Mumbai: A Muslim social organisation, Raza Academy, on August 20 said it would not allow Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to step on the sacred Indian soil.

Reacting to the invitation extended by the Indian government to the Israeli Prime Minister, the Academy general secretary Mohammad Syed Noori said, "By extending the invitation to Sharon, the Indian government has committed the cardinal sin of bestowing honour on a war criminal, who is deeply detested by the vast majority of the global community because of his unsavoury reputation."

"In fact, Sharon cannot travel to most countries even in Europe because of the extreme passions such a visit would arouse," Noori said in a release.

Suspecting the motives of the Indian government about the invitation, he said, "It cannot be that Indian government is unaware of the criminal record of Sharon or of the notorious Likud Party he has been leading."

The Israeli Prime Minister is to visit India in September.

PTI