European antiterror laws limit free speech

"Many Muslims have strong feelings when it comes to questions like Palestine and Chechnya. This whole glorification issue confuses support for people who are engaged in resisting oppression and those engaged in mindless acts of terrorism," he adds. The Law Society commented that under such a law, even Mr. Blair's wife, Cherie, could be prosecuted for remarks made in 2002 expressing understanding for the rationale that drives young Palestinians to suicide attacks.

Several countries are also discussing other clerical rhetoric considered unacceptable, from so-called 'hate preaching' to racism, anti-Semitism, and sexism.

In France, for example, authorities are using existing laws against anti-Semitism, 'hate speech,' and sexism to bear down on preachers espousing these causes, according to Olivier Roy, an eminent scholar of the Islamic world.

The crackdown, he says, is "largely symbolic ... It is supposed to oblige the more radical imams to adopt a lower profile. But there is no close monitoring of the mosques in France.

German imams who propagate hate against any part of the population can now be deported. A Berlin preacher was ordered expelled in March for calling Germans "useless, stinking atheists," though the move was later blocked by the constitutional court. At least two foreign imams have been barred from entering Germany since the law was introduced.

The German Muslim community has little against the law. "As long as they don't involve themselves in politics, then they have enough freedom to preach as they wish," says Burhan Kesici, spokesman for the Berlin-based Islamic Federation.

In Switzerland, which has a much smaller Islamic community, authorities this week prohibited an Islamic center in Geneva from hiring a Turkish imam because of doubts over his teachings. The government is already concerned about some of the ideas of the center's director, Hani Ramadan, who has said that women who commit adultery should be stoned, and that AIDS was a form of divine retribution against sinners.

"There are no specific rules," says Dominique Boillat, a Swiss immigration official. "But there is a general rule that ... people who have responsibility like imams have to respect our basic principles, which are equality between men and women and order in the society and not appealing for aggression."

"If somebody is acting like that, if they are not here, we could decide not (to let them in). If they are already here, we can say 'you can't live in Switzerland.' "

Bunglawala says the European moves against imams are disappointing because it will increase anxiety in a community at a time when governments should be doing whatever they can to bring mainstream Muslim society on board.

"Europe has prided itself on robust debate and allowing strident viewpoints," he says. "It seems everyone else can have those except Muslims."

• Andreas Tzortzis in Berlin contributed to this report.

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