A press interview by the new president of the British Muslim Council, Zara Muhammad, with BBC Radio 4, turned into an article that raises a lot of controversy because of its content, which was supposed to present the new president of the largest Muslim body in the United Kingdom as the first woman to reach this Position, but it led to a discussion about the woman leading the prayer.

The President of the Muslim Council of Britain was surprised by the shift in the debate on the "Women's Hour" program on the Fourth Radio, from talking about its projects to serve the Muslim minority and the British society, to a confrontational dialogue focused on the issue of the imamate of women, and despite Zara Muhammad's assertion that her position has nothing to do with presenting opinions on religious issues, However, the anchor "Emma Barnett" insisted to repeat the question 4 times and sharply.

The episode almost ended until the presenter of the program was criticized, as she did not deal properly with Zara Mohammed, and deviated from the main goal of the meeting.

And more than 100 British academics, intellectuals and politicians sent a letter of protest to the BBC, protesting this episode, and considering it "promotes many stereotypes about Muslim women."

Last week we posted a clip from an interview with Zara Mohammed @ ZaraM01 Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain.

In retrospect, the clip should have included more of the radio interview to provide full context of the discussion.

We have now removed the original tweet.

BBC Woman's Hour (@BBCWomansHour) February 11, 2021

Ignorance of Islam

A state of frustration prevailed in the ranks of the Muslim minority, as they watched the episode of the "Women's Hour" program with Zara Muhammad. At a time when they expected this "achievement" to be celebrated because a young woman who did not exceed her third decade was leading an institution under which 500 Muslim associations belonged, they were surprised by a dialogue about Leading the woman, providing inaccurate data on the matter, and trying to embarrass Zara on a subject that is not her competence.

Among the signatories of the letter of protest addressed to the BBC, a number of parliamentarians from the Labor and Conservative parties, in addition to intellectuals, and representatives of civil and Islamic societies in Britain.

The message stated that despite Zara Muhammad's assertion that religious issues are not within her competence and that her role is to lead an organization of civil assemblies, the presenter insisted on the same question.

The message added that the interview "reflected a style and a sharp tone as if it was questioning a politician instead of real recognition of what Muslim women represent in Britain," warning that the announcer spoke about the concept of clerics (scholars) in Islam, which is a concept that does not exist and reflects ignorance of Islam and a lack of knowledge necessary to deal and understand Muslim Communities in Britain. "

The document criticized what it described as the absence of representation in the "BBC" network to represent Muslim women with regard to employment policy within the network, and also their employment in leadership positions.

In response to this message, the program affirmed that it appreciates the difference of people with the content of the program at times, and "we believe that it is the right of every program to identify and discuss all issues facing Muslims in Britain", assuring the owners of the message that those in charge of the program will take into account the observations received, They will review how to deal with such issues.

Regarding the representation of Muslim women in the "BBC" network, its general manager, Tim Duffy, stated that the percentage of Muslim employees in the organization is still low "and improving the representation of our employees is a major priority for me and my executive team."

The tone of this interview is quite aggressive.

This is not the Today program!

- Carol Pease (@pease_carol) February 4, 2021

who is in Charge?

Mona Ishaq, a member of the Arab Bloc in the Workers' Party, believes that the persistence of stereotypes about Islam and Muslim women, in particular, are partly responsible for Muslim communities, "because we do not do enough effort to present the true image of Muslim women."

The British politician criticized the "separation from the Islamic identity of some members of the Muslim community" because this weakens the Muslim voice, "and therefore the foreigner deals with what he finds in front of him in terms of preconceptions and remains without correction."

Mona Ishaq considers that the first thing that should be focused on is persuading the Muslim minority to be proud of its religious identity and showing it without a deficiency compound, at which point "the other will come to get to know us and will not be satisfied with just listening to preconceived ideas."

Through her political experience and her participation in a number of political merits, Mona Ishaq asserts that some Britons "still carry the ideas of the colonizer, and if they find weak personalities in front of them, they perpetuate stereotypes about Muslims and minorities" stressing the need to train youth and women on "self-confidence and strength in defending Rights, because this is the way to make our voices heard, otherwise stereotypes about Muslim women will continue. "

The BBC has removed the only Black, Asian, minority ethnic executive from their News Group Board.

In 24hrs I've managed to get 48 cross party MPs & Peers to help highlight concerns to @BBC.

Our media must be diverse, from top to bottom, just as the nation it seeks to serve.

pic.twitter.com/IVGIrMQwqS

Dawn Butler MP✊🏾💙 (@DawnButlerBrent) February 17, 2021

Intentional targeting

With much frustration, Muhammad Kuzbar, a member of the Muslim Council of Britain, talks about the way in which Zara Muhammad was dealt with. .

Kosbar emphasized that Zara Muhammad is not a religious guide, nor is he one of the bodies that ask about this issue, "and this is why the dialogue left many Western academics and civil societies upset."

He described what happened as bias, "instead of focusing on the positive news, which is the arrival of a young woman to head the largest Islamic organization in Britain. The focus was on a controversial topic that needs a lengthy discussion."

The member of the Islamic Council concluded that Zara Muhammad was dealt with the logic of double standards and "trying to drag her to a topic that does not constitute any priority for the Muslim minority, instead of focusing on important issues such as Islamophobia and the Corona epidemic."