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CAIR Wants Indian Official Excluded Because of Religious Persecution

By Howard M. Friedman

Section 604 of the International Religious Freedom Act (8 USC 1182(a)(2)(G) ) excludes from the U.S. "any alien who, while serving as a foreign government official, was responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom..." The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced yesterday that it had sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking that Narendra Modi, chief minister of India's state of Gujarat, be denied a visa under this provision. Modi wants to attend the second World Gujarati Conference that will be held in Edison, N.J. in August. In 2002, anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat killed more than 1000. It was reported that Modi told officials to let the massacres run their course, calling them an "anticipated Hindu reaction." In 2005, Modi was denied a U.S. visa for a planned speech in Florida.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on June 20, 2008 (boomark / email).