A 33-year-old Moroccan national and Islamic leader in the Treviso area was deported on Wednesday as part of a series of ejections to avert the threat of terrorism, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said on Thursday. Alfano said the man was the secretary of the Treviso Provincial Islamic Community and used to take over as imam at a mosque when its top imam was absent. He added that the person was deported as part of a focus on religious figures who are "hostile to our traditions". The imam, who was not named, was said to have refused to swear allegiance to Italy during a citizenship ceremony. "The foreigner had conduct not compliant with Italian law and its dictates," said Treviso police chief Tommaso Cacciapaglia. Alfano said 12 imams had now been deported since the beginning of 2015. "Overall," he said, "there have been 115 forced repatriations, of which 49 have been carried out in the current year".
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