By Charles Haviland BBC News, Colombo

	161 lay preachers from regional and Arab other countries were reportedly told to leave

The foreign preachers are said to belong to a strain of Islam that advocates more piety in Islamic life.

Muslim members of the Sri Lankan government have expressed concern at the mass expulsion.

Well-informed media sources here say that 161 foreign Muslims have been ordered to leave Sri Lanka by January 31st because they have come here on tourist visas yet are preaching in Muslim communities around the island.

'Laughable'

Most are from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, the Maldives and Arab countries.

They are mainly lay preachers, not clerics, and belong to Tablighi Jamat, an international Islamic movement popular in Sri Lanka and the region.

A Muslim source told the BBC that the movement sends groups of preachers to places of worship urging Muslims to devote more time to their faith and act more devoutly.

He said any idea that they are militant is “laughable”.

But according to the AFP news agency, the chief official in the immigration and emigration department said some local Muslims complained that the visitors were not preaching a moderate form of the religion.

Muslim ministers will meet other officials on Monday to try to delay the expulsions.

The news has created consternation in the Muslim community here, which is considered to be an ethnic group third in size after Sinhalese and Tamils.

During the long civil war the community was often caught between the two warring parties and it has a reputation for moderation.