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Mishal Husain and the perils of communalism Mishal Husain and the perils of communalism
(2 months later)
While you are right to welcome this appointment to the Today programme (In praise of… Mishal Husain, 17 July), is it not time you reconsidered your policy of using religion as a basis for placating ethnic minorities? Such policy reinforces communalism. Communalism is a belief that because a group of people follow a particular religion, they have, as a result, common political and economic interests; and that in Britain Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims form different and distinct communities, and that religion alone forms the basis of their political identity.While you are right to welcome this appointment to the Today programme (In praise of… Mishal Husain, 17 July), is it not time you reconsidered your policy of using religion as a basis for placating ethnic minorities? Such policy reinforces communalism. Communalism is a belief that because a group of people follow a particular religion, they have, as a result, common political and economic interests; and that in Britain Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims form different and distinct communities, and that religion alone forms the basis of their political identity.
While communalism may be presented as the problem of the defence of minorities, its impact on social cohesion cannot be underestimated. Husain has a wide array of available identities – British Asian, working class, leftist, liberal, Punjabi etc – that makes her Muslim identity secondary at best. Any attempt to flag her religious identity is tantamount to aiding and abetting communalism.
Randhir Singh Bains
Gants Hill, Essex		While communalism may be presented as the problem of the defence of minorities, its impact on social cohesion cannot be underestimated. Husain has a wide array of available identities – British Asian, working class, leftist, liberal, Punjabi etc – that makes her Muslim identity secondary at best. Any attempt to flag her religious identity is tantamount to aiding and abetting communalism.
Randhir Singh Bains
Gants Hill, Essex
• Ignoring the old guard of John Humphrys and James Naughtie, half of the new Today team are products of the top-three rated universities – Cambridge (Husain), Oxford (Evan Davis) and LSE (Justin Webb). Sarah Montague could "only" manage to graduate from Bristol (15 in the current rankings). It strikes me that where you went to university may be rather more significant than which set of genitals you happen to be born with.
Jo Lynch
Liskeard, Cornwall		• Ignoring the old guard of John Humphrys and James Naughtie, half of the new Today team are products of the top-three rated universities – Cambridge (Husain), Oxford (Evan Davis) and LSE (Justin Webb). Sarah Montague could "only" manage to graduate from Bristol (15 in the current rankings). It strikes me that where you went to university may be rather more significant than which set of genitals you happen to be born with.
Jo Lynch
Liskeard, Cornwall
• Have you referred to male presenters of Today as "smart and poised"? Or am I being too sensitive about words?
Peter Jones
Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire		• Have you referred to male presenters of Today as "smart and poised"? Or am I being too sensitive about words?
Peter Jones
Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire
• Even better, replace either Evan Davis or Justin Webb with Zeinab Badawi or Ritula Shah. Then we'd have three talented female presenters (two of minority ethnicity - crikey!) and a token bloke.
Bryan Ratcliff
Birmingham		• Even better, replace either Evan Davis or Justin Webb with Zeinab Badawi or Ritula Shah. Then we'd have three talented female presenters (two of minority ethnicity - crikey!) and a token bloke.
Bryan Ratcliff
Birmingham
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