Author: Conor Feehan and Paul Melia
Publication: Irish Independent
Date: February 13, 2006
URL: http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1561248&issue_id=13675
A former PLO bomber has warned that Irish
immigration policy needs to toughen up to weed out possible infiltration by
Islamic fundamentalists.
Speaking to the Voice newspaper, Walid Shoebat,
a self-confessed ex-PLO man, said Ireland has "much to fear in this respect".
Warning that Irish immigration policy needs serious review, he maintained
that the Department of Justice should stop immigration from societies that
harbour terrorists.
Listing countries he feels could be key players
in providing home for such terrorist, Shoebat said: "No more Jordanians,
no more Palestinians, no more Libyans."
"Students from these countries who want
to study here should be subject to a quota matched by Irish students who want
to go to their countries," he added.
However, Walid, who has converted to Catholicism,
stressed to that he is not against Muslims but against Islamic fundamentalists.
Last night, Khalid Sallabi, Iman at the Galway Islamic Society, called the
comments 'racist'.
He said that it was unfair to single out citizens
of particular countries based on stereotypes.
