Good Morning Britain host Adil Ray is in crisis talks with ITV bosses after appearing to back Sharia law in the wake of the election of the New York mayor this week.
He was called in by bosses yesterday to answer questions on his apparent backing of the controversial Islamic legal system on social media a day earlier.
On Thursday, Ray, 51, who has an OBE for services to broadcasting, had congratulated fellow Muslim Zohran Mamdani on his stateside victory by praising the values behind Sharia law in a social media post.
In the post in which he appeared to back the new mayor bringing in the religious code Sharia, which has been severely criticised by women’s rights groups for its pro-male stance, he wrote: ‘Some say Mamdani may implement Sharia Law.
‘He might. The heart of Sharia is social justice, welfare, fairness, charity and cohesion.
‘Most Muslim countries operate a hybrid of Sharia and civil law and are slowly reforming and abandoning unethical practices despite the West’s portrayal.’
A source told The Sun that Good Morning Britain (GMB) bosses were particularly furious as Ray’s comments clashed with ITV’s high profile talks with Sky.
They said: ‘GMB execs are pretty cross. His comments sent bosses into a tailspin and he was called in.
‘It was a nightmare as hours earlier ITV revealed it was in talks to sell its broadcasting arm to Sky in a £1.6billion deal. Obviously, they don’t want anything to derail that.’
Angry viewers made their disapproval known on social media.
One wrote ‘Take your Sharia law and f*** off’ while another warned ‘This will be your undoing’.
Mr Ray later backtracked on his comments, saying: ‘To clarify, I am not actually suggesting Mamdani would implement Sharia law but many issues he campaigned for are some of the positive values of Sharia that Muslims try to live by.
‘Something many of us would agree on.’
Mamdani, 34, defeated former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa to become New York’s first Muslim mayor.
TV and radio presenter Ray began his career on the BBC’s Asian Network and has been a regular across the BBC, including on Radio 5 Live and Radio 4, as well as hosting shows on BBC TV.
Also known as a comedian and actor, he created the BBC’s first Muslim sitcom Citizen Khan which ran for five primetime series on BBC1 until 2016.
He joined ITV in 2018 as one of the temporary replacements for Piers Morgan on GMB and has become a regular fixture of the show.
