A Dutch university has decided to cancel"a conference due to be attended by a controversial Islamic scholar following protests from members of the Parliament and Jewish groups.
Sheikh Haitham al-Haddad, a Saudi-born who lives in London, had been invited by the Islamic Students Association of Amsterdam to attend at Amsterdam Free University two days of discussion on the position of Islamic academics in the west.
But the university announced in a statement that the event had been cancelled "because a proper debate is no longer possible."
Members of the Dutch Parliament from opposition and governing parties protested against the invitation and wanted that al-Haddad, who is a member of the Islamic Sharia Council in London, be banned for his anti-Semitic statements such as "Jews are the enemies of God" and "Jews are descended from apes and pigs."
The Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) also asked the Free University to cancel Mr Haitham al-Haddad's appearance at the event.
Al-Haddad claimed to be the victim of a “smear campaign conducted by the British Zionist lobby”.