Livingstone embraces visiting Muslim cleric as 'man of tolerance'

Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim cleric whose visit to Britain has provoked wide-spread controversy, was publicly embraced yesterday by Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, who said he was a "man of tolerance and respect".

Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim cleric whose visit to Britain has provoked wide-spread controversy, was publicly embraced yesterday by Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, who said he was a "man of tolerance and respect".

Speaking at a conference in London to promote wearing of the hijab, the Muslim women's headscarf, Sheikh Qaradawi said that when religious differences arose he supported "a culture of peace, not conflict". Outside the conference, held at the headquarters of the Greater London Authority near Tower Bridge, a small knot of demonstrators brandished placards calling him "a terror sheikh".

The sheikh's visit has been criticised and calls have been made for him to be deported or prosecuted because of his reported views that suicide bombings in Israel are "weapons of the weak'' carried out by martyrs. He has also said that Muslims who die fighting US forces in Iraq should be seen as martyrs. Banned from visiting America since 1999, he has visited Britain several times. One report at the weekend suggested that he was linked - by a shareholding - to the al-Taqwa Bank, an organisation banned on both sides of the Atlantic after the 11 September attacks because of its alleged support for terrorist groups.

The sheikh's arrival at the hall yesterday, surrounded by a small army of minders and bodyguards, was greeted with a standing ovation and chanting by some delegates. Platform speakers praised him as "a voice of moderation and balance''.

Mr Livingstone said that on behalf of the people of London he wanted to apologise to the sheikh "for the outbreak of xenophobia and hysteria in some sections of the tabloid press", which he said demonstrated an underlying ignorance of Islam. The sheikh, he said, was "a moderate cleric, held in respect throughout the Muslim world'' who preached tolerance and respect for others and did not hold the views which others had attributed towards him.

Mr Livingstone said that "ignorance and misrepresentation'' by the media might be due to the lack of members of staff on newspapers drawn from the ethnic minorities, making them unrepresentative of the population they serve. He suggested it was an issue he would look at during his term of office.

The conference was organised by the Assembly for the Protection of Hijab, which backs the right of Muslim women to wear the scarf, following the passing of a forthcoming ban on its wearing in French schools and similar moves in other parts of Europe.

In his address, Sheikh Qaradawi said plurality and diversity were necessary in society and pointed out that it was not just Islam that encouraged women to dress modestly - Judaism and Christianity had similar traditions. "If a woman can wear a mini skirt or a sleeveless top, why can't she wear a headscarf? Banning it is against religious freedom," he said.