Libya Imposes Visa Ban on Europeans
THE TELEGRAPH: Libya has stopped issuing visas to citizens of 25 European nations amid a bitter row between the Gaddafi family and Switzerland.

Members of the continental Schengen free travel zone, including Switzerland, were targeted for retaliation after the Swiss authorities blacklisted 188 senior Libyan figures, including the country's leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi, and members of his family.

Diplomats said there were scenes of tension as tourists were turned back at Tripoli airport. Britain was exempted from the ban as it is not a Schengen member. >>> Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Monday, February 15, 2010

Muslim Outrage as Yusuf al-Qaradawi Refused UK Visa
Photo of the preacher of hate, Yusuf al Qaradawi, courtesy of The Times
Thank God Gordon Brown has made the right decision this time. I hope that this decision is the first of many yet to come.

Yusuf al-Qaradawi is a despicable man; he preaches hatred of Jews, homosexuals, and believes that women should be beaten when they disobey their husbands. This is the year 2008 not the year 600! We don’t need, and certainly do not want, people such as Qaradawi to come to our shores to preach such intolerance and hatred. Keep him out, and keep all the others out that are like him. And while you’re at it, Mr Brown, show us what you are made of and kick all the other people out of our country who preach such intolerance. Deport them! There should be no place in the United Kingdom (or Europe) for such people. We, the British, are sick to death of them. Such intolerant people should not be made welcome here. They are an affront to our civilized society.

If the Muslims of the UK are outraged because of your decision, then let them be. First of all, it doesn't take much to make them outraged (the least little thing will do it), and secondly, we, the true British people, are equally outraged that such fossils should be allowed to enter the United Kingdom to preach their intolerance and hatred of Jews and homosexuals.

All I can say is al hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah) for this government decision. May there be many, many more like it. - ©Mark

TIMESONLINE: Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a controversial Muslim cleric who defends suicide attacks, has been refused a visa to enter to the UK after a campaign by David Cameron.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said that it deplored the decision and accused the government of caving in to “unreasonable demands spearheaded by the Tory leader”.

Muhammad Abdul Bari, the secretary-general of the MCB, said that Dr al-Qaradawi enjoyed respect as a scholar throughout the Muslim world.

“I am afraid this decision will send the wrong message to Muslims everywhere about the state of British society and culture,” he said.

“Britain has had a long and established tradition of free speech, debate and intellectual pursuit. These principles are worth defending, especially if we would like to see them spread throughout the world.”

The British Muslim Initiative (BMI) described the decision to bar al-Qaradawi, an “eminent scholar”, as “an unwarranted insult to British Muslims”.

Muhammad Sawalha, the BMI president, said: “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.”

The 81-year-old Egyptian-born preacher is now based in Qatar and makes regular appearances on al-Jazeera television, clad in white robes, where he denounces anti-Muslim sentiment in the European media.

Sources close to Dr al- Qaradawi said that his visa application had had support within the Home and Foreign Offices. "But the Zionist lobby placed huge pressures to block the visa application and Prime Minister Gordon Brown eventually backed that position," they added.

It is understood that Dr al-Qaradawi, who is banned from entering the United States, applied for a medical visa almost a year ago. In August he was hospitalised for a stomach ulcer, and in November he was treated for a cracked vertebra apparently caused by a slipped disc.

In a fax from the British embassy in Doha, his application was refused, reportedly citing Article 41 of the United Nations charter, which relates to threats to peace and security.

The cleric last visited the UK in 2004, where he was welcomed by Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, and chaired the annual meeting of the European Council of Fatwa and Research at London's City Hall.

His visit prompted protests from Jewish groups and gay people, who regard him as anti-Semitic and homophobic. He has called for the death penalty for homosexuality and the destruction of the state of Israel. Muslim outrage as Yusuf al-Qaradawi refused UK visa >>> By Jenny Booth

Hat tip to Ray Boyd for drawing my attention to this article.

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)