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"Britishness" test for imams dropped

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: The British Government has abandoned plans that would have forced foreign "imams" to take a "Britishness" test before being allowed to come to the United Kingdom and preach in mosques here.

The rule, mooted amid concerns that semi-literate and radical "imams" from the subcontinent were fuelling extremism among young British Muslims, would have applied to all foreign preachers including Hindus and Sikhs. Immigration Minister Tony McNulty said the proposal had been scrapped after protests from Muslim and other faith leaders who felt it would be discriminatory to treat foreign-born preachers differently from other immigrants.

"There was concern that somehow ministers of religion were being treated differently... We have listened to that," he said.

The Minister said there was no "compelling" reason to subject such people to tougher immigration rules. The announcement came a week after the Home Office said it was scrapping its controversial proposal to shut down mosques suspected of alleged terror links.

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