Ian Millhiser profiles John Guandolo.
FIFA lifts ban on head covers
Football’s world governing body FIFA has authorised the wearing of head covers for religious purposes during matches.
That will allow female Muslim players who wear a hijab in everyday life to cover their heads during matches as well. FIFA added that male players will also be authorised to do so following a request from the Sikh community in Canada.
“It was decided that female players can cover their heads to play,” said FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke at a meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the sport’s lawmakers, in Zurich.
“It was decided that male players can play with head cover too,” he said, although they will not be the same as those worn day to day. “It will be a basic head cover and the colour should be the same as the team jersey.”
Football fan ripped up pages of the Koran while telling steward at away game ‘we hate Muslims’
A football fan who ripped up pages torn from the Koran at a football match, and told a steward “we hate Muslims”.
Middlesbrough fan Mark Stephenson, 25, was at an away game in Birmingham when he was handed pages of the Muslim holy book by a fellow supporter. He proceeded to rip up the pages, and gestured with a lighter as if he were about to set them on fire.
The “through and through fan”, part of a group of 20 attending a championship game between Middlesbrough and Birmingham City, was asked by a steward what the book was. Stephenson, who had been drinking, replied: “It’s the Muslim Bible, we hate Muslims.”
Scottish Defence League member jailed over mosque arson threat
A man has been jailed for posting a Facebook comment about burning down a mosque in the wake of soldier Lee Rigby’s murder. Derek Phin, 46, posted the comment because he believed the soldier’s killers were being protected by the authorities following the attack.
Fusilier Lee Rigby was off duty in southeast London when he was attacked and killed on May 22 last year. Radical groups then tried to exploit the soldier’s murder, resulting in attacks and protests against the UK’s muslim community.
Phin, from Aberdeen, posted a comment on Facebook stating Edinburgh Central Mosque should be burnt down on July 2 during a counter demo. The post on a page belonging to the Scottish Defence League read: “Burn the mosque down when the meeting is ongoing.”
The mosque was due to be packed at the time for a meeting organised by pressure group Unite Against Fascism in response to extreme right wing protests.
CAIR-AZ condemns ADL’s stereotyping of Muslims in Bill 1062 debate
The Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-AZ) today called on the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to apologize for stereotypical statements made about Muslims during recent debate over Arizona Senate Bill 1062, which would have shielded businesses from lawsuits if employees acted on religious beliefs to discriminate against customers.
In testimony before a state Senate committee the ADL’s assistant regional director posed a scenario in which, “A Muslim-owned cab company might refuse to drive passengers to a Hindu temple.”
“It is unconscionable that a group purporting to defend civil rights would resort to religious bigotry to promote its political agenda,” said CAIR-AZ Board Chair Imraan Siddiqi. “The introduction of this stereotypical scenario gave way to the narrative that Muslims are in some way serial abusers of ‘religious freedom based denials of service,’ which is completely baseless.”
Siddiqi noted that Muslims, like the majority of other Arizonans, believe that those serving the public must treat all customers equally, or be prepared to seek another line of work.
Kingston students become fifth to officially condemn ‘Student Rights’ group
Kingston university students passed a motion against the Henry Jackson Society front group ‘Student Rights’ last night at their annual ‘Big Student Meeting’.
The SU becomes the fifth in the country to formally condemn the activities of the group, following motions at four University of London institutions: LSE, Goldsmiths, UCL and Birkbeck.
Students at the meeting who support the ‘Real Student Rights’ campaign said the Vice Chancellor of the university was also in attendance and witnessed students vote unanimously in favour of the motion.
UKIP tries to remove journalists from fringe meeting on sharia law
UKIP has long prided itself on its commitment to “free speech” and open debate, but it seems the party isn’t prepared to practice what it preaches. There was outrage among journalists at the party’s Spring Conference today when officials attempted to remove them from a fringe meeting on sharia law.
The Telegraph’s Christopher Hope tweeted: “Ukip security has tried to remove the @Telegraph from a fringe meeting on Sharia law. I have refused to move. Outragous.” Those journalists who had taken their seats were eventually told that they could stay (“if you behave”) but others were reportedly turned away at the door.
Conservative MP calls for public veil ban
Muslim women should not be allowed to cover their faces in public as there is no formal requirement in their religion, a Conservative MP suggested today. Philip Hollobone was putting forward a Bill seeking to prohibit the wearing of face coverings, in particular the Muslim veil and balaclavas.
Presenting his Face Coverings (Prohibition) Bill, the Kettering MP expressed regret that his campaign had “come to this”. Speaking during the Bill’s Second Reading, he said: “But there’s growing concern amongst my constituents and across the country about the increasing number of people who are going about in public places covering their faces and this is causing alarm and distress to many people in our country.” Mr Hollobone told the Commons that he had received correspondence from alarmed Britons from across the country, “who are concerned that in this respect we are heading in the wrong direction as a nation”.
Islamophobia row Tory kicked out of party
A councillor embroiled in a race-hate Facebook scandal has been kicked out of the Conservative party.
Chris Joannides has been expelled for a period of 12 months after Conservative Party Central Office launched an investigation into his re-selection as a candidate for Grange ward in this year’s council elections.
At a meeting of the Conservative Party’s board this morning, senior figures formally ruled Mr Joannides out of seeking re-election in May.
Mr Joannides had the whip withdrawn from him by the Conservative group on Enfield Council last year after print-outs of his personal Facebook account were shown to group leader Michael Lavender and this paper. They contained Muslim-bashing jokes and comments likening women and children dressed in burkas to bin bags.
CAIR asks Florida university to cancel event featuring Jonathan Matusitz
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has asked Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to call off an event featuring UCF Professor Jonathan Matusitz that is scheduled for next week.
The group sent a letter today to Embry-Riddle’s president urging him to withdraw the invitation to have Matusitz speak about a book he wrote on terrorism. Matusitz, an associate professor at University of Central Florida, has been accused of promoting anti-Muslim bigotry.
“We were shocked to learn that Dr. Matusitz would be a part of Embry-Riddle’s 2014 President’s Speaker Series …,” wrote Hassan Shibly, chief executive director of the council’s Florida chapter. “Dr. Matusitz has an extensive history of vilifying Islam and Muslims.”
A spokesman for Embry-Riddle said the university has invited Shibly and other members of the Council on American-Islamic Relations to participate in the event as audience members.