BBC’s Mishal Husain calls for social media campaign to combat Isis

BBC presenter Mishal Husain has called on British Muslim scholars to use social media to combat extremism

The Today programme co-host is one of the most high-profile female Muslim broadcasters in Britain.

Asked by the Radio Times whether the community was under too much pressure to “apologise” for acts committed by Islamic State, she said: “I think the Not In My Name campaign is a very positive development because outrage is shared by all right-thinking people.

“I would really like to see much more of the counterpoint from a theological perspective, with scholars taking to social media to refute the awful arguments we see put forward in those videos.”

Husain added: “I don’t think my way of life is under any kind of threat. I think I’m true to the way my parents brought me up and the home I came from.”

The broadcaster said of the debate around Muslim identity: “The emphasis on what you wear on your head or how many times you pray, on the outward things rather than what’s in your heart and the way you treat people, I find slightly misguided.”

Asked what she would call herself, she said: “I would say simply British. I feel it’s a shame that we have started to divide people much more.

“Now we want to know whether people are Sunnis or Shias. All these labels within communities. I’m not sure how helpful it is.”

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