 Abdelkader Bouziane (right) was accused of justifying wife-beating |
France's highest administrative court has ruled a deportation order against a Muslim preacher who defended the beating of unfaithful wives is legal. The government expelled Abdelkader Bouziane, an imam from Lyon, in April - accusing him of inciting violence.
But the order was later suspended by a court in Lyon, prompting Mr Bouziane to return from Algeria.
After Monday's ruling France's interior ministry said it was taking "all necessary measures" to expel him.
Mr Bouziane's lawyer said the cleric was "very disappointed" by the Council of State's decision annulling the suspension.
 | CLERIC'S EXPULSION 21 April: Deported to Algeria 23 and 26 April: Deportation order suspended by two courts 22 May: Abdelkader Bouziane returns to France |
The lawyer said his client was "at home in Lyon", but added that he was "ready to present himself to police" to be deported. The row over Mr Bouziane began when the 52-year-old Algerian-born preacher gave a magazine interview in which he endorsed wife-beating, declared he was polygamous, and expressed the wish that "the entire world become Muslim".
The remarks caused an outcry in France, with many Muslim lawyers condemning them as un-Islamic.
Mr Bouziane is the first imam to be deported by France for voicing fundamentalist views.
Several other imams have been expelled - but mainly because they were preaching jihad, or holy war, against the West.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 