From The Daily Mail:
Jeremy Clarkson and his Top Gear co-stars have sparked religious outrage after dressing up in burkas on the Boxing Day special.
Clarkson and Richard Hammond decided to dress in niqabs, a form of the burka where everything but the eyes are covered, in order to disguise themselves on the road.
They also got James May in on the act when they greeted him from hospital after he fell and hit his head on rocks in the Syrian desert.
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Outrage: Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond sparked an outrage when they dressed in niqabs for the Boxing Day special of the show
But their joke backfired after they were slammed by Muslims for mocking their religion.
Islamic extremist Anjem Choudary, said: ‘The burka is a symbol of our religion and people should not make jokes about it in any way.
‘It would have been equally bad even if they’d not been in a country mainly populated by Muslims.’
On the Boxing Day episode of the show, the trio were driving across the Middle East to follow the path of the Three Wise Men.
Incognito: Clarkson, seen here at the wheel of his car in Syria, had the idea to dress in a niqab in order to drive in disguise as they swapped the desert for a proper road
On the road: Hammond, who kept his niqab on for the rest of the journey, speaks to Clarkson on his walkie-talkie
In the episode, which was watched by six million people, they drove specially customised sports cars to Bethlehem via Turkey, Syria and Jordan.
While in Syria, their cars got stuck in the sand and as Clarkson was trying to tow Hammond out, May, who was holding the rope between the two cars, was knocked to the ground when it went taut, cutting open his head in the process.
With blood pouring from his head, he was taken to hospital and Clarkson and Hammond carried on when they had an idea to disguise themselves as women in burkas so not to be seen diverting from the sands of the desert to a road.
Man down: James May banged his head when he was knocked down by the rope towing Hammond’s car out of the sand
They then greet May from hospital dressed head to toe in niqabs before hitting the road again.
But their choice of attire caused a storm online on Twitter and other discussion sites.
On the Yahoo! forum, someone wrote, ‘Death to America’, which another, called Rebecca Liberty, said mocking burkas is ‘ugly’.
But a user called BussW spoke up for the show and said: ‘Why are so many people offended. it’s just a piece a clothing. the Burka is not in the Quaran at all. if people are so offended why dont they switch over the TV?’
Some viewers also took to Twitter to blast the burka stunt with one saying: This is probably the worst top gear special. Y the f*** r they wearing burkas!!?’
Western attire: As the trip usually look on the BBC Two show
Another added: ‘Top gear – the burka joke wasn’t funny.’
But one Tweeter user came to the show’s defence and wrote: ‘Top gear was one of the best bits of tv this Christmas, if you don’t like it . TURN IT OFF!!! Don’t go on tv and moan about it.’
Last night the BBC said it had not yet assessed viewer reaction and a spokesman for the show would not comment.
This is not the first time Clarkson has caused a storm over a burka. In July this year he told Top Gear viewers that he had seen a Muslim woman wearing saucy underwear beneath her gown.
Those men are either very brave or very dumb, I can’t figure out which. Anyway they are making fun of the burkas and this is a good thing no matter which they are brave or stupid.
Muslims should be slammed for insulting humanity by their beliefs.
Every time we make fun of them, people end up being hurt or die. Every time they destroy our beliefs, we respond by being dhimmis.
This show illustrates why this type of clothing should be banned in the free world. You will never know for sure if there is a woman or a man under the clothing. You will also never know for sure if they are armed with a vest-bomb, ready to become martyrs.
Anjem Choudary, said: ‘The burka is a symbol of our religion and people should not make jokes about it in any way….”
This guy is soooo ignorant and uneducated it isn’t funny. Two basic mistakes, Choudry –
1) islam is NOT a religion. It is a dangerous and debilitating Death Cult started by an ignorant, illiterate Bedu who was also a practicing pedophile – he raped a little girl who was NINE years old, Aisah after marrying her when she was 6 years old;
2) The burka is NOT a symbol of religion – it may be a symbol of a Death Cult. Nowhere in the Cowran does it stipulate that muslim women should wear a burka, hijab or whatever.
I am sick and tired of you and your ilk, sick and tired so much that I am waiting for the day when the inevitable war starts between the civilized west and the barbaric Death Cult members, because that is when I get my extensive range of armaments out and use them to wipe the scum of this beautiful planet.
These guys are extremely clever. They are intelligent and resourceful. Jeremy Clarkson is a gifted writer. However, when it comes to islam they are so out of touch. They are truely not in the same world as even the common man. Being clever millionaire celebrities means you simply operate in another universe and are soooooooooo out of touch. On the positive side they are so loved that the public will back them and not let the supine pc media bully them.
In the country that produced such ingenious humor as Dave Allen and Monty Python … why should muslims think they are exempt to humor and satire.
Left wing politicians and journalists flock to lie flat on their bellies to appease islam. Why? Why on earth should they – on behalf on all of us – submit to a mideval ideology that is trying to subjugate non-muslims in non-muslim countries?
Like ALL other religions the muslims just have to get used to being joked about, they should have no special standing. Or better, if they are too sensitive, they should move to a muslim country where you can scream in hysteria about this and that until their mouths fall off.
Top Gear rules! Don’t subjugate!
They are cleaver, as living in there own world.
I meant and living in their own world.