18 September 2004	Saturday	02 Shaban 1425

BERLIN, Sept 17: Germany will refuse visas to anyone seeking to take part in a controversial Arab conference next month in Berlin, the foreign ministry said on Friday.

"Fundamentalists and preachers of hate have no place in Germany," foreign ministry spokesman Walter Lindner said. Therefore, German authorities abroad had been instructed "to not issue visas to anyone stating that attending this conference was the purpose of their visit", he added.

On their website, the organizers of the "first Arab Islamic Congress in Europe" say the event will take place from Oct 1 to 3 in the German capital, although no exact location is given.

Under the headline "Humanity on hold", the website said "say yes to the liberation of all the occupied territories and countries in struggle against the American-Zionist hegemony and occupation" in the Palestinian territories and Iraq.

German Interior Minister Otto Schily said on Friday he was examining every possibility to prevent the conference taking place, although he added there had been no formal application to hold the event.

"There are other possibilities to prevent the meeting taking place," Schily said after a meeting with US Secretary for Homeland Security Tom Ridge. The Central Council of Muslims in Germany and the Islamic Council of Germany have distanced themselves from the conference. -AFP