Re I fundamentally believe that WHICH religion the BBC's head of God xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Not Head of GOD, but of RELIGION and it looks as though your stance is not held by many, and with good reason so it seems as your choice inter alia does not have the reputation of being impartial ( and I wonder what the former Bishop of Rochester Nazir-Ali ) thinks re the appointment):- "daily telegraphControversial Muslim programme-maker to be head of BBC religion A controversial Muslim programme-maker has been appointed as the BBC's new head of religious broadcasting.By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent Last Updated: 10:26PM BST 11 May 2009Aaqil Ahmed will move to the corporation from Channel Four, where he upset Roman Catholic priests by commissioning documentaries that appeared to contain a pro-Islam bias. His appointment will also raise fears at the top levels of the Church of England, which has expressed its concerns over the BBC's treatment of religion and warned that it must not ignore its Christian audience.Channel 4 isn't part of an Islamic conspiracy but the media mustn't go easy on Muslims Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has met with Mark Thompson, the BBC's director-general in March to challenge him over the corporation's religious broadcasting. Senior bishops have also written to Mr Thompson to question its commitment to Britain's Christian audience.Leading church figures suspect that the BBC is giving preferential treatment to minority faiths, with a Muslim now in charge of its programming on television and a Sikh producing Songs of Praise, its flagship Christian show.Christina Rees, a member of the Archbishops' Council, has warned: " The vast majority of the population identifies itself as Christian and as the established Church in England we would be negligent not to take an active concern in the changes happening with the BBC's religion and ethics department."Rt Rev Nigel Mcculloch, Bishop of Manchester, said yesterday that Mr Ahmed's appointment came "at a time when the BBC's coverage of religion has caused some disquiet". He said: "The Church of England will be watching how the future of religion and ethics develops. We wish him well in this very important post." Mr Ahmed is understood to have impressed BBC executives by commissioning a series on Christianity that featured high-profile names, including Cherie Blair and Michael Portillo. However, the series, Christianity, A History, was criticised by Church figures for trivialising the religion. Furthermore, Channel 4 was accused of being biased towards Islam and failing to show enough respect to Christianity under Mr Ahmed, who was head of religious broadcasting. Last summer, the channel 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. Yet the main Christian documentary broadcast for Easter that year, called The Secrets of the 12 Disciples, cast doubt on the validity of the Pope. It argued that St Peter died in Palestine, not in Rome, as the Church has always taught and as he was not the first Pope those elected following him would not have been true successors. Mr Ahmed's appointment follows claims by Mr Thompson that Islam should be treated more sensitively by the media than Christianity. "There's no reason why any religion should be immune from discussion, but I don't want to say that all religions are the same," he said. "To be a minority I think puts a slightly different outlook on it." Mr Ahmed will split the role of overseeing religious broadcasting with, Christine Morgan, who has been promoted to head of Religion Radio.daily telegraphQuestions remain over BBC religion postAs Aaqil Ahmed is confirmed in his new job, George Pitcher wonders again why he was chosen. by George PitcherLast Updated: 7:18PM BST 12 May 2009Comments 10 | Comment on this articleA month ago I argued on these pages, in quite strident terms, that someone called Aaqil Ahmed should not be appointed to the new job of head of commissioning for religion at the BBC. At the weekend, he was given the post. As Ozymandias once said: "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"I flatter myself (and, indeed, the BBC) that the interview panel read my column and selected Mr Ahmed anyway, because he was the best man for the job. An alternative view is that the BBC was obsessed with appointing a Muslim to the most powerful job in its reorganised religion department, because it was a hip and groovy thing to do.BBC programme makers fight race and gender quotas A problem with the latter view, however, is the number of people within the BBC, with no interest in the job themselves, who have been briefing against Mr Ahmed. These are sound "meeja" people, given to being right-on and scrupulously politically correct, whose blood is likely to quicken at the prospect of a Muslim getting the job. They just didn't, it seems, want this particular Muslim.So one is forced to re-examine the notion, clearly held by the interview board, that Mr Ahmed is the right person to oversee the BBC's religious output. His critics claim that his recent documentary series at Channel 4, Christianity: A History, was not just a lightweight skip through the story of the world's largest religion, presented by C-list celebs such as Michael Portillo and Howard Jacobson, but demonstrated a dangerous tendency to trivialise and undermine the Christian Church.Yesterday, I asked Dan Phelan, a very helpful young man who rejoices in the job of "Head of Knowledge News Management at BBC Vision Publicity", by what criteria Mr Ahmed was judged to be the best candidate. Back came the reply, with commendable promptness: "He's an experienced programme-maker and commissioning editor, with an impressive track record built up over the past 10 years."Well, OK. Another view – borne out by the critical reception – is that his work seems more than a little reductionist. But let's assume he was the best the BBC could find. Why, then, the resistance? It could be orchestrated by Christian groups, who can't bear the thought of a Muslim being in charge of the BBC's religious programmes. But again, that doesn't explain the apparent internal antipathy.That hostility could be down to Mr Ahmed's alleged bumptiousness, in telling friends in the weeks running up to the selection process that the job was his for the taking. It's certainly worrying if top BBC jobs are a stitch-up, but Mr Phelan tells me that no such assurances were given to Mr Ahmed.Then there is a more mischievous story that has been doing the rounds: that Mr Ahmed told a colleague that the BBC job would be his chance to "crush" (or "destroy", or "crucify") Christianity in Britain. This could well be a pernicious rumour put about by fundamentalist Christians, or perhaps something said as a joke, or an attempt at self-deprecation (although irony can be dangerous in such situations). I'd ask him, but he isn't returning my calls.So I asked the BBC if it could confirm whether he had said any such thing (although it doesn't sound like the greatest interview line) and, if so, whether it was a joke. Mr Phelan simply said "No". I presumed he meant that he couldn't confirm it, not that it wasn't a joke. Commendably, Mr Phelan rejoined: "It's a powerful job, but not that powerful."He spoke a greater truth than he knows. Mr Ahmed has been appointed to a broadcasting role, not a religious one. The real irony is that he will now be watched so closely that he might have to commission more Christian output than is strictly necessary. Let's just hope it's better than his efforts at Channel 4. (http://www.ccfon.org/)Muslim appointed BBC Head of ReligionThe reaction of many to the appointment of Muslim, Aaqil Ahmed to the post of Head of Religion and Ethics at the BBC must be—“How is this possible”? Until now, our public national broadcaster has been charged with reflecting our Country’s Christian heritage and ethos. Aaqil Ahmed’s appointment is controversial because his background and previous work at Channel 4 has revealed a noticeable bias towards Islam and multiculturalismAccording to The Daily Telegraph, senior bishops wrote to the BBC’s Director General Mark Thompson when it was envisaged that Mr. Ahmed might be appointed, to question the BBC’s commitment to Britain's Christian audience. The Archbishop of Canterbury had also raised concerns with Mr. Thompson that the ‘Christian voice is being sidelined’ after Mr. Ahmed was first connected to the role.The appointment could be seen as the inevitable result of our multicultural society, in which all religions are viewed as of equal value. This is the secularist point of view—that religion should be confined to the home and the church and excluded from the public square and the workplace. A cursory survey of the Christian Legal Centre’s website (_www.christianlegalcentre.com_ (http://www.christianlegalcentre.com/) ) will reveal the increasing intolerance of this ideology as far as Christians are concerned.It could also be seen as another sign that our country is in danger of becoming Islamised, alongside, for example, the fact that under pressure from Muslims, the Qur’an is now placed on a higher shelf than the Bible in courtrooms, or the fact that Shari’ah Law is used to judge disputes in Muslim Arbitration Tribunals (now officially part of the English Legal System). Our Government appears to make concessions to the Muslim community, in contrast to its marginalisation of Christianity and the rights of Christians in recent years.Another interpretation is that the appointment is the result of the European Directive of 2000, which was implemented in the UK by the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003. These ‘equalitarian’ provisions force employers to appoint an applicant to a role who is broadly the ‘ best person’ for the job—if the candidate’s religion is ignored, that is. This applies to every role, except where there is a ‘genuine and determining occupational requirement’ that they should be of a particular religion.According to The Guardian, Jana Bennett, director of BBC Vision, said that the areas of broadcasting that the ‘Knowledge’ jobs commission (such as religion and ethics) ‘go to the very heart of the BBC's public purposes’. Clearly, the BBC did not think that the Head of religion and ethics in our country where 70% of the population still align themselves with Christianity needed to be a Christian.The Lord Jesus said that if the eye is single the whole body will be full of light. He went on to warn that if the light becomes darkness how great will be that darkness (Matt 6:22-3). When Christianity is no longer the light of a nation then the nation becomes full of darkness. Christianity is the only way by which man may know God. What is required today is for Christians in this country to stand up for the Faith and act on what they believe— that Jesus Christ is indeed the way, the truth and the life for all that live in 21st century Britain.Please see also our web article entitled: Controversial Muslim programme-maker appointed head of BBC religious broadcasting at: _http://www.ccfon.org/view.php?id=736_ (http://www.ccfon.org/view.php?id=736)
Tony Price ● 6343d