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Cummins'
articles have sparked a furious response from Muslims (courtesy of
BBC News Online)
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CAIRO,
September 2 (IslamOnline.net) – A British Council expelled a press
officer who attacked Islam and Muslims in Sunday Telegraph
articles attacking Islam and Muslims.
British
daily, The Guardian, published an extensive report on the
decision to expel Harry Cummins, which came after the articles –
written under the pseudonym of Will Cummunis - have sparked a
furious response from Muslims.
In
a statement, the British Council said: "Following allegations
that a British Council employee had written a series of articles in
the Sunday Telegraph offensive to Islam, an investigation has been
carried out and a British Council officer has been dismissed."
British
Muslims welcomed the British
Council's
decision, which seems a
victory to the more than two million community after their fury over
the articles.
"The
British Council was right to move swiftly against something which
threatened to reflect so badly on the work it does globally. This was
a huge issue for us. But there remains the problem that we rely on the
goodwill of public bodies," said Murad Qureshi, a Muslim activist
and member of the London assembly.
"What
we need is legislation which will stop these vicious and pernicious
attacks," he added.
Muslims
flooded the British Council and Sunday Telegraph with complaints after
Cummins was first named in The Guardian newspaper. Much of the
campaigning was by the growing number of politically-active Muslim
groups rallying supporters via the internet.
Cummins
has been unavailable for contact since he was first linked to the
articles.
Nor
was anyone available for comment at the Sunday Telegraph. But the
articles have been publicly criticized by another writer on the paper.
Columnist
Jenny McCartney said of Cummins: "He is not a man to let
the facts get in the way of his vigorous pursuit of a bad argument.
Inaccuracies and distortions abound."
