Further Guardian reports on the Muslim Council of Britain’s (MCB) diminishing reputation in the UK. Picked by Blair as his favourite Muslim organisation its most prominent spokesperson, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, has already been recently dismissed by Salman Rushdie with these words:

If Sir Iqbal Sacranie is the best Mr Blair can offer in the way of a good Muslim, we have a problem.

Now the MCB weighs in against the BBC accusing it of having a pro-Israeli bias. The basis of this accusation is an edition of Panorama to be aired next week.

According to The Guardian the MCB has

…its roots in the extremist politics of Pakistan. Its secretary general, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, and media spokesman Inayat Bunglawala have both expressed admiration for the late Maulana Maududi, founder of the radical Jamaat-i-Islami party, which campaigns non-violently for an Islamic state in Pakistan.

Maududi, a prominent figure in the 20th century Islamic revivalist movement, was a virulent anti-feminist who believed Muslims should struggle to rid their countries of Western influences.

Amongst the MCB 400 or so affiliates some are more extreme than others.

A second affiliate, the strictly orthodox Jamiat Ahl-i-Hadith, based in Birmingham, practises a form of Islam which demands strict separatism from mainstream society. Its website describes the ways of ‘disbelievers’ as ‘based on sick and deviant views concerning their societies, the universe and their very existence’.

The BBC’s Panorama documentary will challenge the MCB on several issues:

The BBC programme is thought to be highly critical of some MCB affiliates for their links to extremist Islamic ideology. Panorama, reporter John Ware is thought to challenge Sacranie over his boycott of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day, his attendance at a memorial service for Hamas leader Sheikh Yassin and his equivocal stance on Palestinian suicide bombers.

In an understatement The Guardian says

The BBC has not been known for its pro-Israeli stance. In July 2003, Danny Seaman, the Israeli government’s head of press, accused it of ‘demonising and vilifying’ the state of Israel.

And other Muslims are also not enamoured of the MCB:

Some leading Muslims are also critical. Abdul-Rehman Malik, of the Muslim magazine Q-News, said MCB leaders should clarify its position on suicide bombers. ‘You cannot be equivocal about innocent people. An innocent person in Tel Aviv is the same as an innocent person in Baghdad or London.’

Suspicions about the Muslim Council of Britain have led to the set-up of a blog devoted to investigating the organisation. MCB Watch should find plenty to blog about over the coming weeks…