Reports of Imam Abu Laban's plans to leave Denmark were a misunderstanding, the cleric says

Copenhagen Post:

Comments by Imam Abu Laban last week that led to reports that he was moving back to the Gaza Strip were a misunderstanding, the controversial cleric said.

Laban said he meant that he was only 'tempted' to return home.

'I never said to anyone that I wish to move away from Denmark. I have no such personal wish. I was invited here as an imam, and I will only leave if Muslims are dissatisfied with me and ask me go.'

The Palestinian-born Laban was quoted in a number of Danish media on Thursday as saying that he would relocate from Copenhagen to Gaza with his wife and youngest children.

'I've made a decision to leave Denmark. It's only a matter of time before I go,' Laban said to Jyllands-Posten, the newspaper that published the Mohammed cartoons. 'I'm not willing to be manipulated all the time and associated with terrorism, when I have worked day and night, tooth and nail in an honest way for this country's welfare.'

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