BBC's Simpson displays prejudices on Iraq

In an article on Tariq Aziz, who has recently been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his contribution to the execution of 42 Iraqi flour merchants in 1992, the BBC's long-serving correspondent John Simpson has made two statements that I find quite surprising because of the outright prejudices contained in them.

First of all, according to Simpson, "although [Aziz] comes from a Christian family, this is a matter of historical chance rather than an indication of his opinions." This statement is, obviously, problematic on a number of levels. Would Simpson say this of a British politician with an unsavoury reputation? Would he take the pains to point out that such-and-such European or North American politician was born into a Christian family and had then gone astray? Moreover, what does it mean to say that the fact that he's a Christian is no indication of his opinions? Can Simpson tell us what opinions a Christian, as understood by him, does hold or should hold? Can he tell us which is the Christian opinion: invading Iraq as the Christians Bush and Blair did, or not invading it, as several different churches (including the Catholic Church, to which Aziz belongs, and which later accepted Blair into its fold) urged? Are Bush and Blair not Christians? If they are, why is Tariq Aziz any less a Christian? And, further, is Simpson trying to say here that Aziz's Baath Party membership would have been more understandable had he come from a Muslim family? If he is saying that, what is that but a calumny?

Secondly, according to Simpson, "Tariq Aziz changed his name from Mikhail Yuhanna... to something much more Arab-sounding, in order to fit in better with his Baathist colleagues". Now, pray tell me, what is not "Arab-sounding" about the name Mikhail Yuhanna? Again, it seems that Simpson is trying to equate "Arab" and "Muslim", and to try to portray the Christians as an anomaly in the Arab world. The fact is, Christian Arabs were present in the Middle East long before the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had been born. Mikhail Yuhanna is certainly not a non-Arab-sounding name. On the other hand, it is an identifiably Christian name. By renaming himself Tariq Aziz, Yuhanna did not Arabise his name; he secularised it. There is a big difference between the two, which a man of John Simpson's experience ought to be aware of.

Blair explains conversion delay

Tony Blair has explained why he decided to defer his conversion to Catholicism until he left office. In his view, discussing religion while he was prime minister would have entailed the danger of people calling him a "nutter". He added, "Maybe I was too sensitive... but I just came to the conclusion that if I started talking about God it was going to be difficult."

Before becoming a Catholic in 2007, Blair had attended Catholic services for 25 years. Moreover, he had brought his children up as Catholics (BBC).

There's not much about Blair's words that is surprising. Certainly, there is a great deal of intolerance in Britain to public discussion of religious beliefs. However, why would Blair necessarily have had to talk about his conversion publicly? People already knew very well where his sympathies lay. I think that, beyond religion being a difficult issue to address in British politics, it's a question of the country not being ready for a Catholic prime minister. I think that one day the UK will travel the road the US did decades ago with John F. Kennedy, but the time, I suppose, is not ripe yet.

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UK govt. promises funding for Islamic studies

The British government has promised to spend £1 million (Canadian $2.1 million) in support of the teaching of Islamic studies at British universities. The announcement came while Tony Blair was attending a University of Cambridge conference on Islam, which has also drawn figures such as the grand muftis of Egypt and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Blair has called on "people in the country and wider to listen to" the participants of the conference, as "they are the authentic voices of Islam" (BBC).

A good initiative on the part of the British government, but how far can £1 million go?