"Buddhaphobia" in Durham!

It looks like Matthew Carter, the Burnley binman reprimanded for wearing a Cross of St George bandana, has an equally unlikely competitor in the contest for Wicked Racist of the Week:

A Buddhist businessman who wants to call his Chinese restaurant Fat Buddha has angered council chiefs - who claim the name will upset Buddhists.

Eddie Fung's £1.3million restaurant will open in Durham next month, creating 60 jobs.

But the restaurateur was astonished when Tracey Ingle, the city council's head of cultural services, demanded he change the name because it was 'provocative'.

Mr Fung, 39, said: "I cannot believe that this woman should go to so much time and trouble to take issue over an inoffensive name like Fat Buddha.

"No Buddhist is going to be offended by this. The fat Buddha is a symbol of health and happiness. It is political correctness gone mad."

And a spokesman for the Buddhist Society said: "Buddhists regard the fat Buddha as lucky. To suggest this is offensive is to misunderstand the faith."

Hmm. Is anyone else thinking, that since Miss Ingle has made false assumptions about Buddhism, and broadcast those assumptions to the world, it may in fact be she who is guilty of "Buddhaphobia"? Perhaps she should apologise for this.
She is certainly guilty of speaking without thinking, and of making an idiot of herself into the bargain (although, what more can one expect of anyone bearing the title "head of cultural services?"), and she should definitely apologise for that.