July 16, 2005
Source: Newsday
On July 16, 2005 Newsday reported, "The British Muslim leader who was denied entry to the United States this week said he has received an apology and assurances of a visa from the U.S. Embassy in London. Dr. Zaki Badawi, the chief imam at London Central Mosque and head of the Muslim College, had been scheduled to speak Thursday at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, N.Y. On Thursday, Badawi told The Associated Press he was detained and questioned for about six hours upon arrival in New York on Wednesday. Badawi said authorities didn't give him a reason for denying him entry to the United States. Thomas Becker, president of the institution, said Badawi told him by phone Friday of the embassy's apology."