If the dog was "impure" and "unclean" shouldn't he have just given the car a good wash? Or am I just being naive?
Judging by the article I've read, I'd say he's a bit of an idiot, to say the least. Surely Islam, like any other religion, preaches about helping those worse off- one dog in a back seat would hardly kill him.
sp1814's got a point, though; with 7/7 still (sort of) in the not-too-distant past it seems that any sort of Islam-related row is considered newsworthy.