Andrew Warshaw interviews FIFA vice president, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, over his proposal – recently endorsed by FIFA’s executive committee – to allow Muslim women footballers to wear the hijab during matches.
The Arab Spring has not turned to winter: William Hague replies to critics
Foreign secretary William Hague has an interesting piece in today’s Times entitled “Freedom is still flowering in the Arab Spring”.
The article is hidden behind Rupert Murdoch’s paywall, but it has been reproduced on various UK embassy websites, so you can read it there for free.
Wilders’ party expels councillor over racist email – but only after it was leaked to press
The anti-Islam PVV in Limburg has sacked one of its provincial councillors for describing a Labour party colleague as “a piece of sicked-up halal meat made from a Turkish pig”.
The comment was made a year ago by PVV number two Cor Bosman [pictured, with PVV leader Geert Wilders] in an email to 20 supporters after Labour councillor Selçuk Öztürk gave an interview to a local magazine.
Hundreds protest plan for new Sunderland mosque
Councillor Paul Dixon with anti-mosque protestors
Hundreds of objections have been filed against controversial plans for a new mosque.
The move by an Islamic centre to submit a planning application for the place of worship has prompted a flood of complaints. Many residents are furious at the plans, with one claiming Millfield will “end up being Mosquefield” and the council has received 623 letters of objection and a petition bearing 1,462 signatures.
Lib Dem councillor Paul Dixon, who has been working with the objectors, said the residents had fought a “clean campaign” and stressed their objections were not based on racism or Islamophobia. “People are concerned about noise, traffic and parking. There’s also the impact on the character of the area.”
Labour MP condemns Lib Dems’ Islamophobic council candidate
A North East Liberal Democrat council candidate has been accused of Islamophobia over comments posted on his Facebook site.
Dave Stones, who is standing for election to Redcar and Cleveland Council, reportedly suggested on the website that a pork restaurant and a topless bar should be built next to a mosque.
He has apologised for any offence caused, but Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop accused him of holding “clearly expressed Islamophobic views”. The Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP raised the issue with Commons leader Sir George Young.
EDL applies for permission to hold Leicester march against ‘anti-white racism’
The English Defence League has applied for permission to march through Leicester city centre. The group, which staged a major rally in the city in October 2010, wants to return on Saturday, February 4.
Its previous protest degenerated into violence as people within a cordoned-off area reserved for the EDL pelted police officers with bricks, bottles and coins. A number of fireworks and smoke bombs were also thrown from the 1,000-strong EDL section, while some of its followers broke through police lines to engage in running battles with local youths and officers.
The operation cost police – who put 2,000 officers on to the streets – and Leicester City Council an estimated £850,000. Shops, particularly those in Humberstone Gate East, lost trade because they closed and boarded up their properties for the day.
The EDL formally notified city authorities on Wednesday of its wish to stage a march and rally. Police and officials at Leicester City Council held an urgent meeting yesterday to consider their response. They can apply to the Home Office for a ban on the march – as they did on the previous occasion – but cannot prevent a static protest.
Pamela Geller ‘loves’ Marines who urinate on Taliban corpses
Pamela Geller, who has been referred to as the “queen of the Muslim bashers,” is not doing anything to shed that title.
Geller, the executive director of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) and Stop Islamization of America (SIOA), said she’s enamored with the Marines seen in a recent video that allegedly shows them urinating on corpses of Taliban soldiers.
“I love these Marines,” she wrote on her blog, Atlas Shrugs. “Perhaps this is the infidel interpretation of the Islamic ritual of washing and preparing the body for burial.”
Majority of Dutch back queen wearing headscarf to mosque
Queen Beatrix wore a headscarf while visiting a mosque in Oman this week, as a sign of respect for local custom. The Party for Freedom (PVV) criticized her, saying she was supporting the oppression of women under Islam.
According to a Maurice de Hond poll, 79% of the Dutch think she acted properly. 20% think the Queen shouldn’t have worn a headscarf. 53% also think that Beatrix should wear a headscarf when visiting a mosque in the Netherlands. Among PVV voters, 47% think the Queen acted properly, 53% disagree.
Unite Against Fascism calls emergency protest against EDL
UAF is organising an emergency protest against the English Defence League in Barking and Dagenham, east London, on Saturday 14 January.
The EDL is an organisation of racist and fascist thugs, who particularly target Muslims.
They plan to march through Barking as part of its attempts to stir up racism and division in the area. EDL supporters have aready staged a series of demonstrations in Dagenham against a proposed mosque.
Daily Star editor endures Leveson grilling for ‘anti-Islam’ coverage
The editor of the Daily Star endured a bruising encounter at the Leveson inquiry today, facing sustained questioning over her newspaper’s coverage of Muslims.
Counsel Robert Jay repeatedly showed Dawn Neesom front pages of her newspaper and asked if she considered them “ethical”. “A journalist might feel the headlines we’ve been looking at stray way over the line of what’s ethical,” he said.
Mr Jay showed one front page featuring the headline: “Muslim thugs aged just 12 in knife attack on Brit school boy.” He branded the language “tendentious”, pointing out that the victim was described as “British”, but the perpetrators, who were also British, were described as “Muslim”. He also pointed out that the ‘attack’ actually referred to a comment on Facebook.
“It’s not good,” Ms Neesom admitted. She promised to pursue the issue “back in the office”.