France arrests radical Iraqi imam

France is deporting some radical foreign Muslim clerics

An Iraqi Muslim cleric who preached at a mosque outside Paris has been detained for violating a house arrest order, French judicial sources say.

Yashar Ali was taken into custody on Monday in Argenteuil, north-west of the French capital.

Mr Ali was placed under house arrest in March pending deportation, but police say he never respected the ruling.

France believes Mr Ali is a key figure in the Salafist movement, which has a strict interpretation of the Koran.

Salafist

Last month, a court ruled that the Interior Ministry acted illegally by deporting another imam, Abdelkader Bouziane, to his native Algeria.

He had been quoted as justifying wife-beating.

The authorities are also considering whether to expel Midhat Guler, a Turkish director of a Paris mosque, accused of leading an extremist Islamic movement, AFP news agency reported.

Mr Guler has been placed under house arrest pending review of his expulsion order.