'Muslim' carnival entry creates controversy

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'Muslim' carnival entry creates controversy

By Richard Savill

A dispute over an "insulting" carnival procession entry has developed into a row over political correctness.

Page 3 pin-ups from the Ramalamadingdong Times

Locals dressed as Muslims took part in the carnival in the Cornish market town of St Columb Major in protest over plans for a mosque.
A group of students visiting the area thought the act was offensive to Muslims, and called in police.
The group, calling themselves the Page Three Beauties from the Ramalamadingdong Times, carried placards with names including Miss Poppadomistan" and "Miss Reallyamanistan".
A home-made banner read "Join the Kernow Mosk drekly and become a Musli" over a picture of a Cornish pasty.

Kernow is the Celtic name for Cornwall, while drekly is Cornish slang for "get it done quickly".
The group knelt down in mock prayer, using fake compasses to "find" the correct direction to locate Mecca.
The stunt was apparently intended as a harmless send-up of the Prince of Wales's plan for a mosque in his nearby "Surfbury" model settlement. The plan has been criticised because there are only 33 practising Muslims in a population of 22,000.
The students complained to the police and the carnival organisers. Nina Brenton, one of the event's organisers, said: "We were approached by about six students from out of the area and they thought it was disgusting and offensive to Muslims.
"They had a real go at us and asked how we could allow it in our carnival. We told them it was not up to us to dictate what is offensive unless a group is clearly causing offence.
"We did advise the group what had happened and gave them the choice of whether to carry on, and they did."
She said the act was "all in good fun" and involved "just a group of local lads, mostly in their thirties".

She added: "The crowd seemed to love them. It just offended this small minority."
The judges backed out of giving the group a cup for receiving the biggest cheer. Instead they gave the prize to a display that poked fun at the council parking restrictions.
One of the judges, Pat Harvey, the mayor of the local borough of Restormel, thought the entry was "excellent".
She added: "We were made aware their act could have been taken as offensive in certain parts of the community and, given my responsibility, I felt on balance the cup should be given to another group."

Police said no action would be taken because no official complaint had been made.
Fareed Ahmad, the president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association for Devon and Cornwall, said: "With carnivals it's quite difficult to judge between humour and causing offence, and on this occasion it looks like they have that balance wrong.
"You have to be careful not to stray into the territory of racism, and this is heading in that direction, but I'm sure their intention was quite the opposite."
A spokesman from the National Assembly Against Racism said: "It wouldn't have been done in a place with a more diverse community."
The Rev Chris McQuillen-Wright, of St Columb Minor church, said: "One can see the intended humour and the play on words but, in light of the current international climate, it was insensitive."

One of the group, David Holloway, of St Columb Major parish church, apologised but said they intended to make fun of themselves.
He said: "The idea of the carnival is to dress up and have fun. We thought up the idea at late notice because it would be easy to get the costumes together.
"We were not laughing at anybody, more at ourselves than anything else and we certainly didn't want to cause any offence.
"I'd like to say on behalf of everyone in the group how sorry we are if some individuals found it in bad taste - we were never out to upset anyone."

\'Muslim\' carnival entry creates controversy - Telegraph