Keith Mason, who was sacked by George Galloway’s Workers Party over anti-Islam tweets, has been reinstated as the party’s candidate in Wakefield after apologising to Muslims and pledging to read the Quran.
In an interview with 5Pillars, the ex rugby league star said: “It was very naive of me and irresponsible of me to get into a slanging match with somebody on Twitter… Looking back it was stupid of me to do that and I do apologise if I did offend anybody… I wanted to clear my name and assure people that I am not an Islamophobe.”
Mason added that a friend of his had given him a Quran and pledged to “educate himself on the religion.”
You can watch our full interview with Keith Mason here.
In the tweets from six months ago (now deleted), Mason insulted Islam and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
The staunch Christian accused Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) of being a “false prophet” and said “Islam without lies dies.”
After the tweets were made public by 5Pillars, Workers Party leader Galloway sacked Mason. The Workers party relies on the Muslim vote for much of its support.
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But following an appeal by 5Pillars editor Roshan Muhammed Salih, Galloway reversed his decision.
Mason, 42, is a former rugby league footballer who played in three Challenge Cup finals, winning one in 2004 for St Helens.
He won two caps for Wales at international level, and also played for Great Britain and England Under-21s.
At the end of the 2013 season, Mason retired from playing rugby league in order to pursue a career as an actor.
