John Ware’s Panorama programme A witch-hunt against British Muslims
John Ware’s Panorama programme ‘A Question Of Leadership’ is due to be aired on BBC1 on Sunday 21st August 2005.
The Panorama programme takes a look at several British Muslim organisations, in particular the Muslim Council of Britain and several of its affiliates, including the Islamic Foundation, the Muslim Association of Britain, the Markazi Jamiat Ahl-i-Hadith and the Leeds Grand Mosque.
The MCB has issued a full and detailed response to the Panorama programme which can be read at this link:
http://www.mcb.org.uk/Panorama_response.doc
In summary, we believe John Ware’s team have made a deeply unfair programme using deliberately garbled quotes in an attempt to malign the Muslim Council of Britain and with the barely concealed goal of drawing British Muslims away from being inspired in their political beliefs and actions by the faith of Islam. It is unfortunate that just when Britain’s 1.6 million Muslims are beginning to make progress in terms of their political participation in the mainstream, there are those who are purposefully trying to sabotage that process,’said Sir Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain.
It seems that to qualify as so-called ‘moderates’ Muslims are required to remain silent about Israeli crimes in Palestine, otherwise they are automatically labelled as ‘extremists’.
The MCB urges British Muslims to remain calm and vigilant in the face of recent concerted attempts being made by known hostile elements to divide them.