Ooh -aah Daily Fatwa

Kvarme Ate My Food · October 18, 2006

The Daily Star last night pulled a page that mocked Muslim law by turning the tabloid into the "Daily Fatwa" following a newsroom revolt.

Management acted after the Daily Star's National Union of Journalists' chapel held a stop work meeting that produced a resolution condemning the page.

The page included a "Page 3 burqa babes special" showing a woman in a niqab, as part of a feature billed as "How your favourite paper would look under Muslim law".

The page also contained a blank editorial stamped with the words "censored" and "Allah is great" while across the top of the page were the words "no news no goss no fun".

A competition told readers to "Burn a flag and win a Corsa", while a picture of the US president, George W Bush, was accompanied by a caption "death to infidels".

At a hastily arranged stop work NUJ chapel meeting, staff voiced fears of violent reprisals and carried a motion that condemned the feature.

"This National Union of Journalists chapel expresses its deep concern at the content of page 6 in tomorrow's Daily Star which we consider to be deliberately offensive to Muslims," the motion read.

"The chapel fears that this editorial content poses a very serious risk of violent and dangerous reprisals from religious fanatics who may take offence at these articles. This may place the staff in great jeopardy. This chapel urges the management to remove the content immediately."

When staff protested about the page, editor Dawn Neesom had already left the office, leaving deputy editor Ben Knowles, who joined the paper from men's magazine Zoo in September, in charge.

Knowles pulled the page and replaced it with a story about the seven wonders of the modern world.

The Daily Star had not commented in time for publication.

unbelievable

Buzz · October 18, 2006