Do you speak English?

Two headlines to ponder.  Only one of them was actually published.  Guess which.

David Cameron's Muslim women policy 'lazy and misguided'.   Or:  David Cameron's Muslim women policy 'seeks to help integrate non English speaking Muslim women into society'.

Of course, in case you needed some help, it was the former that was the BBC headline. Well there you are, he must be if the BBC says so.

But wait a minute, the interesting thing is there was zero balance in the BBC coverage on its web site.  Not a single quote backing his view.  And yet there are many who back his view.  So why are they not given equal prominence in the article?  And in a headline. Well, it’s beyond my pay grade to speculate why.  But it does leave an  uneasy taste of censorship.

It’s nothing new of course, kicking the messenger.  Back some 20 years ago I was sitting on a Home Office funded enquiry into why there seemed to be no integration between indigenous and Muslim business leaders.  One of our key findings?  Not enough English spoken by the Muslim people, particularly women.

But when I suggested we ask the Home Office to fund a pilot scheme to get more Muslims, particularly women, learning English, I was branded a racist.   

Plus ca change.