Craven at the BBC.(Notes & Comments: March 2006)

In their continuing effort to raise consciousness, spread enlightenment, and deprecate the traditions that made Britain Britain, the BBC has posted extensive information on major world religions on their internet site (www.bbc.co.uk/religion). A friend directed us to the section on Islam. It makes instructive reading for anyone wishing to chart the progress of the virus of multiculturalism--that odd compact of self-righteousness, nihilism, and pusillanimity--in elite British society.

The site offers some standard historical exposition about the origin and doctrines of Islam as well as some inadvertently comical items such as the entry "Muslim internet matchmaking," in which we learn that "The internet has sparked a revolution in the way some Muslims are meeting potential partners." (Similar, equally comic, pages exist for other religions.) But what is most striking about the section on Islam is its tone of careful piety. No other religion--except possibly Atheism, "The ideas and story of people who don't believe in God"--receives such fastidious treatment. (The section on Atheism, incidentally, features an interview with that secular saint, Richard Dawkins: a perfect match.) Compare, for example, the introductory caption describing Islam with the one that describes Christianity:

    Islam began in Arabia and was  revealed to humanity    by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be    upon him).  Those who follow Islam are called    Muslims. Muslims believe that there  is only    one God. The Arabic word for God is Allah. 

Got it? Now here's the bit introducing Christianity:

    Christianity is the world's biggest religion,  with about 2.1 billion followers worldwide. It    is based on the  teachings of Jesus Christ who    lived in the Holy Land 2,000 years ago.  

Notice anything different in the tone, in the approach? For starters, Islam "was revealed to humanity," etc., etc., but Christianity is a statistic. And what's this "peace be upon him" stuff--confessional language in the very secular setting of a BBC internet history lesson? In a religious setting, Catholics will often say "Glory to you, Lord" or "Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ" But in the context of an historical document? What's going on here?

The BBC must have some inkling that, at the very least, the "peace be upon him" wheeze is a departure from precedent, for they offer this explanation, and justification, for the practice:

    Throughout the BBC'S section  on Islam you    will see Peace be upon Him or (pbuh) after ...