Leading community figures fear Government plans to make ministers of religion from overseas sit English language tests may have a hidden agenda.
They fear the new legislation unveiled by the Home Office last week may be used for restricting freedom of speech while others think it will impose impractical conditions on some religious communities.
From August 31, imams and other ministers of religion coming to the UK to work will have to provide a certificate to prove they have a 'basic' grasp of English.
The Home Office plans to raise the entry requirements after two years demanding speakers be 'competent'. Home Secretary David Blunkett says the tests are necessary so that ministers of religion can speak for the communities they represent.
But Zafar Ali, a vocal member of Slough's Muslim community, fears the laws may be used for purposes other that those laid down by the Home Secretary. "I think it is important that people have a basic command of the native tongue," he said. "But I would be interested in learning what the language requirements are for other people coming into the country to work. What I worry about is that this might be used as a mechanism to exclude people who have views the Government do not agree with, even though those views might be considered normal within the Muslim community.
"What I don't want is to see it used a tool for political censorship."
Mr Ali, who also serves as the legal director of Slough's Race Equality Council, believes the tests have only come about because of 9/11.
"The implication seems to be that the better your English, the less likely you are to be a dangerous fundamentalist," he said.
Yet he pointed out that the 9/11 hijackers were from wealthy backgrounds and highly educated.
Meanwhile Cllr Latif Khan [Ind: Wexham Lea], a trustee at Stoke Poges Mosque, thinks the laws will be impractical.
He said religious schools in Pakistan and other Muslim regions do not currently teach English as part of their syllabus. "It means that if we wanted to open a new mosque we may find it very difficult to find an imam," he said. "The current imam at the Stoke Poges Mosque came from Pakistan 12 years ago without any English at all. But now he speaks very good English."