Cleric row conference goes ahead

Yusuf Al-Qaradawi has supported Palestinian suicide bombers

An Islamic conference was taking place in Manchester on Sunday without controversial cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi.

The Muslim scholar - who has supported Palestinian suicide bombings - was originally invited to the Muslim Unity Convention at the Bridgewater Hall.

But Sheikh al-Qaradawi said he had not received the invite and it was later withdrawn by the conference organisers, the Ramadhan Foundation.

A minute's silence for the London bomb victims was being held at the meeting.

Confusion still exists over whether Dr Qaradawi knew he was invited to the conference.

Mohammed Umer said Dr Qaradawi's invitation was withdrawn

In July, Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said Dr Qaradawi's office had told him no invitation had been received.

The Ramadhan Foundation said it had withdrawn the invite following talks with representatives of Manchester's large Jewish community and the city's Council for Community Relations.

The Foundation's chairman, Muhammad Umer, said he now recognised Dr Qaradawi's visit "may cause those on the far right an excuse to whip up hatred towards the Muslim community".

"We wish to preserve the good community relations and values that exist in our great city and have taken this decision after much deliberation," he said.

The Foundation, which has said it condemns the 7/7 London bomb attacks, has said a debate on how to deal with terrorism would be held during the conference.

Condemned bombings

Dr Qaradawi is Egyptian but is based in the Gulf state of Qatar.

He sparked controversy when he told BBC Newsnight Palestinian suicide bombings in Israel could be justified as "a weapon of last resort".

The 79-year-old has since condemned the London bombings and was among the first to condemn the 11 September attacks on New York.

He is currently banned from entering the US due to alleged links with terrorists.