Italy to expel controversial imam

Officials in Italy say they are deporting a Senegalese imam who poses
a "great threat" to state security.

The decision follows recent statements to the media by Fall Mamour,
predicting that there would be attacks on Italian soldiers in Iraq.

The 39-year-old imam was already being investigated for his financial
deals, an interior ministry statement said.

The move comes as Italy prepares for the state funerals of 19 policemen
and soldiers killed last week in Iraq.


Mr Mamour would be expelled within days, the ministry said without giving
further details.

"He (Mamour) was already known to authorities as somebody who received
suspect funds," the ministry said.

"In addition, for a long time, and even more so since the slaughter of
Italian soldiers in Nasiriya, he has launched dangerous initiatives,
especially in the present context of international terrorism."

'Blood pact'

The statement said Mr Mamour had several aliases and was best known as
the "imam of Carmagnola" - a suburb of the northern city of Turin.


Since the Nasiriya attack, several Italian newspapers have published
stories on a series of predictions Mr Mamour made weeks before the
bombing, in which he warned of attacks against Italian soldiers in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
The imam said Italy's troops would be targeted because they were aiding
the US-led coalition, adding that further strikes would then follow on
Italian soil.

Mr Mamour - who has lived in Italy for 11 years - has previously stirred
controversy by his statements on Italian television programmes.

During one of the TV interviews, he said he had once fought alongside
Osama bin Laden and was linked to the al-Qaeda leader by what he said was
a "blood pact".

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/3279453.stm

Published: 2003/11/18 09:39:31 GMT

© BBC MMIII

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