60 Minutes,
524 West 57th Street,
New York,
NY 10019
USA

8th October 2002

Dear Sirs,
We are very disappointed that in your 60 Minutes interview with the Rev. Jerry Falwell which was broadcast on CBS on Sunday 6th October 2002, you allowed his unacceptable and incendiary remarks describing the noble Prophet Muhammad (God's peace and blessings be upon him) as a "terrorist" to go unchallenged without a response from a representative of the the Muslim community in the USA.

The freedom of speech that we all cherish should not be abused and treated as a license to insult and denigrate others freely. That can only lead to social chaos. Considering the obviously inflammatory nature of Falwell's remarks - which are only the latest in a string of abusive statements about Islam made by leading figures in the right-wing US Christian Evangelical movement - surely, it was only fair that Muslims were given an opportunity in the same broadcast to challenge Falwell's assertions.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Inayat Bunglawala
Secretary,
Media Committee,
The Muslim Council of Britain