BBC's Appointment of Muslim as Head of Religion Is 'Worrying', Anglicans Warn
THE TELEGRAPH: The appointment of a Muslim as the BBC's head of religious broadcasting is a "worrying" development that could further undermine the corporation's coverage of Christianity, Anglicans have warned.

Members of the General Synod, the parliament of the Church of England, are to vote on a motion condemning the decline of religious programming on BBC television, amid complaints that Christians are now only depicted as "freak shows".

In a new report to accompany the motion, the corporation's decision to recruit Aaqil Ahmed from Channel 4 to head its religious and ethical output is singled out for particular criticism.

Hundreds of people have complained to the BBC about the appointment of Mr Ahmed, who will be the first Muslim and only the second non-Christian in the role.

"Many of the Channel 4 programmes concerned with Christianity, in contrast to those featuring other faiths, seem to be of a sensationalist or unduly critical nature," wrote Nigel Holmes, a Synod member and former BBC producer who has tabled the motion.

"From this point of view it is worrying that the Channel 4 religion and multicultural commissioning editor, Aaqil Ahmed, who is a Muslim, is soon to be responsible for all the religious output from the BBC."

The motion is expected to attract the support of senior bishops when it is debated by the Synod next month.

The paper accuses the corporation of ignoring its Christian audience by failing to broadcast a Good Friday service on any of its national television and radio stations this year. >>> By Matthew Moore | Sunday, June 21, 2009

Dhimmitude Alert! BBC Appoints Muslim to Top Religious Post in Controversial First
The disgusting broadcasting organisation which calls itself the British Broadcasting Corporation has gone and done it again!

The BBC is nothing but an orgainisation which specializes in social engineering. If you are sick and tired of the way this company operates, then you will also be sick and tired of having to pay the licence fee.

It is high time that the licence fee were scrapped. Let the fat cats at the BBC forage for their fat salaries in the private sector as others have to do. We’ll see how much social engineering they’ll do then.

The BBC has outlived its usefulness. The organisation broadcasts mostly rubbish anyway. Their news broadcasts are hardly worth watching. Now even the religious programmes won’t be worth watching either. The new programmes are sure to whitewash Islam and portray the cult as a ‘religion of peace’. Doubtless, the Jihad – you know, the BIG push to take over the world – will be ignored. Brushed aside.

It is becoming increasingly obvious that the United Kingdom as we knew and loved it is becoming a thing of the past. Our so-called leaders, corrupt as they are, haven’t got the balls to protect us from the backwardness that is Islam; and then we have the BBC pushing the cause of Islam whilst largely ignoring Christianity, thus helping to usher in the New Dark Age.

Sad story! – ©Mark

Aaqil Ahmed has been appointed the Head of Religion and Ethics. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: The BBC yesterday appointed a Muslim as its head of religious programming in a radical departure from broadcasting tradition.

The post - considered one of the most influential religious roles in the country - has gone to Aaqil Ahmed, who has been working as an executive at Channel 4.

The appointment will cause dismay among the Christian churches.

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams raised concerns over the prospect of a Muslim head of religious broadcasting during a meeting with the corporation's director general Mark Thompson in March.

It comes at a time of deepening worries among Christian leaders that their faith is being sidelined and downgraded by authorities.

Both Dr Williams and Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu have made repeated public complaints over the indifference and occasional hostility to Christianity shown in Whitehall and from other authorities.

Last year the BBC gave the job of producing its most popular and longrunning religious programme, Songs of Praise, to a Sikh, Tommy Nagra.

The Church of England points out that 70 per cent of the population of Britain professes to be Christian, but only 3 per cent are Muslims. >>> By Steve Doughty | Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Muslim to Run BBC’s Religion and Ethics Department
THE TELEGRAPH: I’m sure Mr Ahmed is a good and devout man - but he is not up to the job, argues George Pitcher.

Aaqil Ahmed is apparently telling friends that the BBC job is his for the taking. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
We’ll soon know whether the BBC takes religion seriously, when it appoints a new head of commissioning for its re-structured Religion & Ethics Department. Director-general Mark Thompson, a Roman Catholic, claims that religion is important to him and to the corporation, but it’s difficult to guess in what state of mind he left his meeting with Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, at Lambeth Palace last month. Evidently, Dr Williams had expressed concern that the BBC, our state broadcaster, should not downplay or marginalise Christianity, our state religion.

Mr Thompson is a thoughtful man, so one hopes he took the Archbishop’s admonitions to heart. Or he may have taken the view that no prelate was going to dictate the BBC’s religious policy to him and the silly old fool needed to be taught a lesson.

If his state of mind tended towards the latter, then what better way to achieve that objective than to make sure that a Muslim was appointed, in the name of “diversity”, to the new role? The post may not directly be within his gift, but the director-general could surely pull a few strings.

Aaqil Ahmed, a Muslim and commissioning editor for religion at Channel 4, is apparently telling friends that the BBC job is his for the taking. He is tipped as a favourite, though whether the tipping is coming from him or other people is unclear. The appointment should have been wrapped up by now, but the interviews have been delayed a couple of weeks, such perhaps are the sensitivities attached to this issue. Why Aaqil Ahmed Shouldn't Run the BBC's Religion & Ethics Department >>> George Pitcher | Sunday, April 12, 2009