France has barred a group of Muslim clerics, including one of the most prominent voices in Sunni Islam, from entering the country to attend a conference.
France's foreign ministry said Thursday the clerics were invited by the French Islamic Union to speak at a congress in Le Bourget near Paris from April 6-9.
One of those barred, the Egyptian-born Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, says he refuses to come to France.