BBC: “Just Another Fatwa Machine”

The BBC has a new religious programming director, and he is a Muslim. An undercurrent of not-quite-articulated consternation seems to flow through many Brit media accounts of this “first,” most of which exempts the new director, Aaqil Ahmed, himself. This main line of argument sticks to the plain statistical fact that Britain remains a Christian country, with 70 percent of the population C of E, and only 2 to 3 percent Muslim — so why should the Beeb put such a post in Muslim hands? The main exception is a piece titled “Hire a Muslim, Just Not This Muslim,” but even this piece is a little oblique as to Ahmed’s career. That is, what has Ahmed actually done at his previous post directing religious programming at Britain’s Channel 4?