Posted on 09/30/2005 8:50:11 PM PDT by Pikamax
BBC rejects Muslim attack on Panorama By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor (Filed: 01/10/2005)
The BBC hit back angrily yesterday at Muslim criticism of a Panorama documentary that accused the community's leading body of doing too little to confront extremism.
Mike Robinson, the programme's editor, issued a rebuttal to a complaint by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) that the production was "dishonestly presented", "mischievously edited" and intended to malign "without regard for the facts".
The MCB also called A Question of Leadership, made by John Ware, "a shoddy and Islamophobic piece of work which will contribute to furthering distrust".
Mr Robinson called on the MCB to withdraw "these false and malicious accusations".
His letter said: "I very much hope that you will desist from unwarranted and wildly inaccurate attacks on the honesty of our journalism."
New MCB complaint over Panorama
The Muslim Council of Britain says its complaint was not addressed The Muslim Council of Britain says it is to write to the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit about an edition of the current affairs programme Panorama. The announcement came after the editor of Panorama rejected an MCB objection that the programme was "deeply unfair".
Panorama had quoted one of its founders as saying the body was "in denial" about extreme views among its members.
The MCB said it was at the "forefront" of criticising extremism and it was "not satisfied" with the response.
In its original complaint, the MCB claimed editors "deliberately garbled" interviews with Muslims in the programme.
Panorama editor Mike Robinson has described the suggestion as an "unwarranted and wildly inaccurate attack" on the show.
"I have found there to be no truth in your claims that this programme was dishonestly presented, maliciously motivated or Islamophobic," he wrote to the MCB.
Read Panorama editor Mike Robinson's response
"These are extremely serious allegations to make in the face of so much evidence to the contrary - they are simply not true."
The programme was meant to "reflect, inform and generate" debate in the Muslim community and wider population, which was "long overdue", he said.
Complaints procedure
The MCB, the UK's most powerful Islamic body, is an umbrella organisation of about 400 mosques and other Islamic groups that is seen as representing mainstream Muslim opinion.
MCB spokesman Inayat Bunglawala told the BBC News website: "We are not at all satisfied with Mike Robinson's response and will be taking this up further by writing to the BBC Editorial Complaints Unit."
He said Panorama appeared to have reached a conclusion without giving a "rounded account".
"The Muslim Council of Britain has been at the forefront of challenging and criticising any form of extremist behaviour in this country," he said.
He said the MCB sent a letter to every mosque and Islamic institution in the UK after the Madrid bombings urging full co-operation with any subsequent investigations.
It had also distributed 500,000 copies of a pocket guide in conjunction with the Association of Chief Police Officers in which the government's anti-terrorism hotline number was detailed.
In Panorama's letter to the MCB it states "the programme team was well aware of the leaflets and letter" but neither "addressed the issues and questions which we raised in the programme".
The BBC said Panorama would not be commenting on the latest MCB announcement.
"If someone is unhappy about a response they get from a programme editor, they can then take their complaint to the Editorial Complaints Unit, " a BBC spokesman said.
Are we about to witness the typical Muslim tactic of siiencing honest criticism with flagrantly baseless attacks drive their hitherto reliable ally into increasingly honest and effective criticism? We repeat: Truth is a western concept.
"If someone is unhappy about a response they get from a programme editor, they can then take their complaint to the Editorial Complaints Unit, " a BBC spokesman said.
As I furrow my brow in amazement, I cannot believe that the BBC doesn't get it. One of these muslim fanantics are going to "take their complaint to the Editorial Complaints Unit" in the form of C-5 with bolts and spikes wrapped around it. MCB will then deny any association. Utter insanity.
What wrong Muslum community can't handle the truth
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