty of threatening to kill others.
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thabet
Would the BBC have applied these ‘impartiality’ guidelines to a play about South Africa?
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thabet
The BBC has a series of documentaries on Iran and the West, which have received a positive review from The Economist. Hopefully, it will be available to those of us outside the UK soon…
I haven seen a different documentary on the fall of the Shah being aired on BBC World. I can’t claim to in the position to validate the entire story as pieced together in the documentary, but I did enjoy it; they had some interviews with key players in the Revolution and clips of interviews with Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.
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thabet
400+ BBC staff signed a petition protesting the Mark Thompson’s handling of the Gaza aid appeal.
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plimfix
In the UK, the media have invented something called “a national treasure” – a celebrity no one is allowed to bitch about, unless the poor blighter gets arrested for something henious like sniffing bicycle saddles. BBC news presenter Jeremy Paxman is one of those currently in the running for beautification, but this snippit isn’t really about our Jez. No, it’s about The Guardian – another national treasure, once upon a time. So enamoured is The G by our man that, in reviewing his new two-part BBC documentary The Victorians, TV critic Sam Wollaston failed to mention it’s a TORY history. Okay, not quite Tory. More a nod to the old British Liberal Party – that was a party for Tories who knew a few poor people. Did someone tell me The Guardian is a “left-of-centre” British daily? Pleeeeeeease!
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thabet
Archbishops of Canterbury and York join in criticism of the BBC for not airing the DEC Gaza appeal (which has raised £3million so far), together with 112 MPs and over 11,000 viewers.
The head of the IAEA has also said he will not give interviews to the BBC over its disgraceful decision not to air the appeal.
And the BBC is being threatened with legal action for refusing to air the appeal.
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thabet
Watch the DEC Gaza appeal, that the BBC didn’t want to air, then donate.
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thabet
One of the regulars at Media Lens have done some research (1, 2) into the BBC’s past decision with respect to DEC appeals.
The evidence doesn’t look very good for the BBC.
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thabet
BBC Scotland occupied!
More at Media Lens.
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aziz
the BBC is rethinking their decision not to air the Gaza relief appeal. They cited their impartiality as reason not to air it; but of course deciding not to air it also compromises it.
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thabet
Write to the BBC and let them know of their disgraceful posturing, especially those of you who pay for a TV licence.
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thabet
The BBC has, disgracefully, refused to air a humanitarian appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee, an umbrella group of 13 charities, to raise money for Gaza.
Interestingly, the government has intervened telling the BBC that it should reconsider their decision. Which leads me to believe the BBC wanted to be forced into broadcasting the appeal, so it could say it was forced when the inevitable complaints arise that the BBC is ‘helping fund terrorism’.
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thabet
I am a defender of the BBC on a domestic front, especially in the face of right-wing attacks.
But the coverage of the Gaza conflict by BBC World has been disgraceful, especially their Jerusalem correspondent, Katya Adler, who appears to be simply parotting Israeli army press releases.
Even Sky News (the international version) has been better, which is ironic given The Cancer that owns the channel.
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thabet
I am more surprised by the fact that the writers put a brown face on Eastenders.
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Lawrence of Arabia
In their recent round-up of KSA bloggers, the BBC included one of my personal favorites: Aysha’s In the Making. Check it out.
A Sample From Aysha: “To console myself tonight I am promising the following: I will not age in this city nor will I die in it. They may bury me in Riyadh, whoever they are that wash and burry the dead, but my readers will forever know that my wish is to be turned to ashes and blown in the face of wilder lands–”
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thabet
Bradford Muslim has an interesting post on Mad Mel’s appearances on Radio 4’s Moral Maze.
