BBC•NC Aaqil Ahmed said Islam has inspired ISIS fighters

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Muslim Aaqil Ahmed described it is an “uncomfortable” truth that the bloodthirsty terrorist cult is being driven by “Islamic doctrine”. He said: “I hear so many people say ISIS has nothing to do with Islam — of course it has. They are not preaching Judaism.

It might be wrong, but what they are saying is an ideology based on some form of Islamic doctrine Aaqil Ahmed

“It might be wrong, but what they are saying is an ideology based on some form of Islamic doctrine. They are Muslims. That is a fact and we have to get our head around some very uncomfortable things. “That is where the difficulty comes in for many journalists, because the vast majority of Muslims won’t agree with ISIS.” Mr Ahmed said he was not referring specifically to the name but “it was a reflection of the complexity of how you describe them and their religious belief structure.”

NC Islamic State is said to have been driven by 'Islamic doctrine'

The religion and ethics chief was speaking at Huddersfield University where he was asked why the BBC refers to ISIS as the “so-called” Islamic State. The corporation came under fire for the way in which it refers to Daesh and was blasted by David Cameron for using the term “Islamic State”.

The fight against ISIS Fri, November 18, 2016 The battle against ISIS militants (also abbreviated as Daesh, ISIL, IS and Islamic State) continues in the Middle East. Play slideshow Getty 1 of 183 Forces battle against ISIS

The Prime Minister said in January: “I think Muslim families around the country would have held their heads in despair this morning when once again you just called it ‘Islamic State’. You didn’t even say ‘so-called Islamic State’. It’s so important.” Mr Ahmed sparked fury last August when he compared migrants who sneak illegally into Britain to the “Holy Family” of Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus. He claimed the Biblical flight from King Herod to Bethlehem was similar to that of refugees amassing at Calais in a bid to get through the Channel Tunnel.

BBC Mr Ahmed, head of religion and ethics at the BBC, made the comments at Huddersfield university