The British government has said that it will not let Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the spritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, into the UK to seek medical treatment.
"The UK will not tolerate the presence of those who seek to justify acts of terrorist violence or disburse views that could foster inter-community violence," a Home Office spokeswoman said.
Qaradawi has publicly defended suicide bombings in Iraq and Israel and has called for homosexuals to be executed.
Muslim pressure groups in the UK have responded angrily to the government's decision.
"Yusuf al-Qaradawi enjoys unparalleled respect and influence throughout the Muslim world. I am afraid this decision will send the wrong message to Muslims everywhere," said the Muslim Council of Britain's secretary-general, Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari.
The British Muslim Initiative, a pro-Muslim Brotherhood group, established by Anas al-Tikriti, the former spokesman of the Muslim Association of Britain, the brotherhood's British wing, also attacked the decision.
"We would have to go as far back as the Medieval Age when scholars were hounded and vilified in order to find a similar retrograde decision," Muhammad Sawalha, the BMI's president, said.
Comments (3)
"Back to the Middle Ages" would actually be a civilizational improvement for Islamic thought. It was in the Middle Ages -- and not today -- that the great Arab philosophers thrived.
Posted by Benjamin B | February 11, 2008 5:26 PM
Posted on February 11, 2008 17:26
It's about time.
I wonder how Ken feels about this?
Dr. Bari says:
"I am afraid this decision will send the wrong message to Muslims everywhere"
This is not another veiled threat is it?
Posted by Robert | February 8, 2008 1:04 AM
Posted on February 8, 2008 01:04
How beautiful of Sawalha to suggest that this ban takes us back to "the Medieval Age" : classic propaganda. The Islamic Fundamentalists are speedily learning how to spin the message : the beards are being cut, and sharp suits and sunglasses await. Who can doubt their intelligence, commitment, and danger?
Posted by anthony norman | February 7, 2008 11:43 PM
Posted on February 7, 2008 23:43