LONDON: A video clip taken from an interview of the newly elected secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has been removed by the BBC after complaints that a presenter had “bullied” her.
Zara Mohammed, 29, the first female head of the MCB, had appeared on the “Woman’s Hour” show on BBC Radio 4.
In an interview with host Emma Barnett, known for her robust style of questioning, Mohammed was asked repeatedly about the lack of female imams operating in the UK, citing the increased prevalence of female priests and rabbis in the Church of England and the UK’s Jewish community.
Mohammed, who had previously stated that her vision for her time as secretary-general was to “continue to build a truly inclusive, diverse and representative body,” refused to answer the question directly four times, saying that female roles in leading religious activity were “not within [the] parameters” of her position.
The segment was clipped and posted on an official Twitter account by the BBC but has now been taken down after complainants said they felt Mohammed had been “attacked” in the interview.
A spokesperson for the corporation said: “We have removed a short social media clip from the ‘Woman’s Hour’ Twitter feed as it didn’t reflect the full interview, during which Zara Mohammed was given the opportunity to discuss and comment on a range of topics relevant to her new role as the secretary-general of the MCB.
“The interview is available online, covering the positive reaction to Ms. Mohammed’s appointment, her previous leadership experience with the MCB, her vision for the future and the relationship between the MCB and the UK government.
“‘Woman’s Hour’ has a long history of challenging interviews with politicians, community and faith leaders about women’s representation.”
The MCB, an umbrella group of over 500 organizations, is Britain’s largest democratic Muslim body.
BBC deletes interview clip of British Muslim community leader
https://arab.news/4q9vz
BBC deletes interview clip of British Muslim community leader
- Zara Mohammed, the first female head of the MCB, had appeared on the “Woman’s Hour” show on BBC Radio 4
- In an interview with Barnett, Mohammed was asked repeatedly about the lack of female imams in the UK
Anger as branch of ICE to help with security at Winter Olympics
ROME: A branch of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will help with security for the Winter Olympics in Italy, it confirmed Tuesday, sparking anger and warnings they were not welcome.
Reports had been circulating for days that the agency embroiled in an often brutal immigration crackdown in the United States could be involved in US security measures for the February 6-22 Games in northern Italy.
In a statement overnight to AFP, ICE said: “At the Olympics, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is supporting the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations.
“All security operations remain under Italian authority.”
It’s not known whether the HSI has in the past been involved in the Olympics, or whether this is a first.
According to the ICE website, the HSI investigates global threats, investigating the illegal movement of people, goods, money, contraband, weapons and sensitive technology into, out of, and through the United States.
ICE made clear its operations in Italy were separate from the immigration crackdown, which is being carried out by the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) department.
“Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries,” it said.
The protection of US citizens during Olympic Games overseas is led by the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).
Yet the outrage over ICE immigration operations in the United States is shared among many in Italy, following the deaths of two civilians during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
The leftist mayor of Milan, which is hosting several Olympic events, said ICE was “not welcome.”
“This is a militia that kills... It’s clear that they are not welcome in Milan, there’s no doubt about it, Giuseppe Sala told RTL 102.5 radio.
“Can’t we just say no to (US President Donald) Trump for once?“
Alessandro Zan, a member of the European Parliament for the center-left Democratic Party, condemned it as “unacceptable.”
“In Italy, we don’t want those who trample on human rights and act outside of any democratic control,” he wrote on X.
Monitoring Vance
Italian authorities initially denied the presence of ICE and then sought to downplay any role, suggesting they would help only in security for the US delegation.
US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are attending the opening ceremony in Milan on February 6.
On Monday, the president of the northern Lombardy region, said their involvement would be limited to monitoring Vance and Rubio.
“It will be only in a defensive role, but I am convinced that nothing will happen,” Attilio Fontana told reporters.
However, his office then issued a statement saying he did not have any specific information on their presence, but was responding to a hypothetical question.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi was quoted as saying late Monday that “ICE, as such, will never operate in Italy.”
The International Olympic Committee when contacted by AFP about the matter replied: “We kindly refer you to the USOPC (the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee).”
Thousands of ICE agents have been deployed by President Donald Trump in various US cities to carry out a crackdown on illegal immigration.
Their actions have prompted widespread protests, and the recent killings of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, on the streets of Minneapolis sparked outrage.
