We
call on Lord Hall, Director General of the BBC, to protect the UK’s
Christian heritage and reject current proposals to reduce and downgrade
Christian programming in favour of increased coverage for Muslim, Hindu
and Sikh faiths. We further call for Aaqil Amhed, Head of Religion and
Ethics for the BBC, to be removed from office on the grounds of Islamic
bias and clear disrespect for Christian belief.
In recent years Christian programming has already been severely
downgraded, yet Mr Ahmed, the Muslim Head of Religion and Ethics for the
BBC since 2009, claims the BBC is ‘too Christian’, and has written a
report saying non-Christian faiths are underserved. He says the BBC must
be more diverse, and that there should be an increase in Muslim, Hindu
and Sikh programming. It has even been suggested that the BBC might
televise Friday prayers from a mosque, in similar format to the
Christian programme ‘Songs of Praise’, as well as broadcasting the daily
Muslim call to prayer.
During his time at the BBC, and prior to that at Channel 4 where he
exercised a similar role, Aaqil Ahmed has displayed a clear bias towards
Islam and contempt for Christianity. He has regularly commissioned
documentaries displaying clear pro-Islamic bias, while calling into
question fundamental tenets and teachings of Christianity, in such a way
as to trivialise and undermine Christian faith. While at Channel 4, for
example, he screened a week of special programmes on Islam, including a
feature-length documentary on the Qu’ran, and a series of interviews
with Muslims around the world talking about their beliefs. But in the
main Easter documentary of 2011, entitled 'The Secrets of the 12
Disciples', he encouraged disrespect for Christian belief, questioning
core tradition and casting doubt on the validity of the Pope. In similar
fashion he has sparked fury by comparing Mary, Joseph, and the baby
Jesus, to refugees in the Calais jungle.
This is unacceptable. The UK is a Christian country, established as
such by statute. In marked contrast to the traditions and values of all
other belief systems, our society - founded on the idea of respect for
the individual as made in the image of God - is based upon Christian
values. These values and beliefs have shaped our laws since before Magna
Carta, and over time have become the foundation for Western democracy
worldwide. It is entirely right therefore that Christianity be given
more airtime than the beliefs of minority groups, and that it should be
treated with respect. In particular, Islam should not be singled out for
special interest and presented as impliedly superior to Christianity.
We therefore call on Lord Hall as Director General of the BBC to
reject this misguided and overtly anti-Christian proposal, and for Aaqil
Ahmed’s immediate removal from office.
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