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Newsnight: Maajid Nawaz, Mo Ansar And Mehdi Hasan Debate 'Jesus And Mo' Tweet By Lib Dem Candidate

Why Did Newsnight Drop Female Muslim From Panel Discussion On Islam?
Paul Vale
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Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate Maajid Nawaz, who recently tweeted a cartoon of Jesus and the Prophet Mohammed, sparking a petition to have him deselected by his party, locked horns with Muslim community organiser Mo Ansar and the political director of the HuffingtonPost UK Mehdi Hasan on Newsnight on Monday.

Nawaz, who runs the anti-extremism think-tank the Quilliam Foundation, tweeted a picture of a t-shirt, featuring a print of controversial comic strip Jesus and Mo, alongside the words: "This is not offensive and I'm sure God is greater than to feel threatened by it."

The petition on Change.org, which gained around 20,000 signatories, stated: "Maajid Nawaz’s recent activity on social media outlets Facebook and Twitter have been both disrespectful and offensive to the Muslim community in the UK and abroad and the Islamic faith at large... And hence the Party must take punitive action ideally through disassociating itself with Mr Nawaz by removing him from his position as PPC for Hampstead and Kilburn."

Following the tweet, Nawaz received several death threats as well as condemnation, notably from MP George Galloway, who responded by tweeting: "No Muslim will ever vote for the Liberal Democrats anywhere ever unless they ditch the provocateur Majid Nawaz, cuckold of the EDL."

During the discussion, it emerged that Myriam Francois-Cerrah, the prominent writer and journalist, was dropped from the discussion in favour of Ansar, resulting in no female Muslim voice on the panel.

Before the show she tweeted:

Peeps,been replaced by @MoAnsar so it's not just me w/facial hair next to @MaajidNawaz & @mehdirhasan - 4 men discussing Islam,how original!

— M Francois-Cerrah (@MFrancoisCerrah) March 24, 2014

Twitter reacted to Francois-Carrah's removal from the panel with some disdain:

@MFrancoisCerrah@MoAnsar@MaajidNawaz@mehdirhasan sorry to hear it. Would have been refreshing to see women discussing islam in uk

— Sabbiyah Pervez (@sabbiyah) March 24, 2014

Ian Katz, the Newsnight producer who made the decision to drop the only female voice from the panel, tweeted:

o-Founder and Executive Director of Quilliam, Maajid Nawaz
English Defence League reorganisation(01 of11)
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(left to right) Usama Hasan of the Quilliam Foundation, English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson and Maajid Nawaz of the Quilliam Foundation, during a press conference at the Montague Hotel, central London, as Robinson announced that he is to stand down from the EDL under the guidance of the Quilliam foundation. (credit:PA)
Youth Radicalization Redefined At The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival(02 of11)
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NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 29: Co-Founder and Executive Director of Quilliam, Maajid Nawaz attends Youth Radicalization Redefined during the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival at SVA Theater on April 29, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
English Defence League reorganisation(03 of11)
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(left to right) Usama Hasan of Quilliam Foundation, English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson, Maajid Nawaz of Quilliam Foundation and English Defence League co founder Kevin Carroll, during a press conference at the Montague Hotel, central London, as they announce that they are to stand down from the EDL under the guidance of the Quilliam foundation. (credit:PA)
English Defence League reorganisation(04 of11)
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(left to right) English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson, Maajid Nawaz of Quilliam Foundation and English Defence League co-founder Kevin Carroll, during a press conference at the Montague Hotel, central London, as they announce that they are to stand down from the EDL under the guidance of the Quilliam foundation. (credit:PA)
English Defence League reorganisation(05 of11)
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(left to right) Usama Hasan of Quilliam Foundation, English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson, Maajid Nawaz of Quilliam Foundation and English Defence League co-founder Kevin Carroll, during a press conference at the Montague Hotel, central London, as they announce that they are to stand down from the EDL under the guidance of the Quilliam foundation. (credit:PA)
English Defence League reorganisation(06 of11)
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(left to right) English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson, Maajid Nawaz of Quilliam Foundation and English Defence League co-founder Kevin Carroll, during a press conference at the Montague Hotel, central London, as they announce that they are to stand down from the EDL under the guidance of the Quilliam foundation. (credit:PA)
British muslims Maajid Nawaz (L) and Ian(07 of11)
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LONDON, United Kingdom: British muslims Maajid Nawaz (L) and Ian Nisbet, embrace after addressing a news conference in London, 03 March 2006. The two men and a third man Reza Pankhurst, arrived back in London on Wednesday after being released nearly four years after being arrested in Egypt. The three men, all in their late 20s, had been arrested in Egypt on charges of alleged membership of the Islamic fundamentalist group 'Hizb ut-Tahrir,' (Liberation Party) which was banned by the Egyptian government in 1974. AFP PHOTO/JOHN D MCHUGH (Photo credit should read JOHN D MCHUGH/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
British muslim Maajid Nawaz addresses a(08 of11)
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LONDON, United Kingdom: British muslim Maajid Nawaz addresses a press conference in London, 03 March 2006, where he recounted his experiences of torture in an Egyptian prison. Nawaz, Ian Nisbet and a third man Reza Pankhurst, arrived back in London on Wednesday after being released nearly four years after being arrested in Egypt. The three men, all in their late 20s, had been arrested in Egypt on charges of alleged membership of the Islamic fundamentalist group 'Hizb ut-Tahrir,' (Liberation Party) which was banned by the Egyptian government in 1974. AFP PHOTO/JOHN D MCHUGH (Photo credit should read JOHN D MCHUGH/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
LEGAL Egypt(09 of11)
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(L-R) Ian Nisbet, Maajid Nawaz and Reza Pankhurst, the three Britons freed after being jailed in Egypt for membership of an outlawed Islamic group, at Heathrow Airport, Wednesday March 1 2006. The three men were detained by officers from Special Branch on their return to the UK. They had been sentenced to five years imprisonment in 2004 for attempting to revive Islamic organisation Hizb-ut-Tahrir. See PA story LEGAL Egypt. PRESS ASSOCIATION photo. Picture credit should read: Tim Ockenden/PA (credit:PA)
LEGAL Egypt(10 of11)
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(L-R) Ian Nisbet, Maajid Nawaz and Reza Pankhurst, the three Britons freed after being jailed in Egypt for membership of an outlawed Islamic group, at Heathrow Airport, Wednesday March 1 2006. The three men were detained by officers from Special Branch on their return to the UK. They had been sentenced to five years imprisonment in 2004 for attempting to revive Islamic organisation Hizb-ut-Tahrir. See PA story LEGAL Egypt. PRESS ASSOCIATION photo. Picture credit should read: Tim Ockenden/PA (credit:PA)
Egyptian Embassy protest Nisbet / Pankhurst.(11 of11)
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A protest outside the Egyptian Embassy in London led by Alistar Nisbet (center in blue jacket) from Brackley, Norhamptonshire who's son Ian is being held with two others in a Egyptian prison waiting trail stands with families and supporters in order to protest. * The families of three Britons on trial in Egypt accused of promoting an illegal Islamic group were demonstrating outside the country's embassy in Britain today. Relatives of Ian Nisbet, Reza Pankhurst and Maajid Nawaz were expected to conduct a day-long protest outside the building in central London on the first anniversary of the men s arrests. Nisbet and Pankhurst, both from London, and Nawaz, from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, are accused along with 23 Egyptians of trying to revive the banned Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir or the Islamic Liberation Party. (credit:PA)
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