BBC pulls Free Speech panel question about being gay and Muslim

Presenter says mosque expressed ‘deep concerns’ about hosting the discussion


The BBC pulled a discussion about being gay and Muslim from its Free Speech panel show. Clip from BBC3 (uploaded by Raheem Kassam)

The BBC is being criticized for pulling a discussion about being gay and Muslim from its Free Speech show, Pink News reports.

Panellists were set to answer the question “When will it be accepted to be Muslim and gay?” but the Birmingham Central Mosque, the venue that was hosting the debate, reportedly had reservations about proceeding with the show, the report says.

The show’s presenter, Rick Edwards, who revealed the mosque’s fears in his introduction, indicated that the topic will be revisited in the March 25 program.

A number of observers took the BBC to task for pulling the plug on the discussion. Among the BBC’s critics is Raheem Kassam, managing editor of Breitbart London, who says the broadcaster failed “to do its job properly” by allowing the debate to be censored.

Kassam also noted in a blog post that no one on the assembled panel — which included a Liberal Democrat politician, an editor from the Huffington Post, a transgender activist and a comedian — objected to the withdrawal of the debate question.

The National Secular Society’s campaign manager, Stephen Evans, also criticized the broadcaster, saying it was “absurd” to censor a program on free speech.

The BBC released a statement saying that it is “determined” to have the discussion but that it made the decision to delay it out of respect for the mosque.

It says the topic will be “debated in full” March 25.

Natasha Barsotti is originally from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. She had high aspirations of representing her country in Olympic Games sprint events, but after a while the firing of the starting gun proved too much for her nerves. So she went off to university instead. Her first professional love has always been journalism. After pursuing a Master of Journalism at UBC , she began freelancing at Xtra West — now Xtra Vancouver — in 2006, becoming a full-time reporter there in 2008.

Read More About:
Power, News, Censorship

Keep Reading

The new generation of gay Conservative sellouts

OPINION: Melissa Lantsman’s and Eric Duncan’s refusals to call out their party’s transphobia is a betrayal of the LGBTQ2S+ community

Over 300 anti-LGBTQ2S+ bills have been introduced this year. This doesn’t mean we should panic

OPINION: While it’s important to watch out for threats, not all threats are created equally. Some of these bills will die a natural death

Xtra’s top LGBTQ2S+ stories of the year

The best and brightest—even most bewildering—stories from a back catalogue brimming with insight

Elon Musk and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton are suing Media Matters. Here’s why queer and trans people should care

OPINION: When politicians and the rich leverage the power of the state to quell dissent, we all lose