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"Take
Heed" Ministries
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Cecil Andrews, 29 Edengrove Park, Ballynahinch, BT24 8AZ, Northern Ireland Telephone/Fax 028 9756 5511. E-MAIL - takeheed@aol.com WEBSITE - http://www.takeheed.net Quick Links - Home - Assorted Articles - Audio/Video - Ministry Newsletters - Words of Wisdom |
‘BBC
Trust’ complicit in Islamic misinformation
In this article I will be sharing with you exchanges that took place
between myself and the BBC following a complaint lodged by me with them in July
2006. My complaint related to a ‘Pause for
Thought’ contribution on
the Wogan programme [hosted on the day in question by Johnny Walker] by a
Muslim spokesman called Faris Badawi. Before coming to the exchanges I
want to ‘set the tone’ for everything that follows by firstly quoting a short
item written by an Australian called Paul Christopher that is located on this
website – http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/3518
This is what Mr Christopher wrote on 2nd
November 2002 –
Western governments and all
those concerned with the threat of terrorism appear to have a critical failing:
a belief in the myth of moderate Islam. The constant references to 'an
extremist minority' 'hijacking Islam, Islam being a peaceful religion which
prohibits suicide, overlook the long history of Islamic martyrdom operations,
and widespread support for Bin Laden in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
There is not a single 'moderate' Islamic state in the world. Where are all
these Islamic moderates?
Moderate Islam may be a
useful political artefact to be used tactically, but a reality-based counter
terrorist policy must be based on recognition of certain facts: that in Islam
politics and religion are one, that no Islamic religious leader of stature has
unambiguously denounced the 9/11 attacks, that religious figures are key
organizational identities in Islamic terrorism, who have encouraged terrorism.
It is a matter of record that the two mosques in Hamburg were meeting places
and inspirational sources for Mohammad Atta's [9/11 terrorist] Hamburg cell.
We may gain much honesty in
public controversy and debate by exposing the tactics of Islamic spokesmen and
identifying their public use of centuries-old deception techniques, taqiyya [deception],
kitman [dissembling],
and 'outwitting' as part of their defence and denial of the nexus between Islam
and terrorism.
Perhaps we may have to face
the fact: that it is beginning to appear that Islam is the enemy.
Then on this link http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9730604_ITM you will find another contribution
that will help in understanding the meaning and outworking of taqiyya and kitman. One paragraph
reads –
Taqiyya is
inspired by the example and sayings of the Prophet Mohammed praised in the
Hadiths (the sayings of the Prophet) as "the greatest deceiver", and
praised in the Koran. Muslims have used taqiyya
(pronounced tark-e-ya) described variously as "precautionary
dissimulation," "religiously-sanctioned deception,"
"lying" or "deception" and "keeping one's convictions
secret" and "tactical dissimulation" or "holy
deception".
Keeping these thoughts in mind, particularly on the Islamic practice of taqiyya what follows now are the exchanges between the BBC and myself.
EMAIL SENT TO BBC ON 6 JULY 2006
This concerns the 'Pause for Thought' by a Muslim
spokesman.
Why was this man allowed to respond to Mr Blair's recent
appeal to Muslims to root out terrorism from their midst by being given airtime
to TELL LIES about the aim of Islam and the teaching of the Koran.
The teaching of the Koran and the aim of Islam are to
bring the WHOLE world under the rule of Islam. Islam divides the world into 2
camps - [1] Dar el Islam, the house of Islam where Islamic [Sharia] law rules
and [2] Dar el Harb, the house of war where Islamic law does not rule. IT IS A
DUTY for Dar el Islam to fight and conquer Dar el Harb and permanently
assimilate it. That is the true aim of Islam and the teaching of the Koran.
Let's have no more whitewashed views of Islam - please be
aware that in Islam 'Takeyya' is sanctioned. And what is 'Takeyya' you may well
ask - it is 'the principle of deception' that allows Muslims to LIE under
certain circumstances as sanctioned for instance in BUKHARI vol:4:271 page 168.
As one researcher on Islam put it recently 'in the present context where
Muslims feel Islam itself is under threat, we should expect the principle of
deception [Takeyya] to come heavily into play'.
It certainly did on today's 'Pause for Thought'
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Subject: |
Pause for Thought
[T2006082900GJS010Z1637561] |
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Date: |
01/09/2006 10:48:49 GMT
Standard Time |
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From: |
Dear Mr Andrews
Thank you for your e-mail regarding the BBC Radio 2 programme 'Pause For
Thought'.
I understand that you have concerns that your original e-mail which was sent on
6 July regarding a Muslim spokesman being given airtime to respond to Tony
Blair's recent appeal to Muslims to root out terrorism has not been responded
to as of yet.
Your e-mail is currently being handled by our escalated complaints team and
will be responded to as soon as possible.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact the BBC.
Regards
Jonathan Dunlop
BBC Information
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Subject: |
13122856 |
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Date: |
21/09/2006 12:04:02 GMT
Standard Time |
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From: |
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Dear Mr Andrews
Thank you for your email regarding the Pause for Thought broadcast on 6
July. Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in replying.
The aim of the item you wrote about was for Faris Badawi to give a view on
a story that was in the news at the time and connect it to wider spiritual
issues. In this case, he was commenting on the Prime Minister's remarks
about relations between Muslims and Western governments and linking it to
the values of forgiveness. As a Muslim, he used Islamic references to
emphasise the significance of forgiveness and did not advocate the spread
of Islamic rule through deception or otherwise. We aim to show a diversity
of views from different religions as part of Pause for Thought, with the
intention of stimulating listeners' minds and providing them with a more
nuanced understanding of the various faiths.
Yours sincerely
Mark O'Brien
Producer
Pause for Thought
This is a reply to Mark O'Brien under ref.no. Re:
13122856
Dear Mr O'Brien,
To enable me to consider carefully what you have
written please email me the full text of what Mr Faris Badawi said on the
morning in question.
Yours faithfully
Cecil Andrews
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Subject: |
13371903 |
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Date: |
02/10/2006 18:53:38 GMT
Standard Time |
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From: |
Dear Mr Andrews,
Thank you for your further e-mail regarding the response you received about
Pause for Thought, our reference 13122856.
As requested, please find attached a copy of the transcript for the
'Thought' in question.
Should you wish to pursue your complaint, at this stage you should do so by
writing to the BBC's independent Editorial Complaints Unit (ECU). The ECU
is the second level of the BBC's three stage complaints system and their
address is;
BBC Editorial Complaints Unit
MC4C6
Media Centre
Media Village
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TQ
Yours sincerely
Alison Wilson
Divisional Adviser
Factual Programmes
Pause for Thought 6/7/06:
Good Morning Johnny [Walker –
standing in for Wogan],
The Prime minister said this week in answer to a question from the commons
liaison committee that Muslims should confront the extremists in their
midst and that we should get over a completely "false sense of grievance
against the west"
I felt this was a little unfair, for two reasons, firstly relations between
the west and the Muslim and Arab worlds have since the early part of the
20th century, resulted in events and actions that no one on either side has
any reason to be proud of, along of course with many things that were very
positive.
That's how history is, there are various
elements to every story,
nonetheless there were actions by the western powers that should rightly
inspire shame in all of us, and the attitudes and ideas of superiority and
entitlement that underlay those policies should be
confronted whether they
appear amongst easterners or westerners.
My second reason for concern was that Mr. Blair addressed his message to
Muslims, not to Arabs, Pakistanis or any other largely Muslim nationality
but to Muslims per se, now it may be that at the moment we do not have a
very good reputation here in the west, but a brief
excursus into the Quran will the give the casual reader the impression that on
the score of harbouring rancour and bearing grudges Muslims are just nothing to
worry about.
In fact even if they are harshly treated the
Quran advises Muslims that "To
forgive is nearer to piety. And forget not kindness among yourselves."
2.109
There really is no need to misrepresent history when advising Muslims not
to bear grudges, irrespective of what has happened and what was sometimes
done to subject Muslim peoples, a history with which Muslims are very
familiar, it is still the case that Muslims can demand of themselves, in
adherence to the tenets of the faith, that they must generate forgiveness
in their hearts for any harm or injustice that they have undergone as
result of Western or other actions, The Quran asks us when anger gets hold
of us to forgive and show indulgence, as we would wish God to forgive us.
No matter what happened or was done in the past, which now shapes our
present, we are required as Muslims to be patient and forgiving.
An ancient Arabian saying was "retaliation preserves life" I think in
the
modern world that saying can be reversed and that now "forgiveness and
forbearance preserve life" because today our retaliation may be so
terrible
that it could even destroy this precious world.
Reply by Cecil to BBC email of 2nd
October 2006 under Ref 13371903
This is in response to Alison Wilson who in her
email to me of 2 October tried to fob me off to the ECU. I had asked Mark
O’Brien who had written to me on this subject to let me have the text of what
was said. Having done this I am replying to him – not to the ECU.
A lie in the text was as follows -'a brief
excursus into the Quran will the give the casual reader the impression that on
the score of harbouring rancour and bearing grudges Muslims are just nothing to
worry about'. -.
In response these quotations from the Koran will
show that non- Muslims [infidels] have every reason to worry if they make ‘a
brief excursus’ into the Koran –
'Believers, retaliation is decreed for you in
bloodshed' (Sura 2: 178).
'Fight for the sake of Allah those that fight
against you, but do not attack them first. Allah does not love the aggressors.
Kill them wherever you find them...if they attack you put them to the
sword...Fight against them until idolatry is no more and Allah's religion
reigns supreme...If anyone attacks you, attack him as he attacked you' (Sura 2:
190-4).
'Fight for the cause of Allah' (Sura 2: 244).
'Those that deny Our revelations We will burn in
Hellfire...As for those that have faith and do good works, We shall admit them
to gardens watered by running streams, where, wedded to chaste virgins, they
shall abide forever...the believers who do good works, whether men or women,
shall enter the gardens of Paradise' (Sura 4: 55-7, 124).
'The true believers fight for the cause of Allah,
but the infidels fight for idols. Fight then against the friends of Satan'
(Sura 4: 76).
'Therefore fight for the cause of Allah' (Sura 4:
84).
Allah has given those that fight with their goods
and their persons a higher rank than those who stay at home. He has promised
all a good reward; but far richer is the recompense of those who fight for
Him...' (Sura 4: 96).
'Unbelievers are those who declare: 'Allah is the
Messiah, the Son of Mary'' (Sura 5: 17).
'When the sacred months are over, slay the
idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush
everywhere for them...'(Sura 9: 5).
'...make war on the leaders of unbelief...' (Sura
9: 12).
'Believers, know that the idolaters are unclean...'
(Sura 9: 28).
'The Jews say Ezra is the son of Allah, while the
Christians say the Messiah is the son of Allah. Such are their assertions, by
which they imitate the infidels of old. Allah confound them! How perverse they
are! They worship . . . the Messiah the son of Mary, as gods besides Allah;
though they were ordered to serve one God only. There is no god but Him.
Exalted be He above those whom they deify beside Him! ...It is He who has sent
forth His apostle with guidance and the true faith to make it triumphant over
all religions, however much the idolaters may dislike it' (Sura 9: 30-3).
'Proclaim a woeful punishment to those that hoard
up gold and silver and do not spend it in Allah's cause. The day will surely
come when their treasures shall be heated in the fire of Hell,...' (Sura 9:
35).
'If you do not fight He will punish you sternly and
replace you by other men...' (Sura 9: 39).
'Whether unarmed or well-equipped, march on and
fight for the cause of Allah, with your wealth and your persons' (Sura 9: 41).
'Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and the
hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home: an evil
fate' (Sura 9:73).
'Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell
around you...' (Sura 9: 122).
These are not idle threats as the following
extracts from a report received in the past few days sadly illustrate –
‘On Tuesday 10th October [2006] Paulos Iskander, an
Iraqi church minister, was abducted in Mosul. Iskander’s eldest son received a
phone call from the kidnappers demanding a ransom of $250,000; the family,
unable to raise this money, were able to negotiate for a ransom of $40,000, but
the kidnappers also demanded that Iskander’s church publicly repudiate the
remarks about Islam quoted by Pope Benedict XVI last month. When Iskander’s
family asked for proof that he was still alive the kidnappers held up the phone
so that the sounds of crying and screaming could be heard. The family began to
raise the ransom by asking churches and Christians in the area to help, and
arranging several loans. Iskander’s church as well as several other churches
placed 30 large posters around the city to distance themselves from the Pope’s
words. However, before the ransom could be paid Iskander’s decapitated body was
discovered on 12th October, dumped in an outlying suburb of Mosul. His body
showed signs of torture, with cigarette burns, bullet holes and wounds from
beatings. His hands and legs had been severed, and arranged around his head
which was placed on his chest. Iskander’s family later received a phone call
from the kidnappers, who taunted them that Iskander “had a lot of blood in
him”.
In Baquba, 65km north-east of Baghdad, a Christian
doctor was abducted and killed on his way to work in Baquba hospital. There has
also been an unconfirmed report that a 14-year-old Christian boy was crucified
in Basra.
Amidst the surge in hostility towards Christians in
recent weeks, Christian girls have increasingly become the target in a spate of
kidnappings and rapes. The girls are taken from their families at gunpoint,
from their homes or snatched off streets into waiting cars. They are frequently
raped and abused while in captivity, only released if their families are able
to find the large ransoms demanded. The shame of their ordeal, which is felt
far more in such a culture than in the West, can make the victims suicidal. In
one case a girl killed herself after being abducted and gang raped by nine men.
When the abductors allowed her to call her family she asked them not to pay the
ransom. The family did pay and she was returned to them, but she was found dead
the following morning; she had taken an overdose of sleeping pills.
In another case five Christian girls were kidnapped
in front of policemen as they tried to obtain passports from a travel and
citizenship department in Baghdad. The police did nothing to try to stop the
kidnappers. Indeed police forces in Iraq generally seem either unable or
unwilling to do anything to protect Christians, and it is reported that some
are even participating in these brutal crimes against Christian women and
children’.
Let’s have no more ‘lies’ about Islam propagated by
the BBC.
Mr Cecil Andrews
|
Subject: |
13503005 |
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Date: |
01/11/2006 14:31:24 GMT
Standard Time |
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From: |
Dear Mr Andrews
Thank you for your further e-mail.
I am afraid that, as I outlined in my previous e-mail to you, if you wish
to pursue your complaint about Pause for Thought you now need to do so by
contacting the ECU.
BBC Editorial Complaints Unit
MC4C6
Media Centre
Media Village
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TQ
You can alternatively e-mail the unit at ecu@bbc.co.uk
I have discussed the matter with Mark O'Brien, but he cannot add to his
original response to you on the subject.
Yours sincerely
Alison Wilson
Divisional Adviser
Factual Programmes
ECU
COMPLAINT submitted by Cecil
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Subject: |
Complaint
- Wogan - 6/7/06 |
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Date: |
01/11/2006
15:20:03 GMT Standard Time |
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From: |
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Dear Sirs,
I have been directed to you concerning a
complaint I lodge re the 'Pause for Thought' broadcast on 6 July 2006. I think
the simplest thing is for me to copy the complaint/email exchanges thus far.
I await hearing from you.
Yours truly
Cecil Andrews
BBC response to my
last email received as an attachment – it can’t be copied to this document but
my email response of 20th November quotes/explains the relevant
sections
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Subject: |
RE: Complaint - Wogan -
6/7/06 |
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Date: |
20/11/2006 14:44:11 GMT Standard Time |
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From: |
Please see letter attached. [pdf format – cannot copy
to this document]
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Subject: |
Re:
Complaint - Wogan - 6/7/06 |
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Date: |
20/11/2006
15:11:03 GMT Standard Time |
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From: |
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Dear Rebecca,
I am in receipt of Mr Steel's response.The 'Editorial Principles' by which you
are guided and governed were set out as follows -
'We WILL ENSURE that the beliefs and practices of the great
world faiths are DESCRIBED ACCURATELY and IMPARTIALLY.
'We WILL ENSURE that the religious views and beliefs of...a
religion ARE NOT MISREPRESENTED'.
Faris Badawi said on air ‘a
brief excursus into the Quran will give the casual reader the impression that
on the score of harbouring rancour and bearing grudges Muslims are just nothing
to worry about’.
I documented how this statement flies in the face of what
ISLAM officially believes and practices according to its supreme and ultimate
authority, The Koran.
The views expressed personally by Mr Badawi were INACCURATE
and PARTIAL and they MISREPRESENTED the OFFICIAL religious views and beliefs of
ISLAM as found in The Koran.
I am not satisfied with Mr Steel's response and would ask ECU to
revisit this complaint.
Yours truly
Cecil Andrews
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Subject: |
Complaint
about Pause for Thought, 6 July |
|
Date: |
27/11/2006
11:54:15 GMT Standard Time |
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From: |
Dear Mr Andrews,
Thank you for your e-mail of 20 November to Rebecca Fullick.
We've discussed your continuing concerns and are now seeking a
further response from the programme-makers. This may take longer than we
would wish as one of them is currently away. Please bear with us - we'll
try to get a further substantive response to you as soon as we can.
Yours sincerely,
Douglas Evans
BBC response
following their email of 27th November received as an attachment –
it can’t be copied to this document but my letter response of 9th
February quotes/explains the relevant sections
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Subject: |
Complaint |
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Date: |
01/02/2007
11:14:40 GMT Standard Time |
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From: |
Please see letter attached.
. [pdf format – cannot copy to this document]
Bruce
Vander
BBC Trust Unit
35
Marylebone High Street
London
W1U 4AA
9 February
2007
Dear Mr
Vander,
Pause
for Thought: Radio 2: 6 July 2006
I have
been pursuing a complaint about this subject since the day of the broadcast and
have passed through the initial BBC complaints procedure and through the
Editorial Complaints Unit and have now been referred to you by Fraser Steel who
wrote to me on 31 January. I am assuming that you will be able to access all
the correspondence that has gone before so I will limit this letter to responding
to Mr Steel’s reply to me of 31 January.
On page 2
Mr Steel listed some quotations from the Koran that the speaker, Mr Badawi had
cited to support his ‘interpretation’ of what Islam teaches. Mr Badawi’s
response is a classic example of a Muslim using the principle of TAKEYYA [a
principle of deception] to try and prevent harm being done to the religion of
Islam.
Mr Badawi
quoted a number of Suras from the Koran and I will now list the Suras he quoted
and show how they form no defence in the matter of my complaint.
Sura 3:159 – This is
speaking of MUSLIMS who turn back from battle and has NOTHING to do with Muslim
treatment of unbelievers.
Sura 5:8 – This is
telling MUSLIMS how to conduct THEMSELVES in dealings and NOT how to deal with
unbelievers.
Sura 7:199 – This is
an early MECCAN Sura that has been ABROGATED by later MEDINAN Suras.
Sura 24:22 – This is
for MUSLIM next of kin or poor and NOT for unbelievers
Sura 42:37 - This is
an early MECCAN Sura that has been ABROGATED by later MEDINAN Suras.
Mr Badawi
alleged that on sanctioning aggression ‘the so-called militant verses must
necessarily be ripped from the body of the Sura’ – the reality is that this
is precisely what he has done in order to misrepresent Islam as being ‘just
nothing to worry about’.
Mr Badawi wrote ‘you will not understand Muslims by referring to the
Quran’ – I would suggest that you will not understand Mr Badawi when he
writes about the Quran ‘It is utterly fungible and interpretable, the ONLY
guides being conscience etc’.
In the light of this latest response to me I would reaffirm what I wrote in previous correspondence –
The views
expressed personally by Mr Badawi were INACCURATE and PARTIAL and they
MISREPRESENTED the OFFICIAL religious views and beliefs of ISLAM as found in
The Koran.
In
conclusion let me say this – there is much that is false being propagated
publicly about the religion of Islam and the BBC is a major player in this
misrepresentation. If they don’t awaken to this reality it will in the long
term be to their great cost. I’ll finish with these words from my original
complaint lodged on 6 July 2006
The teaching of
the Koran and the aim of Islam are to bring the WHOLE world under the rule of
Islam. Islam divides the world into 2 camps - [1] Dar el Islam, the house of
Islam where Islamic [Sharia] law rules and [2] Dar el Harb, the house of war
where Islamic law does not rule. IT IS A DUTY for Dar el Islam to fight and
conquer Dar el Harb and permanently assimilate it. That is the true aim of
Islam and the teaching of the Koran.
Let's have
no more whitewashed views of Islam
Yours
faithfully
Cecil Andrews
PO Box 13
Ballynahinch
Co Down
BT24 8AL
Reply dated 20 February
2007 from Bruce Vander
Dear Mr Andrews,
Thank you for your letter dated 9 February
2007 asking the Editorial Standards Committee (ESC) to look at your recent
complaint.
I am writing to let you know that your
complaint will be considered on the 9 May 2007…we will be in contact with you
again in the next few weeks with the provisional paperwork being prepared for
the committee. You will then be given the opportunity to comment on the
breakdown of the complaint and the editorial advice being provided to the
committee. Ant comments you make will be included in the final paperwork…
Yours sincerely
Bruce
Vander
Complaints
Manager, BBC Trust
Further
letter from Bruce Vander dated 2 April 2007
Dear
Mr Andrews,
Further
to my letter of 20 February, I’m afraid I’m writing to let you know that your
complaint has been delayed until the June Editorial Standards Committee (ESC)
meeting.
This
has been due to a larger than expected workload within the department. I am
sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
However
I am confident we will be in a position to send you the committee’s paperwork
for your comments within the next few weeks. Further details explaining the
form of response and the time period in which you have to respond will be sent
with the paperwork.
Please
accept my apologies once again for this delay.
Yours
sincerely
Bruce
Vander
Complaints
Manager, BBC Trust
Further
letter from Bruce Vander dated 10 May 2007
Dear
Mr Andrews,
Further
to my letter of 2 April, I’m afraid I’m writing to let you know that your
complaint has been delayed until the July Editorial Standards Committee (ESC)
meeting.
Whilst
investigating your complaint it came to light that we would require the advice
of an expert, which therefore led to further delays.
However
I am confident we will be in a position to send you the committee’s paperwork
for your comments within the next few weeks. Further details explaining the
form of response and the time period in which you have to respond will be sent
with the paperwork.
Please
accept my apologies once again for the delay, we are working to ensure that
this does not become a regular occurrence.
Yours
sincerely
Bruce
Vander
Complaints
Manager, BBC Trust
Letter
dated 30th May 3007 received 1st June 2007 enclosing the
pack that will be given to each Committee member as they consider my complaint
on 3 July 2007 [DV]. I was given an opportunity to respond and this is my
letter in response to them.
The Chairman of the Editorial Standards Committee
Room 211, 35 Marylebone High Street
London
W1U 4AA
1st June 2007
Your ref: AL/13878740
Dear Sirs,
Pause for Thought: Radio 2: 6 July 2006
I would confirm receipt of Bruce
Vander’s letter of 30th May and the pack of ‘background notes’ that
will be given to the Committee to enable them to consider my complaint on 3
July 2007 [DV].
Overall the pack is accurate to
the exchanges that I have had on this matter although of course the
contribution by Mona Siddiqui, Professor of Islamic Studies at Glasgow
University was new to me. Her contribution can hardly be regarded as ‘neutral’
and should perhaps have been balanced by the ESC seeking another non-Muslim
view on the exchanges and I would certainly have been very glad to recommend
someone for this task who has devoted much of his time and talents to this
subject.
I personally would have liked to
have seen a greater emphasis on my refutation of 23rd October 2006 [see blue photocopy enclosure] to Mr
Badawi’s claim that ‘a brief excursus into the Koran will give the casual
reader the impression that on the score of harbouring rancour and bearing
grudges Muslims are just nothing to worry about’.
I hope each Committee member will
particularly bear in mind what happened to Paulos Iskander [as detailed in the blue photocopy] [readers of
this article can read of this brutal incident on http://www.barnabasfund.org/news/archives/article.php?ID_news_items=233]
and also what happened in April
this year to 3 Christian men in Turkey, as can be read in the enclosed yellow
photocopy report. [readers of this article can read of this brutal
incident on http://thepoint.breakpoint.org/2007/05/final_hours_of_.html] This yellow
report is not a ‘new complaint’ but merely reinforces the case I have made
and I would ask that each Committee member be given a copy of this yellow report
to read [and weep].
Yours truly
Cecil Andrews
PO Box 13
Ballynahinch
BT24 8AL
My
complaint was considered by the ESC at their July 2007 meeting and the outcome
of that meeting was posted to me in a letter from the BBC Trust dated 20th
August 2007. The covering letter stated –
Dear
Mr Andrews,
Pause
for Thought: Radio 2: 6 July 2006
The
Editorial Standards Committee (ESC) has now considered your appeal. I enclose a
copy of its decision.
The
ESC’s finding looks at your complaint, which suggested that ‘Pause for Thought’
breached the BBC’s editorial standards. The complaint was not upheld. I realise
this will be disappointing.
A
summary of this finding will be included in the next edition of the monthly
bulletin ‘Editorial Complaints: appeals to the Trust’ which will be published
on the 23rd August at the following address
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/appeals/editorial_appeal_findings.html
…
Yours
sincerely
Richard
Tait
Chairman,
Editorial Standards Committee
The full transcript of the
‘findings’ of the ESC can be viewed on http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/appeals/esc_bulletins/jul07.pdf
And I shall be commenting
on these published ‘findings’ in my reply to the BBC that you will be able to
read shortly
What you will firstly read now are
the important elements of the ESC’s ‘decision followed then by a covering
letter sent by myself by way of reply to Mr Tait of the ESC and a letter that I
asked him to pass on to each member of the ‘BBC Trust’
The ESC’s ‘decision’
The Committee concluded:
·
Faris Badawi’s comment,
although drawing upon a specific understanding of the Koran, had not been
inappropriate;
·
There was no evidence to
suggest that Faris Badawi had used the principle of Taqiya and had thus been
dishonest;
·
The comments adhered to
the guidelines of authored pieces which entitle a specialist to provide a
personal view in order that the audience can hear fresh and original
perspectives on a known issue; and
·
That no one view could
adequately address all interpretations of the Koran and that it was not
practicable for every view to be qualified each time one was put forward. On
that basis there were no grounds to suggest dishonesty or inaccuracy in the
views expressed by Mr Badawi.
Richard Tait
Chairman, Editorial Standards Committee
Room 211
35 Marylebone High Street
London
W1U 4AA
22nd September 2007
Ref AL/13878740
Dear Mr Tait,
‘Pause for Thought’: Radio 2: 6th July 2006
I am in receipt of your letter of
20th August.
In it you wrote that I would
probably find the committee’s decision ‘disappointing’ – you are actually quite
wrong – I don’t find the committee’s decision ‘disappointing’, I find it
‘disgusting’.
Not only do I find the decision
‘disgusting’ but I also find the published transcript of the finding both
‘disgusting’ and ‘dishonest’.
Enclosed herewith is a final
letter that I would ask you to photocopy and give to each member of the
committee that arrived at this shameful ‘decision’.
Yours for the cause of truth
Cecil Andrews
PO Box 13
Ballynahinch
Co Down
BT24 8AL
Editorial Standards Committee
22nd September 2007
Ref AL/13878740
Dear Sirs,
‘Pause for Thought’: Radio 2: 6th July 2006
I have received the details of
your ‘findings’ and ‘decision’ in this matter. My reaction has been one of
‘disgust’ and it has been compounded by ‘the summary’ put out by the BBC into
the public domain. This ‘summary’ is utterly dishonest as it fails to sufficiently
draw attention to and highlight the crucial words of Mr Badawi that were at the
very heart of my complaint when he said on air –
‘a brief excursus into the
Koran will give the casual reader the impression that on the score of
harbouring rancour and bearing grudges Muslims are just nothing to worry
about’.
I even emphasised this fact when
responding to my review of ‘the pack’ of background notes that would be given
to each committee member when they came to consider my complaint. It would
appear that the BBC employs its own version of Taqiya when it suits
their cause!
In relation to your conclusions I
would comment as follows –
|
BBC
conclusion |
My
response |
|
Faris Badawi’s comment, although drawing upon a specific
understanding of the Koran, had not been inappropriate |
The issue is not one of comments being ‘appropriate’ or
‘inappropriate’ but of whether they are ‘accurate’ or inaccurate’, ‘honest’
or ‘dishonest’ |
|
There was no evidence to suggest that Faris Badawi had used the
principle of Taqiya and had thus been dishonest |
There was no evidence to suggest that Faris Badawi had NOT
used the principle of Taqiya and had thus been dishonest. In fact the
testimony of almost 1500 years of history, right up to this present day,
indicates clearly that he was being ‘dishonest’ when he made the comments at
the very heart of this complaint. |
|
The comments adhered to the guidelines of authored pieces which
entitle a specialist to provide a personal view in order that the audience
can hear fresh and original perspectives on a known issue |
The ‘personal view’ of any ‘specialist’ must still be
subject to the test of whether it is accurate and honest – with the ‘licence’
of Taqiya any Muslim contributor is not bound by such constraints as accuracy
and honesty. |
|
That no one view could adequately address all interpretations of the
Koran and that it was not practicable for every view to be qualified each
time one was put forward. On that basis there were no grounds to suggest
dishonesty or inaccuracy in the views expressed by Mr Badawi. |
It may seem not to be ‘practicable’ to qualify every view
put forward but on such a serious issue, literally of ‘life and death’, then
an alternative view of whether or not a brief excursus into the Koran will
give the casual reader… just nothing to worry about’ should be given
airtime. Time constraint limitations have no bearing on whether or not Mr
Badawi’s comments were either dishonest or inaccurate. |
Let me finish by saying that the
ESC members have collectively behaved like a herd of ‘Neville Chamberlain
ostriches’ and if you don’t soon wake up to the reality of Islam’s Global
Intentions then literally you may not have any heads to bury anywhere never
mind in the sand.
The expression ‘BBC Trust’
has by this ‘decision’ been shown up clearly to be a living, breathing OXYMORON.
Yours for the cause of truth
Cecil Andrews
PO Box 13
Ballynahinch
Co Down
BT24 8AL
Concluding comments
The ESC and ‘BBC Trust’ in their
published ‘summary’ made reference to Faris Badawi’s response to my complaint but
they failed to publish any details of my response in which I stated - ‘Mr Badawi
quoted a number of Suras from the Koran and I will now list the Suras he quoted
and show how they form no defence in the matter of my complaint’ – this
omission looks like another example of ‘BBC Taqiya’.
When it comes to the matter of
‘truth’ the BBC are clearly not going to let that stand in the way of their own
agendas.
By way of an ‘Appendix’ to
this document and to further illustrate the dishonesty of Mr Badawi’s words –
‘a brief excursus into the
Koran will give the casual reader the impression that on the score of
harbouring rancour and bearing grudges Muslims are just nothing to worry about’
let me share some excerpts from a
recent email received from Moriel Ministries and in the light of what you read
ask yourself - is it true, as Mr Badawi has claimed, that Christians in places
like Eritrea, Iraq, Egypt, Pakistan and other unnamed Middle East regions have ‘just
nothing to worry about’
Cecil Andrews – ‘Take Heed’ Ministries – 22nd
September 2007
APPENDIX
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1)
Petition: U.N. must address forced conversions to Islam
'If governments abridge right to choose religion, how can this
right be considered universal?'
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2)
Iraq: 36 church members disappear, 1 returns
Minister warns of increased persecution of Christians
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3)
Video of beheading used to threaten Christians
3rd-generation homeowners flee from Islamic warning
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5)
Egyptian Christians facing deportation
Homeland considers them 'enemies of state' for seeking
religious asylum
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6)
Pakistan: Religious Minorities Told To Convert Or Die
Christians remain fearful after deadline passes for converting
to Islam
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