This coming Sunday the youth department of the Danish Islamic Community will host a conference with controversial preacher Bilal Philips as one of the main speakers.
Philips has previously been banned entry to the UK and Australia, where he is regarded as a potential threat to society.
A famous Muslim scholar who has written several books, Philips is featured in numerous YouTube videos in which he promotes Sharia law and condemns Shia Muslims and homosexuals.
In one video he describes AIDS as “God’s punishment of homosexuals” and argues in favour of the death penalty for homosexuals. Another video shows Philips defending suicide bombings, arguing that such attacks should be viewed as “a legitimate form of warfare”.
The conference featuring Philips is scheduled to take place at the Korsgadehallen in the Nørrebro district on Sunday. It is arranged by Munida, the youth department of the Danish Islamic Community.
The head of Munida, Imran Shah, said he was not aware that Philips preached extremist views.
“We invited him because we believe he is a highly influential person,” Shah told Politiken newspaper. “He is a convert, so he has one foot planted in the Western world and the other in Islam. He has written lots of books and we thought it would be interesting for the young people to hear him talk about Islamophobia. He could send out a signal to our young people that they should embrace the society they live in and try to be as faithful to Islam as they can because that does not conflict with society.”
“Just because he represents a certain type of Islam, that doesn’t mean we need to follow his every word,” Shah added.
According to American terror expert Lorenzo Vidino, it is a very bad idea to invite Philips to Denmark.
“He is extremely hardcore and has connections to radical people across the world. Although he might not directly encourage violence, there is no doubt that he harbours attitudes that are anti-Semitic, intolerant and contrary to integration,” Vidino told Politiken.
The planned visit has also caused great concern in parliament. “Many young people find themselves in a cultural vacuum trying to find an identity, and when an authority like this comes and spreads his views, he serves to rubber-stamp extreme views,” said Manu Sareen of the Social Liberal Party.
According to Conservative justice spokesperson, Naser Khader, Philips should not be allowed into the country. “He has lots of horrible attitudes, and some of them border on encouraging violence. He shouldn’t be allowed in Denmark.”
Peter Skaarup, the deputy leader of the Danish People’s Party (DF), agreed.
“I don’t understand how he can be allowed to come to Denmark when he has been refused entry to the UK and Australia. It is against all ambitions of integration and tolerance to allow him to speak here.”
DF yesterday called on Lars Barfoed, the justice minister, to look into the possibility of keeping Philips out of the country. The party’s social affairs spokesperson, Martin Henriksen, hopes that changes can be made to the relevant legislation before Sunday.
“Philips is a person who would add even more unrest in a highly troubled area like Nørrebro,” Henriksen told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. “It’s not enough that our politicians simply state verbally that they’re unhappy about some arrangement – such as Hizb ut-Tahrir’s meeting in January. We actually have the opportunity to change the law here.”
In an interview with TV 2, Philips said he was surprised by DF’s decision. “When people talk about the freedom of speech and democracy while shamelessly drawing cartoons of Mohammed, it is considered acceptable,” he said. “But when someone who has a slightly different attitude to yours wants to come to your country, I think it’s a bit extreme to deny them access.”