Publication date: 14 May 2009
ComplaintWe have received complaints from our audience regarding our decision to appoint a non-Christian as the new Head of Religion and Ethics.
BBC's Response
The BBC's commitment to religious broadcasting and to Christian broadcasting as the dominant part of that, is entirely secure. Aaqil Ahmed was appointed as he was the best candidate for this new role. It is BBC policy to recruit on the basis of experience and suitability to the post, not on the basis of faith or any other criteria.
Aaqil has almost ten years' experience in religious broadcasting - first at the BBC where he was Deputy Editor for Documentaries at BBC Religion and more recently as Head of Religion and Multicultural at Channel 4 where he was responsible for commissioning (amongst many other programmes) Christianity: A History, Rowan Williams Meets...and the BAFTA-winning Saving Africa's Witch Children.
As the majority faith in the UK, Christians are and will remain the key audience for the BBC's religious television output.
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