U.S. Muslims Again Seek Visa Denial for Gujrat CM Narendra Modi
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking that an Indian official accused of complicity in the massacre of Muslim civilians in that nation again be denied a visa to travel to the U.S. Recent news reports indicate that supporters of Narendra Modi, chief minister of India’s state of Gujarat, hope to have him attend the upcoming second World Gujarati Conference in Edison, N.J., on August 29-31, 2008.
In 2005, CAIR partnered with the Indian Muslim Council-USA and the Coalition Against Genocide (CAG) to oppose Modi’s visa request to travel to the U.S. to speak at a convention in Florida. His request for a visa was denied.
In a letter to Secretary Rice, CAIR National Board Chairman Parvez Ahmed wrote in part “If a visa application is made for Chief Minister Modi, we request that it be denied on grounds similar to the Department of State’s visa denial in early 2005. Specifically, we request that if Modi requests a visa he be ruled inadmissible to the United States based on Section 604 of the International Religious Freedom Act, which bars entry to any foreign official who has engaged in ‘particularly severe violations of religious freedom.’”
CAIR, America’s largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
You must be logged in to post a comment.