Muslim cleric calls on preachers to sign anti-extremism statement

Sheikh Dr Umar Al Qadri has called on all foreign Muslim scholars visiting Ireland to sign a declaration condemning extremism before they are allowed to preach at mosques in the country.

The call comes ahead of two radical preachers – Dr Othman Al Khamees and Dr Khaled Al Otaibi – coming to Dublin to speak at the weekend. Al Qadri said that allowing the two clerics preach a radical form of Islam would not help integration in Ireland.

″I am not in favour of banning foreign preachers but I am in favour of being very careful about bringing foreign speakers to speak to Muslims in Ireland,″ said Dr Al Qadri, who is the imam of the Al-Mustafa Mosque in Blanchardstown and chair of the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council.

″I believe foreign speakers should be asked to sign a statement in which they condemn Osama bin Laden, ISIS and all extremist militants, call for tolerance and respect for all people including the LGBT community, respect democracy and the permissibility to vote in Western countries,″ he said.    (The Irish Times)

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