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Biased BBC

Saturday, September 13, 2008 Laban # "Sikhs and Hindus accuse BBC of pro-Muslim bias" Via the late Archbishop Cranmer, this in the Independent. Hindu and Sikh leaders have accused the BBC of pandering to Britain's Muslim community by making a disproportionate number of programmes on Islam at the expense of covering other Asian religions. A breakdown of programming from the BBC's Religion and Ethics department, seen by The Independent, reveals that since 2001, the BBC made 41 faith programmes on Islam, compared with just five on Hinduism and one on Sikhism. Critics say the disproportionate amount of programming is part of an apparent bias within the BBC towards Islam since the attacks of 11 September 2001, which has placed an often uncomfortable media spotlight on Britain's Muslims. The godly Archbishop notes : Apparent bias? The Christians have been saying this for years. The BBC has said it would be content to consign the Bible to Room 101 but not the Qur’an, and there are numerous instances of the denigration of the name of Jesus but not that of Mohammed; scorn being poured over the declining Church of England but not the ascending Mosque of England; and the incessant questioning to the point of ridicule of the foundational tenets of Christianity (frequently during Christmas or Easter), while the claims of Islam are treated with reverence and submission (especially during Ramadan and Eid). Of course Hindu and Sikh licence-fee payers should feel cheated. But there is a very simple remedy. If a few more Sikhs were to become as militant as those who forced the closure of a theatre in Birmingham; and a few Hindus became as militant as their co-religionists in Orissa, the BBC would feel obliged to redress the imbalance. Comments: 26 (unread) - Biased BBC Home