Sounds like he's walking a fine line there. I think it is fairly obvious why he feels Islam should be treated with more "sensitivity".
Islam should be treated more sensitively by the media than Christianity, according to the director general of the BBC.
By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:39PM BST 15 Oct 2008
Mark Thompson claimed that because Muslims are a religious minority in Britain and also often from ethnic minorities, their faith should be given different coverage to that of more established groups.
His comments come after the comedian Ben Elton accused the BBC of being scared of making jokes about Islam, while Hindus have claimed it favours Muslims over other religions.
But Mr Thompson, speaking at the annual public theology lecture of the religion think-tank Theos, insisted the state broadcaster would show programmes that criticised Islam if they were of sufficient quality.
The director general, whose corporation faced accusations of blasphemy from Christians after it allowed the transmission of the musical Jerry Springer -The Opera, also said his Christian beliefs guided his judgments and disclosed that he had never watched the Monty Python film Life of Brian which satirises the story of Jesus.
In his speech last night, Mr Thompson claimed there are now more programmes about religion on BBC television and radio than there have been in recent decades, whereas coverage has declined on ITV.
But asked whether it was correct that the BBC "let vicar gags pass but not imam gags", as Elton claimed, he admitted it did take a different approach to Islam, which has 1.6million followers in Britain, compared to its approach to the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church.
Mr Thompson said: "My view is that there is a difference between the position of Christianity, which I believe should be central to the BBC's religion coverage and widely respected and followed.
"What Christian identity feels like it is about to the broad population is a little bit different to people for whom their religion is also associated with an ethnic identity which has not been fully integrated.
"There's no reason why any religion should be immune from discussion, but I don't want to say that all religions are the same. To be a minority I think puts a slightly different outlook on it."
However he pointed out that he had commissioned the comedy series Goodness Gracious Me, which he claimed had made fun of many religions, and claimed the BBC had shown more of the controversial Danish cartoons of the prophet Mohammed than other newspapers and television channels had done.
Earlier this year Mr Thompson had warned of a "growing nervousness about discussion about Islam" and said no debate about religion should be censored.
Mr Thompson said the broadcast of Jerry Springer - The Opera, which features Jesus as a talk show guest who admits to being "a bit gay", had been the most controversial programme he had dealt with during his time at the corporation.
"No political issue has so far come near Jerry Springer in terms of anger and emotion. It wasn't politics that put a security guard outside my house, it was a debate about how the BBC handles religion."
However despite the storm over the programme, Mr Thompson, a practising Catholic, said his beliefs do play a part in the editorial judgments he makes and disclosed that he dislikes watching shows about the Bible.
"I've never seen Life of Brian," Mr Thompson said. "I've taken a personal choice very seldom to watch programmes that have depictions of Jesus.
"I'm very sensitive about depictions of the Gospel story."
He also dismissed the idea that television is a "wellspring or accelerant" of immorality in society, and also that the BBC gives too much weight to the secular ideals of science or employs "moral relativism" when covering contentious issues such as medical ethics.
Mr Thompson defended programmes that have been accused of promoting selfishness or nastiness, such as The Apprentice and The Weakest Link, claiming that viewers know they are only entertainment and do not ape the behaviour shown on them.
He said that programmes such as EastEnders and The Archers deal with the consequences of people's actions, even when they cover controversial topics, and claimed even science-fiction series such as Doctor Who have a moral backbone.
"Doctor Who is not just about Daleks and Cybermen, it is about mothers and families and friendships," he said.
However Mr Thompson did admit the corporation had given over too much coverage last month of the launch of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.
"I must say that by the end of that week, even for those of us who share my love of the Higgs-Boson, there did seem to be an awful lot of it on the air."
A BBC spokesman said Mr Thompson did not mean Islam should be given preferential treatment, just that all religions are different.
He said: "People should look at his actual comments rather than trying to infer additional meaning that isn't there. What Mark Thompson said is that all religions are not the same - he did not say Islam, or indeed any faith, should be treated more sensitively than Christianity. In fact he made it crystal clear that no religion should be regarded as off limits for the BBC."
Source
Sounds like he's walking a fine line there. I think it is fairly obvious why he feels Islam should be treated with more "sensitivity".
Off topic, I know, but I just loved that movie!!!format_quote Originally Posted by Osman
On topic;Reg: They've bled us white, the *******s. They've taken
everything we had, and not just from us, from our fathers,
and from our fathers' fathers.
Loretta: And from our fathers' fathers' fathers.
Reg: Yeah.
Loretta: And from our fathers' fathers' fathers' fathers.
Reg: Yeah. All right, Stan. Don't labour the point. And what
have they ever given us in return?!
Xerxes: The aqueduct?
Reg: What?
Xerxes: The aqueduct.
Reg: Oh. Yeah, yeah. They did give us that. Uh, that's true.
Yeah.
Commando 3: And the sanitation.
Loretta: Oh, yeah, the sanitation, Reg. Remember what the city
used to be like?
Reg: Yeah. All right. I'll grant you the aqueduct and the
sanitation are two things that the Romans have done.
Matthias: And the roads.
Reg: Well, yeah. Obviously the roads. I mean, the roads go
without saying, don't they? But apart from the sanitation,
the aqueduct, and the roads--
Commando: Irrigation.
Xerxes: Medicine.
Commandos: Huh? Heh? Huh...
Commando 2: Education.
Commandos: Ohh...
Reg: Yeah, yeah. All right. Fair enough.
Commando 1: And the wine.
Commandos: Oh, yes. Yeah...
Francis: Yeah. Yeah, that's something we'd really miss, Reg,
if the Romans left. Huh.
Commando: Public baths.
Loretta: And it's safe to walk in the streets at night now,
Reg.
Francis: Yeah, they certainly know how to keep order. Let's
face it. They're the only ones who could in a place like this.
Commandos: Hehh, heh. Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh.
Reg: But apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education,
wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh-water system,
and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?
Xerxes: Brought peace?
Reg: Oh, peace? Shut up
A semi-autonomous corporation like the BBC has every right to dictate its own policies and be subjected to criticism for it.
Leftist traitor.
^You win a handbag!
When was the last time the BBC broadcast a programme criticial of any religion?
I am a christian and I LOVE The Life Of Brian. Also the Every Sperm is Sacred scene in The Meaning of Life if priceless. Some people need a sense of humor. By the way God Bless the Bee Keepers
I like that sketch in a Max and Paddy episode where they're singing and driving, then turn to the passengers and say 'Come on, sing along!' And the passengers are a bunch of bemused imam-looking guys.
I'd link to it if I could find it on YouTube. It's brilliant.
Edit: Athough Max and Paddy is broadcast on Channel Four rather than BBC.
Last edited by Muezzin; 10-16-2008 at 03:24 PM.
thats like me saying:format_quote Originally Posted by IzyanI am a christian and I LOVE The Life Of Brian. Also the Every Sperm is Sacred scene in The Meaning of Life if priceless. Some people need a sense of humor. By the way God Bless the Bee Keepers
"see that man over there his my dad but I SWEAR i LOVED IT when my best mate insults him, disrespects him and makes him look like a dumb idiot, you kno why? Because i found it so funny ahahahaha..."
serious?
Ahhh but here's the thing. They aren't making fun of my dad. They are making fun of the people who mistake another man for my dad. Besides I'm sure my Dad has a since of humor I mean look at the Duck Billed Platypus. Certianly he had a good laugh as he was creating it.format_quote Originally Posted by IbnAbdulHakimthats like me saying:
"see that man over there his my dad but I SWEAR i LOVED IT when my best mate insults him, disrespects him and makes him look like a dumb idiot, you kno why? Because i found it so funny ahahahaha..."
serious?
I didn't consider the Life of Brian as insulting to Jesus (AHS), however. I don't know why so many Christians were up in arms against it.
It reminds me of the African American reverts to Islam who took hostages and threatened to kill them if "The Message" was not removed from being screened in theatres, as they thought it depicted a person playing the role of Muhammed (SAW).
but the thing is the deepest intention is to ridicule who your dad was, what he did, what happened to him and who he has become.format_quote Originally Posted by Izyan
right?
surely we cant be laughing at that
Sure it can. We used to laugh at my dad and his ways all the time but the thing was it wasn't in malice just like Life of Brian isn't.format_quote Originally Posted by IbnAbdulHakim
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