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Islamic Human Rights Commission
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13 December 2010

PRESS RELEASE: UK –  Allowing Pastor Jones to enter the UK highlights Double Standards of the Home Office Exclusion Policy

IHRC condemns the double standards of the Home Secretary in failing to ban Pastor Terry Jones from entering the UK. Pastor Jones is a preacher of hate who caused international outrage by proposing to burn the Quran on the anniversary of the 11 September attacks. His statements and actions not only fostered hatred of Muslims in the West but also endangered the lives of Western troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

IHRC are surprised that Pastor Jones has not already been excluded from entering the UK on account of his actions which clearly fall within the grounds of unacceptable behaviour under official Home Office policy. That he is coming for the sole purpose of addressing an anti-Muslim rally by the Far-Right fascist thugs of the English Defence League (EDL) is even more troubling.

IHRC notes that Pastor Jones is only the latest preacher of hate to try and enter the UK to foster hatred against Muslims. In October this year, Rabbi Nachum Shifren entered the UK to address an EDL rally at which he proceeded to describe  Muslims as “dogs”.

IHRC is concerned at the double standards of the Home Office in implementing its policy of exclusion under which mainstream Muslim leaders such as Dr.Zakir Naik, Imam Muhammad al-Asi and Qazi Hussain Ahmed have been excluded from the UK under accusations of fostering hatred, whilst individuals such as Shifren and Jones have been let in.

IHRC Chairman Massoud Shadjareh stated:

“It is deeply worrying that the pattern emerging from the Home Office is that mainstream Muslim preachers are being excluded from the UK whilst Pastors and Rabbis whose sole purpose for entering the UK is to foment anti-Muslim hatred are being let in.”

“The Home Secretary needs to not only ban Pastor Jones from entering the UK but to also ban the EDL, an openly Islamophobic and violent group of Far Right extremists which threatens the lives and safety of millions of people in this country.”

For more information please contact the Press Office on (+44) 20 8904 4222 or (+44) 795 8522 196 email info@ihrc.org.[ENDS]

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The Islamic Human Rights Commission is an NGO in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Islamic Human Rights Commission
PO Box 598
Wembley
HA9 7XH
United Kingdom

Telephone (+44) 20 8904 4222
Fax (+44) 20 8904 5183
Email: info@ihrc.org
Web: www.ihrc.org