A day in the life
Please beg my indulgence, but Breakfast on Five Live has never received a text message like this before: "To the Breakfast Editor: Good programme idea."
Steve, wherever you are, thank you.
Of course, it wasn't really my idea, but heh, you've got to take the plaudits wherever you can find them. It's also very gratifying when a plan - developed by the programme team - makes a big impression on air.
Our broadcast from the home of Khalid Anis and his wife Sara certainly generated a big response. Nicky Campbell spent the whole of the programme with them, and various other guests. The idea came about when Khalid e-mailed us to complain about the fact he only seemed to hear "radical" Muslim voices on air. "Where are the moderates like me?" he moaned.
We took him up on his challenge to spend a day in his company. In fact we went further. Jags from our interactive team took a camera and filmed a day in his life. (You can watch a day in Khalid's life here, hear the programme here, and see pictures here.)
Of course not all the feedback was positive. There were several texts and e-mails along the lines of "Oh no, not Muslims again" . In fact, Khalid and Sara told Nicky they too are fed up of hearing about Muslims in the news. Some people who work here were sceptical too. Was it patronising? Would we get the tone right?
But there's been a lot of positive reaction too. Some other bits of Ö÷²¥´óÐã News told us they wish they'd had the idea. A couple of sceptics told us they were won over, not least by Sara's passionate arguments.
And we also had a lot of questions from people. Some were challenging what the Koran had to say about certain issues, others wanted to know practical details (why do you have to pray five times a day? Why not six - or four?) Others were just grateful to hear some calmer voices in a debate which so often gets taken over by the more strident opinions.
Predictably, others wanted to know when we might spend a day with a Christian or a Jew or a Hindu. It's something we would certainly consider. What do you reckon, Steve?
Comments
A great idea indeed! Take a normal everyday family, a sceptical presenter, put a few earphones on them, get a "modern" "westernized" imam and what the hell, why not a reverend - stick em right in front of 5 million people and pump them on their views on War, Peace,Terrorism, social policy, governmental relations, Sex & Homosexuality, tolerance and co-existence, even a litle bit of interfaith dialogue.
I do not wish to sound judgemental or perhaps cynical - but it truly is hard to understand your agenda. I have been living in this country (England) for less than 5 years - and virtually not a single day goes by for me without getting some element of news or report from the bbc - be it radio, TV, Internet, Pod cast - you're pretty much all-encompassing!
Anyway,in those 5 years you have been describing Muslims & Islam as Fanatics, extremists, militants, Fundamentalists, Moderates, Saddamists, Baathists, Terrorists, Fascists - whatever! and here you are getting all worked up about a 40 min show That did SQUAT! NADA!, absolutely nothing to educate the vast majority of ignorent citizents of this country.
Just listen to the Ö÷²¥´óÐã radio fivelive morning phone-in any given day, your daily radio programme that in its own words strives to make the days headlines the only thing everyone's literally talking about. Say the topic of debate is islam, in this circumstance, as it always occurs, what is to stop someone (like your endless supply of "experts" & commentators) from pre-loading the ensuing discussion with devious and prejudicial language, dubious linkages, weak or false "intelligence" and selected "leaks". It’s not so much the control of what we think, but the control of what we think about. This has been going on for ages (I am talking history pre 9/11), but even if we refer to right after 9/11, what we find is that rather than addressing the known political causes, the terrorist attacks were portrayed as a religious struggle, epitomised in "radical" Islam v the west. What an utter absurdity!. Many Millions of innocent people were killed in the last century, from Nagasaki to Hiroshima, Vietnam to Rwanda & Iraq, by acts of governments that were secular by law yet publicly upheld Christian values. Yet these elements of Christianity was never highlighted, I wonder why?!. It isn't just propaganda any more.
I guess what I am trying to convey is how the inevitable question remains to be answered; namely, Does Islam make man good or do man make Islam good?
What do you think? and know that how you approach this question is how you deal and relate with a issue as complicated and complex as this on a daily basis. But what do I know, I am just a 22 year old Muslim living and breathing life just like everybody else! and so it should, but sometimes I wish without all them foolish labels!
Being Radical, I thought meant when someone uses violence, unilaterally, and unprovoked, or when their ideo of something is totally new and far flung from common thinking.
Maybe the Dictionary defintion is quite different. I'm not checking. However, I do believe someone idea shouldnt necessarily make the Radical.
A middle east without a the Nation Of Israel is just an Idea and until one acts on that idea in a Violent manner they shouldnt be cosidered Radical.
Many nations in the Middle East would like Israel to disappear. There is even a small minority in of Jewish Israeli's that would like this to happen.
No matter how unpopular or disfavorable this opinion maybe to the some, it's is unfair to call it radical or terrorist. It is still an aopinion and until those who hold it do violence they should be respected.
You could always spend the day with me, an Agnostic. I'm not sure that'd be interesting. Religion doesn't tend to play a part in my day to day life, but I do deal with the other things, like public transport, paying bills, not being paid enough etc.
I disagree with Debbie (#3) - we shouldn't give these radical agnostics, with their incessant demands for "rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty", yet another platform to espouse their extremist views.