30 April 2008

Compare and contrast

Yesterday's Times reported on BBC censorship of a party political broadcast by a small Christian political party standing in tomorrow's London elections.

The BBC is facing a High Court challenge over its decision to censor a
party political broadcast in the run-up to Thursday’s local elections.

A Christian party has begun legal action after the corporation insisted
on changes to a short film in which the party voiced opposition to the building
of Europe’s biggest mosque next to the site of the 2012 Olympics.
The BBC demanded a number of changes to the broadcast:
The Christian Choice election broadcast would have described Tablighi Jamaat as
“a separatist Islamic group” before welcoming that some “moderate Muslims” were opposed to the mosque complex.

The BBC refused to accept “separatist” — the corporation asked for “controversial” instead — and barred the use of “moderate Muslims” because the phrase implied that Tablighi Jamaat was less than moderate.
No doubt, the BBC would say they are only being sensitive to a minority religious group. But contrast this sensitivity with the BBC's treatment of another minority religious group, in this case the Catholic organisation Opus Dei: The Spectator has the full story.