Qaradawi addresses mass rally in Tahrir Square in February 2011
Prominent Egyptian-born Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi has resigned from Al-Azhar’s Senior Scholars Council, the prestigious Cairo-based religious institution’s most authoritative body. In a Monday statement, al-Qaradawi said his resignation aimed to “register the position taken by free scholars.”
“I’m tendering my resignation… to the great Egyptian people, not to the Grand Imam who owns the Azhar,” said al-Qaradawi, who also serves as president of the International Union for Muslim Scholars. The prominent scholar went on to assert that the post of Al-Azhar Grand Imam – like the presidency – “has been usurped by the military coup.”
Sweden’s newly elected archbishop Antje Jackelén has admitted she wasn’t prepared for the online abuse she has received from anti-Islamists labelling the attacks as “spiteful.”
The North East Infidels, a far-right splinter from the English Defence League, held a demonstration in Hartlepool today. Here they are, expressing their respect for the war dead.
A hunk of raw bacon was thrown at a shop worker in what police believe was a racially-motivated attack.
The mother of a former BNP election candidate has denied he posted racist and homophobic messages on Twitter. A friend claimed David Child, who received 23 votes in the 2012 Grove byelection, was the victim of a “hate campaign by lefties”.
A man who caused hundreds of children to be evacuated from a mosque after claiming he had put a pig’s head inside the premises has appeared in court.