The Fisher Price doll with fair skin, blond hair and blue eyes, is meant to be a realistic baby that cries when it is hungry and asks for ‘Mama’.

However, some parents have raised concern that one of the doll’s phrases sounds like ‘Islam is the light’ and have written to Fisher Price to complain.

Toy makers Mattel, who own Fisher Price, deny the claim and say the doll’s only programmed phrase is ‘mama’.

The company did admit that because the sound is compressed and played through an inexpensive toy speaker, there may be some distortion in what is heard.

The doll is set to remain in shops across America until further notice.

Mattel has said that any parents with concerns should call their hotline.

Speaking at an interfaith conference in Cambridge yesterday, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said that despite the differences between the two religions, there are many points at which they can dialogue and engage in shared projects.

Muslims and Christians, he said, agree that poverty and suffering are bad - and this could be a basis for co-operation between people of both religions.

For Dr Williams, these shared goals give good reason for hope that difficulties between the two faiths can be overcome.

Theologically, though, Dr Williams admits that there are fissures of serious disagreement.

Christianity is a self-emptying religion, whilst Islam is based upon a narrative of trial and triumph.

Last year 138 Islamic scholars and clerics wrote to the Pope warning that unless peace could be made between Christians and Muslims then the survival of the world was at risk.

In their letter the scholars used quotes from the Qu’ran and the Bible to highlight similarities between the faiths.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Florida is considering taking legal action against the Sheriff’s Office in question.

According to the ACLU, cutting Jagmahon Ahuja’s hair violated the state’s laws on religious freedom.

It is against the Sikh religion to cut hair on any part of the body. Many Sikh men wear their long hair wrapped up in a turban.

Jaspreet Singh, speaking for the United Sikhs, said it goes ‘completely against’ Sikhism to cut a Sikh’s hair.

He added that Sikh’s ‘love America’ because it is a country where their religious rights are protected.

A spokesperson at Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office defended the haircut, saying that it is required under security policies at the office.

She said inmates are ‘required’ to have short hair and not to wear any covering on their head to prevent them hiding money or weapons.

Thirty-six year old Jagmahon Ahuja is being held in jail because of domestic violence against two women in his family. He denies the charges against him.

The arrests - part of a crackdown on youth gangs in the South Sudan’s capital, Juba - prompted outrage from the Sudanese government.

Police in the region said local officials ordered a ban on ‘bad behaviour’ and on importing dress codes from ‘illicit cultures’.

They arrested the young women on the basis that they were ‘disturbing the peace’.

Local eye witnesses said the women were thrown into police trucks like animals.

Mary Kinden Kimbo, gender minister, said police had abused their authority and violated the rights of the women they arrested.

The women concerned have now been released without charge.

President Salva Kiir has launched a ’serious investigation’ into why the police crackdown targeted women in trousers.

In the predominantly Christian south traditional values are still very important.

The region is still suffering the after-effects of decades of war against the Muslim majority north.

Enfield wanted to include the character in his new Friday night sketch TV show ‘Harry and Paul’, the first programme for eight years in which Enfield works with his comedy partner Paul Whitehouse.

The BBC warned off the duo from subjecting Islam to satire, saying that it ‘might cause trouble’.

The 47 year old star was also told not to perform a sketch portraying a paedophile Catholic priest called Father Paddy.

A spokesperson for Tiger Aspects Productions said the decision to withdraw the characters was made before the show was aired, so it has not affected its production or launch.

She said that the characters never made it further than the page, adding that all the key members of the production team agreed that neither character was suitable for the show.

Comedy writer Ben Elton recently accused the BBC of being soft on Islam by not allowing it to be ridiculed to the same level of other religions.

The BBC has already fanned the flames of controversy on the issues of Islam and paedophilia in its flagship soap opera Eastenders.

Over 200 complaints have been made to the BBC about an Eastenders storyline in which a 15 year old girl has a relationship with her step father, whilst more than 100 people have written in to complain about a Muslim character breaking his Ramadan fast in the soap.

Speaking on television, the conservative sheikh Muhammad al-Habadan said veils that reveal two eyes encourage women to wear make-up and act seductively.

The level to which women should cover up is a controversial issue in Muslim societies.

Some clerics argue that women should only show their eyes, whilst others say that only the head need be covered, and still others say that the spirit of Islam requires that Muslims dress modestly, which may or may not include a head scarf.

The niqab, the full veil that covers everything but the eyes, is common in Saudi Arabia.

Many Middle Eastern countries, however, only require women to wear a headscarf that covers their hair.

Masood Ahmed, an Asian postman in Eastenders, was caught out by another character having a secret daytime snack.

During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims are supposed to fast from sunrise until sunset.

Complaints to the BBC claimed the scene was offensive to Muslims and trivialised a sacred Islamic practice.

BBC operators, however, defended the scene, saying that it was designed to show that Masood is a ‘fallible human being’.

They added that it was not their intention to insult Islam or Muslim values.

In September, the BBC received more than 200 complaints about a story-line in which a 15 year old girl has a relationship with her step father.

Despite its popularity, Eastenders is the most complained about programme on the BBC, with 5,500 people writing in to complain in the last year.

Rev. Yvonne Hobson discovered the postcard after Sunday communion, at her parish church in Paul, Cornwall.

She had just returned to her job at St Pol de Leon church after months away, following a campaign of hate-letters against her and arson attacks on her home and car.

The 54-year old vicar says she won’t lead another service until the culprit is caught.

Police have taken the postcard for forensic examination to look for DNA and fingerprints.

The contents of the note have not been disclosed, although it is understood to have warned Ms Hobson that she would be killed unless she resigned from her position at the church.

Bishop of St Germans, Rt Rev Roy Screech, said Ms Hobson is being given the ‘full support’ of the church.

He added that he hopes local people will pray for everyone concerned in the matter.

Rev Tim Heaney, who stepped in for Ms Hobson during her time away following the hate-mail, said he ‘totally condemns’ the actions of the letter writer.

Services at St Pol de Leon will continue as normal whilst the police investigation is underway.

Mohammed Ahmed, 32, was employed as a fork-lift truck driver at Tesco’s Lichfield depot in September last year.

The Saudi Arabian national worked at the depot for 8 months before resigning ‘in protest’.

He says he was not told before he started the job that it would involve handling crates of alcoholic drinks - work that contravenes his Islamic beliefs.

When he confronted his supervisor about it he was told that he must do the job or go home.

Ahmed then lodged an official complaint against the company, which caused his supervisors and colleagues to ‘harass’ him.

Tesco’s solicitor, Laura Canham, told an employment tribunal that Ahmed is not being realistic when he says he did not realise what the job would involve.

According to Tesco, Ahmed at no stage raised the question of whether or not he would be handling alcohol.

A spokesperson for Tesco has said that managers are trained to be culturally sensitive to the needs of staff.

An employment tribunal will rule on the case this week.

In the US, pastors who make political speeches disqualify themselves from tax-exempt status.

The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) wants the ban on politics in church lifted, and orchestrated the effort to get pastors to endorse political candidates.

Transcripts from the sermons at all the churches taking part will be sent to the IRS with the aim of sparking a legal battle.

Once the issue is taken to court, the conservative ADF hopes the ban will be lifted.

Critics say the plans are divisive, and unlikely to succeed.

The Interfaith Alliance has gone as far to launch a counter-campaign, with almost 200 members of the clergy signing a pledge not to back a candidate on behalf of their house of worship.