Controversial sheik stayed away from Islamic conference

An Islamic conference has taken place in the English city of Manchester without the presence of the controversial cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi. The Muslim scholar – who has supported Palestinian suicide bombings – had originally been invited to the Muslim Unity Convention. But Sheikh al-Qaradawi said he had not received the invite and it was later withdrawn by the conference organizers following talks with representatives of Manchester's large Jewish community and the city's Council for Community Relations. Qaradawi is Egyptian but is based in the Gulf state of Qatar. He had sparked controversy when he told a BBC programmed that Palestinian suicide bombings in Israel could be justified as "a weapon of last resort". The 79-year-old has since condemned the London bombings and was among the first to condemn the 11 September attacks on New York. He is currently banned from entering the US due to alleged links with terrorists.