London, England - The British Broadcasting Corp. has rejected criticism of one of its programs by Britain's largest Islamic organization.
The Panorama documentary, broadcast in August, said groups affiliated with the Muslim Council of Britain were promoting intolerant religious views.
Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the council's secretary general, said the program was ''deeply unfair'' and was ''purposefully trying to sabotage'' Muslims' progress entering the British mainstream. Sacranie is viewed as the voice of moderate Islam by the British government.
Panorama editor Mike Robinson defended the broadcast, in a letter to the council made public last Friday.
''I have found there to be no truth in your claims that this program was dishonestly presented, maliciously motivated or Islamophobic,'' Robinson wrote.
''The program's purpose was to reflect, inform and generate debate in the Muslim community and the wider population about the nature and direction of the leadership of British Muslims.
''In the light of the London bombing, this is a debate which many Muslims to whom we spoke believe is long overdue,'' he added, referring to the July subway attacks.
The Muslim Council of Britain is an umbrella organization with more than 400 affiliated groups. They include the Ahl-e-Hadith organization, which is based in Birmingham and has 41 branches across the country. According to the Panorama documentary, one part of the Ahl-e-Hadith Web site tells followers to ''be different from Jews and Christians'' whose ''ways are based on sick or deviant views concerning their societies.''