The city's crown court heard that Andrew Ryan, 33, and his brother Matthew Ryan, 27, were part of a group who threatened and racially abused two Turkish men at Manhattan Pizza in Botchergate last year.

The Ryan brothers, along with three other men and four women, pleaded guilty to two charges of using racially aggravated threatening behaviour. All admitted that their abuse of the two takeaway workers had been inspired by their mistaken belief that the men were Pakistani.

Before the group are sentenced on Thursday, Judge Paul Batty QC will be shown a video of the ugly incident in which they were involved on May 20 last year.

The CCTV shows the group massing in a threatening manner outside the takeaway shop shortly before 8pm. They are seen angrily remonstrating with the two Turkish workers, some of the group ranting and repeatedly jabbing their fingers as they spill into the shop.

One of the men in the group flicked a lighted cigarette into the shop, and a drinks can is also tossed inside. At one stage, the video shows one of the defendants striding into the shop and throwing a chair.

The terrifying incident came shortly after Andrew Ryan was released from a 70-day jail term for burning the Koran in Carlisle city centre. He claimed he committed that offence with the aim of causing offence to only Islamic extremists.

News & Star, 7 February 2012

After he was convicted of burning the Qur'an in April last year Andrew Ryan was treated as a hero by the EDL, who organised a demonstration in solidarity with him before he was sentenced. As the News & Star reported:

"He arrived at the city magistrates' court flanked by men waving the St George's Cross and shouting nationalist chants. The English Defence League Carlisle Division had put out a call for members to support Ryan. A group gathered to parade through the city centre with him, carrying a flag with 'EDL' written on it. It also bore the scrawled message: 'It's our country, we are taking it back'."

Richard Peppiatt at the Leveson Inquiry

Richard Peppiatt, who worked as a full-time freelance journalist at the Daily Star for two years, claimed that editors forced journalists to fabricate news that suggested Muslims and immigrants were threatening national security.

He said the fabricated stories were mainly related to Muslims, depicting them as a threat to British society. The defamatory stories became more widespread after the bombings in London on June 7, 2005 – often referred to as 7/7 – and the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the United States.

"Especially since 7/7 and, to a degree, since 9/11, Muslims have certainly been painted as the 'cartoon baddy'. Definitely in the tabloids. Someone always has to be blamed, you can't just leave it up in the air when something happens; somebody always needs to take the blame. Sadly it’s the Muslims that have been chosen to be portrayed as the 'baddies'," he told Today's Zaman in a phone interview.

Peppiatt noted that it was not possible for Muslims to take action against the publication of derogatory articles because it is only possible for an individual who has been mentioned by name to make a complaint to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), the regulatory body for UK magazines and newspapers. However, if a group or a religion is targeted it is difficult to file a complaint.

"It was therefore challenging for Muslims to complain as there was no one individual being affected by the articles. However, it clearly does affect individuals as it affects the way people behave towards each other in society. I certainly came to understand that what we print in the media has a direct effect on the lives of individuals; this can lead to violence on the streets, based on what we write," Peppiatt told Today's Zaman.

Today's Zaman, 6 February 2012

Last Monday, the government sent draft legislation for a 'burqa ban' to parliament. The proposal would outlaw the wearing in public of face covering articles such as burqas, full-face helmets and balaclavas.

One of the reasons being put forward by ministers to justify a ban is that the burqa and similar articles of clothing run counter to the equality of the sexes. The council, however, thinks this is something to be judged by individual women themselves.

Another justification given by the government for a ban is that many among the population feel threatened by people who conceal their faces. The council argues though that "subjective feelings of insecurity" are no basis for a general ban on face-covering garments.

The council concludes that a ban will limit the freedom of religion for no good reason. Ministers, on the other hand, have asserted that the measure is needed to preserve public order and security.

RNW, 6 February 2012

Update:  See also "Council of State renews criticism of burqa ban", Dutch News, 7 February 2012

Muslim Lakembaroos are free to wear the hijab when they take to the soccer field in club competitions in Sydney every week.

The only thing they need to watch is that their headscarves match their uniforms, just as their male counterparts must wear an undershirt the same colour as their jerseys.

But any young Muslim Lakembaroo with aspirations of making the Matildas and going to an Olympics knows her career may never get off the ground under FIFA laws banning the hijab in international competition.

Moroccan-born Saad Allami, who works as a telecommunications company sales manager, was arrested three days after he sent the message in January 2011 and detained while police searched his home, said the Muslim Council of Montreal.

"The whole time, the officers kept repeating to the plaintiff's wife that her husband was a terrorist," said court filings in a lawsuit filed by Allami, cited by local media. Allami was released after four hours of questioning.

Some of his colleagues reportedly claimed they were also held for hours at the Canada-US border on account of the accusations made against their boss.

"Mr Allami's statements, when considered in the context of which they were given, were nothing to draw such alarm or suspicion," said Salam Elmenyawi, president of the Muslim Council of Montreal. "It is clear that his arrest was the result of racial profiling and a knee-jerk reaction to label him as a terror suspect simply due to his religious background."

Allami is seeking Can$100,000 ($100,603) from Quebec's provincial police, a police sergeant and the justice department for unlawful detention, unlawful arrest, loss of income and damage to his reputation. The Quebec Superior Court is to hear the case on March 5.

AFP, 3 February 2012