Greece’s daily Kathimerini reports that a Pakistani national was arrested in Athens in 2015 for “preaching hate” and disseminating extremist viewpoints to moslems in Greece. The Pakistani extremist self-proclaimed imam was reported to Greek authorities by members of the Pakistani community who reported him to The Citizens’ Protection Ministry in November 2014.

Kathimerini published the man’s initials H. M. I. and reported that members of the 50,000-membered Pakistani community in Athens said that he gave “a lecture of hate against other Muslims and Christians” at a makeshift mosque in Aegaleo, western Athens. The same man allegedly gave similar sermons, filled with rage and hate, at a prayer site in Megara, western Attica.

The self-styled imam had been influenced by the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group prior to his arrival in Greece. His fellow Pakistanis were concerned by his hate speeches and they had alerted Pakistani Embassy officials in Athens, however one particular lecture in November 2014 went too far as it differentiated against the “faithless”, “infidels” and “truly faithful” to raise their swords against them.”

Once authorities investigated him, H.M.I. fled Greece only to return two months later where he was arrested at Athens Airport and deported.

Kathimerini reports that he is not the only extremist imam to express such views and it is the understanding of the paper that community leaders are worried about at least another five Pakistanis who refer to punishments for the “faithless” and have given hate speeches at mosques in Menidi and Kolonos.