The Singaporean government has denied entry to prominent American Muslim preacher, Yusuf Estes, for allegedly holding divisive religious views, the Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed.
Mr Estes was denied entry on Friday 24 November, and Channel News Asia reported that he was not allowed to enter Singapore at Changi Airport.
This comes after two other preachers, Mufti Ismail Menk and Haslin Baharim, were also banned from entering Singapore in October.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said that the government “will not allow religious preachers of any faith to run down other religions or spread ill-will among the various religious communities”.
The ministry added that it had previously rejected the applications by two Christian preachers to speak in Singapore because they had made inflammatory comments about other religions, including Islam.
After he was turned away, Mr Estes flew back to Malaysia with his wife, and later posted a Facebook video where he said they were “detained for quite a while”.
In the half-hour video, he briefly touched on his entry to Singapore being denied.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
Mr Estes said a stapled visa had left “a hole in the first number” of his passport, and this could have been the issue.
He also said that Singapore officials were “very polite” and “very nice”, and dismissed suggestions that they were not allowed to eat or pray.
