Wordblog

A story in the Independent today suggests that Dispatches on Channel 4 tonight will be well worth watching. The programme, on the third anniversary of the 7/7 bombings, is called, “I shouldn’t happen to a Muslim”.

The Independent story is from a pamphlet by Peter Oborne, who presents Dispatches this evening, and James Jones. It tells of a Sun splash about a “Muslim hate mob” which had daubed obscenities over a house in Datchet, near Windsor.

The Sun suggested local Muslims were waging a vendetta against four British soldiers who hoped to rent the house after returning from Afghanistan.

But, says Oborne, there was no Muslim involvement of any kind. Eventually the Sun published a correction:

Following our report “Hounded out” about a soldiers’ home in Datchet, Berkshire, being vandalised by Muslims, we have been asked to point out no threatening calls were logged at Combermere Barracks from Muslims and police have been unable to establish if any faith or religious group was responsible for the incident. We are happy to make this clear.

Dispatches also commissioned an examination of the reporting of Muslim issues. What is included in the Independent story makes very sad reading.

I have no doubt that the coverage of Muslims and Muslim affairs in Britain is biased and negative.
But politicians must accept some of the blame. The Tory MP for Shipley in Yorkshire was quoted in the Sun story saying: “If there’s anybody who should fuck off, it’s the Muslims who are doing this kind of thing. Police should pull out the stops to track down these vile thugs.”

Why a Yorkshire MP should want to comment on an incident in Berkshire I can only guess