COPENHAGEN — A Canadian Muslim preacher is among six foreign clerics who are banned from entering Denmark for two years due to their "anti-democratic" views.
Denmark's Integration Minister Inger Stoejberg says the government "won't accept that hate preachers ... preach hatred against Danish society."
According to the list — published on Tuesday — Canadian cleric Bilal Philips was in Denmark in 2011. It is unclear whether the others have been in the Scandinavian country.
Stoejberg said that five of the men "indoctrinate" others to "commit violence against women and children (and) spread ideas about a caliphate." The sixth is Christian American preacher Terry Dale Jones.
The ministry said others were Mohamad bin Abd al Rahman bin Milhi bin Mohamad al Arefe, and Salman Bin Fahad Alodah who both hold Saudi passports, American citizen Kamal El-Mekki, and Mohammad Rateb Abdalah Al-Nabulsi, a Syrian living in Jordan.
"I am also very pleased that it is now clear to everyone that these people are not welcome in Denmark," Stoejberg said in a statement.
Last year, Denmark's parliament backed compiling such a list. Some other European countries have similar legislation. Britain, for instance, can deny entry to people with criminal convictions or those whose presence is considered not "conducive to the public good."
The Danish law about "the public national list" was passed Dec. 27, 2016 by the right-leaning government and the opposition Social Democrats, among others. Technically, the ban would be implemented by the Danish Immigration Service which would deny them entry to Denmark.
