24 November 2015

Record complaints for Sun UK Muslim 'jihadi sympathy' story

The new press regulator has received a record number of complaints about a Sun story which claimed nearly one in five UK Muslims has "sympathy for jihadis".

The Independent Press Standards Organisation said more than 1,200 people made contact over the front page piece, based on a poll by Survation.

.... The Sun's story, based on a survey carried out after the Paris terrorist attacks, was published on Monday. It said figures have emerged showing nearly one in five British Muslims had sympathy for those who had fled the UK to fight for the Islamic State group in Syria.

But the Muslim Council of Britain, which represents mosques, schools and other associations in Britain, said the question posed had been about foreign fighters generally, "not the murderous death cult of Daesh or ISIS specifically, or indeed 'Jihadis' in general".

The MCB accused The Sun of "sensationalising" the poll's findings, adding: "As we know, foreign fighters belong to various backgrounds, fighting the brutal dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad and some are supported by the UK." [BBC] Read more