Eindhoven mayor Rob van Gijzel has banned seven foreign imams from speaking at an Islamic conference in the city this week, local paper Eindhovens Dagblad said on Tuesday.

The imams were due to talk at a four day conference at the Al Fourqaan mosque. Van Gijzel decided to ban the preachers after consulting the counter terrorism watchdog NCTV, the paper said.

The NCTV screened the men on the basis of earlier speeches and found they had been preaching anti-semitism, anti-gay rights, anti-women’s rights and hatred against unbelievers as well as praising violent jihad and martyrdom.

The visas of all seven, who come from Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Kuwait have been withdrawn.

‘Constitutional rights are not without limit,’ Van Gijzel said in a letter to the mosque’s officials. ‘They can be limited to protect the rights of others as well as public order.’

The conference organisers are appealing against the mayor’s decision and that is likely to be heard at an emergency court session on Wednesday.