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MUSLIMS

Saudi cleric banned from Fribourg Islamic meet

The federal government has cancelled the planned visit of a controversial Saudi preacher to an Islamic conference this weekend in Fribourg.

Published: 14 December 2012 09:01 CET
Saudi cleric banned from Fribourg Islamic meet
Mohammed Al Arifi (Screenshot from YouTube)

The federal migration office announced that Mohammed Al Arifii was banned from entering Switzerland or the Schengen area.

The preacher, whose planned visit to the conference had raised objections from critics who accused him of preaching violence and hatred.

He has been accused of anti-Semitism, insulting homosexuals and offering advice on wife-beating, among a range of condemnations.

Federal officials earlier this week ordered the cleric’s name to be removed from the list of speakers at the conference organized by the Central Islamic Swiss Council (CCIS).

Arifi’s appearance in Fribourg was approved last month by the prefect of the Sarine, Carl-Alex Ridoré, who issued directives calling for the meeting to abide by Swiss laws.

The federal migration office did not give reasons for banning the preacher.

The CCIS last year drew 1,500 people to its first conference in Bienne, which was held without incident.

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MUSLIMS

France ‘charges 10 ultra-right suspects over plot to attack Muslims’

French authorities have charged 10 suspected far-right extremists in connection with an alleged plot to attack Muslims, a judicial source said Thursday.

Published: 28 June 2018 09:08 CEST
France 'charges 10 ultra-right suspects over plot to attack Muslims'
File photo: RAID police officers
The nine men and one woman aged 32 to 69 were arrested in raids across France on Saturday.
 
The suspects, whose detention was extended late Monday for a further 48 hours, had an “ill-defined plan to commit a violent act targeting people of the Muslim faith,” one source close to the probe said previously.
 
They appeared before a judge on Wednesday evening and were charged with “criminal terrorist conspiracy”, the source said.

   
Several were also charged with violations of firearms laws and the manufacture or possession of explosive devices.
 
Police have linked the ten to a little-known group called Action des Forces Operationnelles (Operational Forces Action), which urges French people to 
combat Muslims, or what it calls “the enemy within”.
 
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Police outside the home of Guy S., the alleged leader of a group linked with the ultra right 'AFO' . Photo: AFP

Rifles, handguns and homemade grenades were found during searches in the Paris area, the Mediterranean island of Corsica and the western Charentes-Maritimes region.  

Prosecutors said in a statement Wednesday that 36 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition were seized, as well as items in one suspect's home that 
could be used in the manufacture of TATP explosives.
 
The suspects include a retired police officer, identified only as Guy S., who was the alleged leader of the group, according to a source close to the investigation. The group also includes a former soldier.
   
France remains on high alert following a wave of jihadist attacks which have killed more than 240 people since 2015.
   
Officials have urged people not to confuse the actions of radicalised individuals with those of France's estimated six million Muslims — but anti-Islamic violence is on the rise.
   
The “Guerre de France” (War for France) website of the shadowy Operational Forces Action depicts an apocalyptic battle scene under the Eiffel Tower, and claims to prepare “French citizen-soldiers for combat on national territory” (see image below).
 
  
France's TF1 television has said the group planned to target radicalised imams and Islamist prisoners after their release from jail, as well as veiled women in the street chosen at random.
   
France registered 72 violent anti-Muslim acts last year, up from 67 in 2016.

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