A VICTIM support group has questioned why an Islamic academic who justifies suicide bombings has been invited to speak at a London conference paid for by the British taxpayer.

Egyptian-born Tariq Ramadan, who is banned from entering the United States, is due to speak at The Middle Path conference on July 24, 17 days after the London bombings.

He will address young Muslims at the Islamic Cultural Centre near Regent’s Park alongside other academics, with the £9,000- cost of his trip being partly paid by the Metropolitan Police and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).

Professor Ramadan has previously justified suicide bombings. Asked by one Italian magazine if the killing of civilians was morally right, he replied: “In Palestine, Iraq, Chechnya, there is a situation of oppression, repression and dictatorship. It is legitimate for Muslims to resist fascism that kills the innocent.”

Asked if car bombings were justified against US forces in Iraq, he answered: “Iraq was colonised by the Americans. Resistance against the army is just.”

Professor Ramadan, who is a Swiss national and has his own website, has previously been banned from France and accused in Spain of having links with an Algerian al-Qaeda operative.

Last year the Department of Homeland Security in the United States revoked Professor Ramadan’s visa nine days before he was due to take up a prestigious appointment as the Henry R. Luce Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peace-building at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana — to the annoyance of the then Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The Middle Path conference is being organised by the Da’watul Islam charity which caused anger last year by inviting Yusuf al-Qaradawi, another controversial cleric, to Britain — a visit which was supported by Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London.

Last night Norman Brennan, a policeman who heads the Victims of Crime Trust, said: “Many will be horrified to learn that the Met and ACPO are funding an event where the speaker will be a man who believes suicide bombing are justified. The timing of this could not have been worse. Officers have spent the past five days picking up human remains with their bare hands.”

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