Australian professional rugby player Blake Ferguson converts to Islam Unknown02:19 0 comments

Australian professional rugby player Blake Ferguson has converted to Islam as he was seeking a road to rehabilitation and redemption in the wake of alcohol-related incidents.

Blake made the commitment to the Muslim faith at Zetland Mosque in the southeastern Australian city of Sydney last Friday.

The 23-year-old sportsman was converted to Islam by his cousin and professional boxer Anthony Mundine, who also converted rugby league superstar Sonny Bill Williams to the Muslim faith five years ago when Williams was going through a difficult period in his life.

Williams is now a $1 million-a-year superstar in Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL).

“This will make me strong, God willing. Islam is going to make me a better person and better rugby league player,” Ferguson said.

He added, “It’s going to make me more focused, more dedicated, more devoted. Being an NRL player is really a 24-hour job. I haven’t appreciated that in the past.”

“I want to play NRL, I want to find a club, play for NSW (New South Wales), and I want to beat Queensland.” Ferguson noted.

Ferguson has had a troubled year in the NRL and many of his misdemeanors have been alcohol-related, making his religious conversion a very significant step.

MP/HGH

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Abu Dhabi university professor wins libel suit against British tabloid for Ayatollah of the RAF remark Unknown02:17 0 comments

ABU DHABI // A professor at an Abu Dhabi university has won a libel claim against a British newspaper that called him the “Ayatollah of the RAF”. Ayatollah of the RAF

Dr Joel Hayward, a defence and securities expert who teaches at Khalifa University, successfully sued the Mail on Sunday over the article from 2011.

At the time, Prof Hayward – a Muslim convert – was the head of studies at the Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot training college in the UK.

The article, which has since been removed from the Mail Online website, claimed Prof Hayward encouraged students to take a “softly-softly line” when writing about Islamist terrorism, according to the New Zealand-born academic.

He took legal action to set the record straight.

“I just felt like there was enough of this Islam-bashing,” he said.

“Islam is a beautiful religion, it’s a wonderful thing. The characterisation by the Mail of my faith was just so inaccurate. It presented Islam as something so extreme and dark.

“I thought that if I let this pass, they’ll continue to attack everyone who embraces Islam.”

Prof Hayward moved to the UAE to work as director of the Institute of International and Civil Security and the chair of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Khalifa University.

He said the environment here was much more friendly toward Muslim converts.

“It’s quite difficult to live as a Muslim in Britain, unless you live close to a mosque,” he said. “Here there’s a mosque on every corner.

“Here the Islam that’s practised is gentle and moderate. It’s a beautiful experience to live as a Muslim in the UAE. It’s liberating and wonderful.”

Prof Hayward said he won “substantial damages” from Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, in the action pursued by legal firm Carter-Ruck. He declined to say exactly how much.

“It’s not enough to place me in any rich list but I hope it’s enough for the Mail to think twice about doing something similar in future,” he said.

“I hope that eventually a better portrayal of Islam and Muslims will appear in the British press. At the moment it’s an unbalanced one, because of 9/11 and 7/7.

“Hopefully that will change as Muslims continue to contribute to British society in a positive way, and those prejudices just slip away.

“If my case has helped speed up that process, I’d be very happy.”

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