Channel 4 reporter Assed Baig was reprimanded by the broadcaster for his tweets
Channel 4 reporter Assed Baig was reprimanded by the broadcaster after he also tweeted that moderate Muslims are “house Muslim”.
The 34-year-old reporter used the degrading term “Uncle Toms”, which means a black person showing obedience to whites, in referral to Muslims attending state-run iftars - a traditional evening meal after Ramadan.
In 2011, he tweeted: “Anyone that attends a British government iftar is a sell-out and an Uncle Tom.”
And in 2012 he said that the “term Uncle Tom should be readopted in media and political circles”.
Despite the tweets being published before Mr Baig joined Channel 4, the broadcaster reminded the former BBC reporter “of his responsibilities as a journalist to be fair and impartial” when representing it.
It is not the first time the investigative journalist has caused controversy with his tweets.
In 2014 he wrote “a man dances for hos master because he's a house Muslim,” in reference to a video of British Muslims dancing to the Pharrell Williams song “Happy”.
Already the next day Mr Baig clarified his tweet: “I do not believe everyone in that video to be a house Muslim. Different intentions involved.”
Criticising the tweets Fiyaz Mugha, founder of the anti-radicalisation charity Tell Mama, said the term was “deeply problematic” and reinforced the feeling amongst some Muslim communities that it is "then and us".
A Channel 4 News spokesman said Mr Baig had been reminded of his responsibilities as a journalist
The founder of the Government-backed group, which tracks anti-Muslim crimes, continued: “The term ‘house Muslim’ effectively is synonymous with someone using house and using the N-word.
“It means that people are subservient to a white master or a power structure. We think it actually has some racial connotations to it and also in many instances is used to provide a ‘them and us’.”
A Channel 4 News spokesman said the broadcaster was aware of the tweets in question and that Mr Baig had been reminded of his responsibilities as a journalist to be fair and impartial when representing the broadcaster.
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