Greg Dyke

Director-General

BBC

Dear Mr Dyke,

Robert Kilroy-Silk’s outrageous article ‘We owe Arabs nothing’ published in the Express on Sunday (4 Jan 2004) is simply another classic example of his sheer ignorance and bigotry.  He seems to have a history of such attacks on Arabs and Muslims.

You may recall the instance when Kilroy wrote “they (Muslims) are backward and evil, and if it is being racist to say so then I must be and happy and proud to be so”
[The Daily Express, 15th January 1995]

What really amazes us though, is the fact that despite his racist & Islamophobic remarks, BBC has failed to take any action and continues to employ him.  Would BBC tolerate if he was to attack the Jews or Blacks in this manner? We all know the answer.

We fail to understand why no action is taken when the victims happen to be Arabs/Muslims.  Clearly you treating Arabs and Muslims differently constitutes discrimination.

It seems that BBC is condoning this racism & Islamophobia by not taking any action.  We suggest that you review this case as a matter of extreme urgency, take appropriate action against Kilroy and prove to the Arab and Muslim communities that BBC will not tolerate any form of racism.

Kind regards,

Hasan Abdullah
Director of Public Relations
Islamic Affairs Central Network (IACN)