Mark Thompson, director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), has admitted in an interview that broadcasters treat Christianity with far less sensitivity than other religions. He said that Christianity is “an established part of our cultural-built landscape” and is “pretty broad shouldered,” while other faiths have a “very close identity with ethnic minorities” and criticism of them might incite “racial hatred.” He noted that the BBC would not broadcast a treatment of Islam similar to the 2005 broadcast of Jerry Springer: The Opera, which generated complaints from 45,000 people because of its irreverent depiction of Jesus and Christianity. Thompson noted the death threats against Salman Rushdie for his novel The Satanic Verses, the September 11 terror attacks, and the 2004 murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh. He said, “Without question, ‘I complain in the strongest possible terms’ is different from ‘I complain in the strongest possible terms and I am loading my AK47 as I write.'” Thompson described himself as a “practicing Catholic” and advised those who might be offended by a broadcast simply not to watch it. The interview was posted on the website of the London Daily Mail.
From ASSIST News Service