British press officer fired for anti-Islam articles

Guardian Unlimited - 9/2/2004 8:39:00 AM GMT

A British Council official who wrote anti-Muslim articles in the Sunday Telegraph, in which he denounced what he called "the black heart of Islam" has been fired.


The council, a government-funded body, which has recently commissioned a handbook on Islam "to prevent ignorant comments about Muslims being made in [the] national press", said yesterday it had dismissed Harry Cummins, a senior press officer, after an internal investigation.

The author's identity was unknown but to the Sunday Telegraph's executives, then it was revealed by the Guardian's diarist, Marina Hyde, four weeks ago, spurring a wave of complaints to the council from Muslim groups.

In his four articles, bylined Will Cummins, compared Muslims to Nazis. One of his articles stated: "All Muslims, like all dogs, share certain characteristics." Another argued: "It is the black heart of Islam, not its black face, to which millions object."

The author also compared voters in Leicester and Birmingham to the Janjaweed militia who are blamed for the killings and raping in the Sudanese western region, Darfur. He also claimed that Islam was "sanctified by the principle ... that any civilization, however repulsive, has the same value as any other".

In a statement, the British Council said: "Following allegations that a British Council employee had written a series of articles in the Sunday Telegraph offensive to Islam, an investigation has been carried out and a British Council officer has been dismissed."

The dismissal was welcomed by the Muslim community, which said the comment pieces had incited racial and religious hatred.

Murad Qureshi, a Muslim member of the London assembly, said: "The British Council was right to move swiftly against something which threatened to reflect so badly on the work it does globally. This was a huge issue for us. But there remains the problem that we rely on the goodwill of public bodies. What we need is legislation which will stop these vicious and pernicious attacks."

Abdul Bari, deputy secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the British Council had "acted swiftly and decisively to distance themselves from the poisonous hatred espoused by Mr Cummins".

An MCB spokesman added: "We have always insisted that there is a world of difference between criticizing a faith and actually inciting hatred of its followers. Harry Cummins had clearly crossed this line."

The affair has severely embarrassed the council. Last year, Mr. Cummins helped promote a seminar "to debate press freedom and responsibilities with emerging and potential Muslim leaders".

After the Guardian uncovered that Mr. Cummins was the author of the Sunday Telegraph articles, the council voiced concern that his writings and the resulting furor might hamper its work.

A spokesman described the pieces as "the antithesis of everything that we stand for and have worked to achieve over 70 years".

Mr. Cummins, who had denied that he was the author, was unavailable for comment.

Nor was anyone available for comment at the Sunday Telegraph. But the articles have been publicly criticized by another writer on the paper. Columnist Jenny McCartney said of Mr. Cummins: "He is not a man to let the facts get in the way of his vigorous pursuit of a bad argument. Inaccuracies and distortions abound."