Denied Entry

A leading member of Britain’s Muslim community, headed to New York for an academic conference, was forced to leave his transatlantic flight without explanation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security earlier today.

The removal of Kamal Helbawy, the 80-year-old founder of the Muslim Association of Britain, came just minutes before his American Airlines flight was due to take off from London’s Heathrow Airport. The incident is the latest instance in which U.S. security officials have denied prominent Muslim leaders entry to the United States.

The move startled officials at New York University Law School who had invited Helbawy to be a featured speaker at a conference the organization is sponsoring Thursday night on the Muslim Brotherhood movement. “He’s a really respected guy,” said Paul Cruickshank, a fellow at the law school’s Center for Law and Security, which had organized the conference. “He’s very influential within the Muslim community in Britain and his name is recognized throughout the world.”

Spokesmen for the Homeland Security Department and FBI declined any immediate comment on why Helbawy, a British citizen with a valid passport, was removed from the plane. A senior U.S. government official, who declined to be identified talking about sensitive matters, said he was puzzled by the incident because there appeared to be no intelligence reporting linking Helbawy to terrorism.

Helbawy, an Egyptian-born Islamic scholar, was for years a leading spokesman in Europe for the Muslim Brotherhood, a secretive organization founded in Egypt that some U.S. officials say is dedicated to spreading a radical brand of Islam throughout the world.

While not denying his affiliation with the Brotherhood, Helbawy described himself in a telephone interview today as a moderate who has publicly denounced terrorism “thousands of times.” He also noted that he serves on the Muslim Council of Britain—a semiofficial British government advisory committee that works to turn British Muslims away from violence.