"America is a lovely country. There is no reason why it should behave like that," said Badawi. (Al-Jazeera)

LONDON, July 15, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – US authorities denied entry to a leading British Muslim figure, Dr. Zaki Badawi, head of the Islamic College in London, citing no explanation to the "arbitrary" move.

Badawi, who is also chairman of the Council of Mosques and Imams, was refused entry at New York's JFK airport late Wednesday, July 13, when he arrived to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution on the Law and Religion in Society, Reuters reported Thursday.

The Muslim leader said he returned to London after he was detained for six hours by the US immigration staff, who were "very embarrassed".

"The people I was speaking to were very junior people, and they are just executing things they were told," Badawi told the Associated Press (AP).

"They were very, very embarrassed, and I felt sorry for them."

The Muslim leader said he had visited the US many times before, the last time in 2003.

"America is a lovely country. There is no reason why it should behave like that."

Badawi, born in Egypt in 1922 and who first came to Britain more than half a century, is a moderate Muslim voice and a promoter of dialogue among the different faiths.

He writes and lectures on a wide variety of issues including the role of Islam in Britain and human rights.

He was given an honorary knighthood and in 2003 he was among the guests of Queen Elizabeth II at a state banquet for US President George Bush.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it had information indicating that the British Muslim leader "inadmissible".

"We cannot disclose the information which led to the application being inadmissible because of privacy rules," US Spokeswoman Janet Rapaport was quoted as saying by the BBC News Online.

She added that Dr. Badawi decided to withdraw his application to enter the country and returned home.

The spokeswoman further said she did not know if last week's bombings in London had anything to do with the barring of the Muslim leader.

A federal security official told the AP on condition of anonymity that the Muslim leader was named on a US terror watch list, but provided no further detail.

On Sunday, Badawi joined hands with Christian and Jewish leaders in condemning the London terrorist attacks, which left at least 52 people killed and hundreds wounded.

"It is an evil that cannot be justified and that we utterly condemn and reject," said a joint statement, part of which was read out by Badawi.

"Anyone claiming to commit a crime in the name of religion does not necessarily justify his position in the name of that religion. People do things in the name of Islam which are totally contrary to Islam," he asserted.

The Muslim minority in Britain has also vehemently condemned the terrorist attacks.

Azim Nanji, director of the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London and a participant in the Chatauqua conference, said he was "deeply saddened" by the exclusion of a "moderate Muslim voice", according to AP.

"I felt it was very important that Americans should hear, particularly at this time, a voice from a leading British Muslim who is well respected by the British government, somebody they turn to for advice," Nanji added.

Eboo Papel, founder and executive director of the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, said inviting the Muslim leader of the world into the meeting was crucial.

"It's clear that a large segment of the Muslim community wants to be in a positive relationship with Western societies," Papel said.

"When representatives of that segment, people who have been knighted by the queen and are close advisers to the government, are rejected, it hurts our efforts at building multi-faith societies and it gives grist to extremist Muslims who say, 'See, the West is against Islam, period".

Mike Sullivan, of the Chautauqua Institution, where Badawi was due to give his lecture, said all he knew was that Dr Badawi was back in London.

"We have no explanation as to why this happened," he said.

In September, 2004, Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, was denied entry into the US without explanation. Islam's flight from London was forced to make an emergency landing in Maine when US authorities discovered he was aboard.