The BBC yesterday appointed a Muslim as its head of religious programming in a radical departure from broadcasting tradition.

The post – considered one of the most influential religious roles in the country – has gone to Aaqil Ahmed, who has been working as an executive at Channel 4.

The appointment will cause dismay among the Christian churches.

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams raised concerns over the prospect of a Muslim head of religious broadcasting during a meeting with the corporation’s director general Mark Thompson in March.

The choice of Mr Ahmed was made by George Entwistle, who is in charge of factual programming.

A BBC spokesman declined to say whether Mr Thompson – a practising Roman Catholic – was consulted on the appointment.

But one corporation insider suggested the BBC would have been in breach of employment law if it had failed to give the job to Mr Ahmed.

He was the best-qualified for the post, they said, and a decision to turn him down would have amounted to discrimination.

Mr Ahmed is currently Channel 4′s senior executive for religious programmes. He has commissioned series on the history of Christianity and the Koran.

His critics accuse him of dumbing down religion, for example in one programme by presenting an assessment of the state of Christianity by Cherie Blair.

Mr Ahmed is a trustee of the Runnymede Trust, a body that has championed the ideology of multiculturalism.

He has also taken part in campaigns for a greater Muslim presence in the media.

Mr Ahmed’s appointment follows a re- organisation of the BBC religious broadcasting department and his title will be Head of Religion and Ethics and Commissioning Editor for Religion TV.

The former head of religious programmes, Methodist preacher Michael Wakelin, failed to land the new post.

The BBC’s TV religious programming is much reduced from the days when there were only terrestrial channels, which were required to set aside an hour on Sunday evening as a ‘God Slot’.

The remaining religious flagship is Songs of Praise, which has been running since 1961 and which can still command audiences of four million. Last Sunday it ran at close to peak time, at 5.55pm.

Otherwise the only Sunday TV religious programme is The Big Question, broadcast at 10am and intended to represent different faiths and beliefs.

Last Sunday, BBC2, BBC3 and BBC4 offered no religious programmes. BBC3, however, did broadcast Kirsten’s Topless Ambition, about a TV presenter considering going topless for a photo shoot, and two episodes of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.

• Full story at the Daily Mail.

• Filed under Islam, Media, Scottish Christian News Monitor, Secularism.