The BBC has concluded Christianity features too prominently in its religious output in an internal review, insisting other faiths be given more airtime and resources.
Both the Church of England and the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) – who are linked to the pro-international Caliphate group Muslim Brotherhood – appeared to welcome the findings, with the later calling for Friday prayers to be broadcast.
According to the Times, Lord Hall, the director-general, is now considering what to do about the apparently problematic findings – that there is a disproportionate amount televised Christianity in a historically Christian country.
Aaqil Ahmed, the BBC’s Muslim head of religion and ethics, has told a committee in the House of Commons that he has written a report on how to satisfy the demands for more third world religions on the BBC.
Asked whether greater coverage of other faiths could lead to cuts in Christian coverage, the BBC could not confirm what programmes were safe.
In a statement, Mr. Ahmed added: “We do look at the number of hours we produce, and measure that against the religious make-up of society. We also carry out checks to give us a better understanding of how we represent the different faiths across the various BBC channels and services.
“Christianity remains the cornerstone of our output and there are more hours dedicated to it than there are to other faiths. Our output in this area is not static, though. It has evolved over the years and we regularly assess it.”
The Church of England said faith was growing and changing worldwide, and “resources to explore religious world views”, including and other than Christianity, would be needed.
“Any comprehensive review needs to move beyond arguments of mere proportionality to embrace the need not only for greater religious literacy but also increased resources to explore religious world views.”
However, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, gave the prospect of increased coverage of other faiths a “guarded welcome”.
He warned: “I don’t think our liberal establishment appreciates what Christianity has done for the nation, and how much of a bedrock it is for democracy and the values we believe in. There is a real feeling by Christians of being let down by the Establishment. Christianity is fighting for its life in western countries.”
Ibrahim Mogra, of the MCB, said, “we would not wish Christians to have any less exposure”, but argued that the BBC should also televise Friday prayers from a mosque, cover Eid and show children attending madrasahs.
The BBC recently came under fire for offering well paid, highly desirable internships to “non-whites” in an attempt to increase “diversity”. Last year, they broadcast their most popular religious program, Songs of Praise, from the migrant camp in Calais.
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