Channel 4’s controversial documentary What British Muslims Really Think has prompted more than 200 complaints.

The hour-long programme presented by Trevor Phillips, the former chair of the equality and human rights commission, promised to be a “rigorous survey of the views of British Muslims”.

It sparked a row after it commissioned a poll that found more than half of British Muslims think that homosexuality should be illegal.



Ofcom said it had received 89 complaints about the programme, which aired on 13 April and was watched by 1.4 million viewers.

Channel 4 said it had received around 130 complaints and another 20 messages that were “appreciative” of the programme.

The regulator said complaints included concerns about misleading information and that it risked increasing Islamophobia.

A Guardian panel of British Muslims who watched the programme last week were highly critical of the show, branding it “boring, inaccurate and sensationalist” and said it “reinforced the us vs them narrative”.

They said the documentary’s methodology was “problematic and flawed” and it “suggested you’re either a liberal Muslim or slightly extreme”.

Ofcom said it would assess the complaints before deciding whether or not to launch a full investigation.

A spokeswoman for Channel 4 said: “Channel 4 stands by the integrity of the programme and the survey on which it was based.

“This programme goes to the heart of Channel 4’s public service remit – to represent the views of a religious minority on a matter of critical national importance - with careful contextualisation and insight throughout.

“The methodology used by ICM, has been commended by the Head of the UK Polling Council, which oversees all the UK’s pollsters and recognised by one of ICM’s main competitors as one of the best surveys of Muslim opinions for several years.”

“Following the heightened security measures in the aftermath of terror attacks in Paris and Brussels, politicians and Muslim leaders claim that the values of these extremists are shared by only a tiny minority in the UK,” said the programme’s publicity.

“To find out if this is the case, a survey was carried out to get a better understanding of the views of British Muslims and to try to comprehend why some young Muslims are being drawn to violence.”

Phillips fronted another controversial Channel 4 documentary last year, Things We Won’t Say About Race That Are True.

What British Muslims Really Think is still available on Channel 4’s on-demand service, All4.