RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Germany has asked Saudi Arabia to close down the King Fahd Academy in Bonn after a preacher called for a Muslim holy war, a report said Tuesday.
A Riyadh-based European diplomat who requested anonymity said Berlin officially asked Riyadh to act to avoid embarrassment and avert a decision by the local government to close down the Saudi cultural center.
"The Saudi authorities have not responded to the German request so far," the source told UPI.
He said German authorities were dismayed by a teacher at the center, identified as Anas Bairam, a German of Lebanese origin, whose preaching at the Friday sermon was incitement to violence against the West.
"Bairam is being interrogated and might be charged and sentenced to prison," the source said.
He said Bairam, who teaches Islamic education at the center, has held German citizenship for 16 years.
"Even if he is convicted and imprisoned he would not be stripped of his German nationality," the source said.
