The French government will deny entry to an influential Egyptian preacher if he accepts an invitation from an Islamic organisation to visit France next month, a close aide to President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Sunday.

“The French government does not want any extremist preachers entering its territory,” Henri Guaino, a special advisor and speech writer to Sarkozy, told French Radio J.

Al-Qaradawi, who is based in Qatar, is one of the most widely respected Sunni Muslim clerics in the Arab world and a household name in the Middle East thanks to his regular appearances on the Qatar-based Al Jazeera news channel.   »»»  swissinfo.ch

France has just suffered an appalling terrorist attack by an alienated young Muslim who claimed to be inspired by al-Qaeda. And the French government responds … by banning the Muslim world’s most prominent and influential opponent of al-Qaeda from entering the country.

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