The following is cut and paste from a different forum (authored by Bristol Muslim Cultural Society)


STOP THE BBC SHOWING THIS HATE NOW !

On Monday 9th June at 9pm BBC1 will be showing the second episode of
series 2 of its Bafta award nominated drama Spooks. This episode was
shown last Monday evening on the satellite and cable station BBC 3 at
10.30pm.

MPAC have received a number of complaints about the flagrant
Islamophobia in this programme. The episode details from the BBC web
site are: -

Mosque
An MI5 agent is tortured inside a mosque in Birmingham after finding out
it is being used for training suicide bombers. MI5 then recruits
Algerian spy Ibhn Khaldun (Alexander Siddig) to infiltrate the group and
he learns an attack is imminent.

Put simply the program is Anti-Arab, Anti-Muslim and panders to the
whims of the right wing portrayal of all practising Muslims as
terrorists, willing to kill infidel innocents as a fundamental of their
faith.

The programme shows the following: -

A Muslim child carries out a suicide bombing in a Birmingham school;
Madrassahs teach children to hate the west and train them to become
suicide Bombers;
quotes like "I will go straight to paradise if I kill just one Infidel"
are used, said by a young boy of 16 who had explosives on his person
while standing in a playground in Birmingham;
The first Muslim Spy that infiltrates the Mosque is caught and beaten to
death;
A Westernised Algerian brother, fair skin, light styled beard, offers
his services to spy for MI5;
All the "bad guys" have beards and wear turbans;
The Imam (Mullah) is arrested for Charity fraud when they can find no
other evidence against him;
Asylum seekers are shown as fanatics abusing the system;
Imams are referred to as Mullahs;
There is no good aspect of Islam shown.

The impression is always apparent that all Muslims are terrorists,
except the ones that immerse themselves into the West and its ways. Not
for one second is it felt that the "hero" is a good Muslim, his moral
fibre comes from the west not Islam.

Needless to say there are no Muslim actors in the cast. All this
programme does is demonise and dehumanise Muslims and Islam. It is based
in a real city with a real Muslim community - Birmingham. This is the
first step on a very dangerous path, identify the enemy, demean,
dehumanise and something to fear / kill. Is there any better claim to
incitement to racial hatred?

There is plenty of evidence, both real and anecdotal that following
programmes like these the level of racial tension and attacks increase.
Our hijab-wearing sisters are spat at in front of their children, and we
suffer unprovoked verbal taunts and physical assaults.

WE WANT THIS ISLAMAPHOBIC RACIST HATE MOVIE DROPPED BEFORE IT IS SHOWN
THIS COMING MONDAY

So what can you do:

1. Be calm, be polite: Ring the BBC complaints line on 08700 100
222 and ask them not to air this programme. Make sure you get a
reference number from the person you speak to.

2. Email a complaint and demand that the BBC as a public service
broadcaster cancel this programme.
The email addresses to write to are:

 Gareth.neame@bbc.co.uk
 greg.dyke@bbc.co.uk
 Howard.Brenton@bbc.co.uk
 drama@bbc.co.uk

please remember to blind copy (bcc) MPAC and BMCS on your mails
info@m... and bmcs@b...

3. Phone Kudos productions and ask to speak to Jane Featherstone -
0207 580 8686. If you speak to Kate Waterstone insist that you speak to
Jane.

4. Check the link  http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/spooks/credits.shtml
and ring the BBC to speak to the personnel listed. Switchboard number
0208 743 8000. ask for Mr Neame. Please note that the director is one
Bharat Nalluri. Ask them how they could make such an Islamophobic
programme. Ask who the Islamic advisor to the show was and get the
contact details for them.

5. Print this alert out and ask that your local Mosque protest in an
official capacity citing the increase in attacks against Mosques that
will ensue. Also ask your Mosque if you can place this on their notice
board or announce this issue at Jummah prayer. We spoke to the Chairman
of Birmingham central mosque Mohammed Naseem and he agreed with us that
action had to be taken and made a note of the relevant telephone numbers
to call to inform the congregation of 6000 strong at Jummah tomorrow.
Make sure your mosque is in the front line too.

6. Contact Bruce Vander, senior co-ordinator with BBC information 0208
576 4929, to further register your dismay and disgust that such a
programme was ever made let alone aired.

Also for your information please find below a copy of the letter sent to
BBC by Muslim Council of Britain:

6th June 2003
Ms Lorraine Heggessey
Controller
BBC One
Wood Lane
London
W12 7RJ

Dear Ms Heggessey,

During this past week we have received many complaints from British
Muslims who saw the episode of the BBC drama programme 'Spooks' which
was broadcast on BBC3 Digital on Monday 2nd June 2003, and is due to be
broadcast on BBC1 at 9.00pm this coming Monday 9th June 2003.

Having now seen a copy of the broadcast episode we would like to draw
your attention to the following serious concerns:

a) The programme, which was of a very sensational nature, unfortunately
only served to reinforce many negative stereotypes of British Muslims.
Instead of being a well-informed piece of film-making, this episode of
'Spooks' pandered to grossly offensive and Islamophobic caricatures of
Imams, Muslim students and mosques.

b) The programme did not at all sufficiently point out how the 'bad
Imam' would have been utterly disowned by the local Muslim community.
Only Mr Fazl Azam was shown as lamenting the takeover of the mosque by a
small criminally-minded group. Again, this is a distortion of reality
and can only serve to further demonise the mainstream Muslim community.

c) Near the beginning of the episode, Johnny, a British infiltrator of
the Birmingham mosque, is shown as having his cover blown and being
subsequently beaten and tortured by the other Muslim students inside the
mosque on the instructions of Muhammad Rashid, the sinister Imam. Johnny
is then flung out of the top-floor window and falls face-first on to a
car below. Your writer Mr Howard Brenton, seems to have allowed his
imagination to get the better of him. What was this incident based on?
If it was not based - however tenuously - on a real event, will it not
lead many of your viewers to suspect that mosques are criminally
dangerous places indeed, full of brainwashed and violent individuals.

d) The 'bad Imam' Muhammad Rashid was shown with a flowing beard,
whereas the 'good Imam' Fazl Azam was shown as being clean-shaven,
thereby buttressing the impression that bearded Muslims are to be
feared. In fact, you will find that most 'good' Imams are actually
bearded in line with the example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him).

e) A lot of the programme revolved around events taking place at a
Birmingham mosque. The mosque is a place where Muslims gather for their
five daily prayers. Yet, in the entire programme, not a single Muslim
was shown actually performing the salah, the Muslim ritual prayer. Many
viewers will have been left with a distorted impression of what actually
takes place inside mosques, perhaps now regarding them as a place for
political intrigue and the plotting of acts of terrorism.

f) A 16-year old Muslim boy, Abu Hasan, is portrayed as declaring, "I
must send an unbeliever to hell, only then will I see paradise". This is
inflammatory and factually inaccurate. What did the writer Howard
Brenton base this sentence on?

g) The same boy, Abu Hasan is shown at the end of the episode having
strapped on an explosive belt and walking into the middle of a
schoolground full of children. We are not aware of a single similar
episode occurring anywhere in the real world. We realize that this was a
fictional drama, but does this give licence to Mr Brenton to
deliberately portray a Muslim in any manner he wishes, even if it will
only increase the suspicion and hate towards Muslims?

In short, we believe that this episode of 'Spooks' will do a lot of harm
to the already woeful image of the British Muslim community that the
media itself has helped to create. It will only add to the fear and
suspicion that many Muslims have to face in their day-to-day lives. It
may even provoke an even greater increase in the amount of deliberate
abuse and violence that has been directed against our community and its
institutions in recent months.

We would like to ask whether - knowing full well the sensitivity of the
issues involved - you consulted any Muslim organizations in the UK on
the accuracy of your portrayal of Islam and Muslims in this episode of
'Spooks'?

To conclude, we believe the increased amount of Islamophobia that is
sure to result from the broadcasting of this programme at peak-time on
Monday is wholly unacceptable and a gross violation of your
responsibilities as a public service broadcaster. It is odd that - on
the other hand - factual and positive programmes on Islam often end up
in your BBC1 graveyard slot at 11.30pm.

Therefore, we would like to arrange an urgent meeting with you to
discuss this. In view of the urgency of this request, please could you
reply by return of email.

cc: Mr Greg Dyke, Director-General of the BBC
Mr Stuart Murphy, Controller, BBC3 Digital
Mr Richard Sambrook, Head of BBC News
Ms Sue Street, Permanent Secretary, Department of Culture,
Media and Sport
Mr David Veness, Metropolitan Police
Lord Filkin, Home Office