Should a controversial British Muslim imam be allowed to speak at a youth conference in Toronto?

It's a question that has divided the local Muslim community.

Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq — accused of publicly vilifying Hindus, Jews and liberal Muslims — is a keynote speaker at the Youth Tarbiyah conference this month.

Conference organizers have defended their choice, saying he is a charismatic speaker and learned scholar who inspires Muslim youth.

However, some prominent members of the Muslim community are protesting ul Haq's presence in Canada, saying he does not understand the issues faced by youth here.

"Muslims here don't need to be told how to live their Islam in Canada," said Mohamed Elmasry, president of the Canadian Islamic Congress.

"We have enough teachers, educators and scholars who know the Canadian scene and can communicate much better with our community."

In a speech of ul Haq's posted on an Islamic website, he quotes a Qur'an passage that says, "Of the whole of mankind, you shall find the most intense in their hatred and enmity towards the believers, al-Yahood (Jews) and the mushrikeen, the idolaters."

Then he paraphrases, saying that "the ones who are bitterest in their enmity towards Muslims, the most unrelenting, unforgiving, are the Jews and the mushrikeen, idolaters in all their forms. And lest someone say that's provocative or that is anti-Semitic, Allah, the creator of the Semite, says that." And, he adds, the "chief idolaters" today are the Hindus.

These are examples of the type of comments that prompted the Canadian Coalition for Democracies, an Ottawa-based group, to urge Immigration Minister Monte Solberg to deny ul Haq entry into this country. Immigration officials say they will not bar his entry into Canada.

"It is sad to see that some people might want to bring their hate to Canada," said Naresh Raghubeer of the Hindu Conference of Canada.

"We knew of (ul Haq), but we were not able to get a picture of what he said here," said Bernie Farber of the Canadian Jewish Congress. "But we know what he has said in other places."

Ul Haq frequently tours both the United States and Canada and speaks at Islamic conferences.

The British cleric, who at present is not affiliated with a mosque in the United Kingdom, is to address a gathering of 2,000 about current problems facing Muslim youth, according to Mohammad Alam, president of the Islamic Foundation of Toronto, the event organizer.