Islamic Scholar, Visa Withheld, Gives Up U.S. Post

[maddezmom]

GENEVA (Reuters) - A prominent Swiss-based Islamic scholar on Tuesday gave up plans to teach at a leading U.S. university after waiting in vain for a visa and accused the Bush administration of trying to silence him.


Tariq Ramadan, an intellectual influential among Muslims throughout Europe, said he had sent a letter of resignation this week to University of Notre Dame in Indiana, where he had been due to take up a tenured post as professor of religion.


Ramadan was issued a U.S. visa last May, but it was revoked in August -- days before he was to move to the United States -- after the Department of Homeland Security changed its position.


Notre Dame, a Catholic university, said then it was "deeply disappointed and concerned," but was optimistic the issue would be resolved and Ramadan would be allowed to take up his post.

more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=586&ncid=586&e=3&u=/nm/20041214/wl_nm/swiss_usa_ramadan_dc

[Buzz Clik]

1. Values.

[LSdemocrat]

2. Stories like these hurt the cause of moderate Islam against extremists

Clearly the Bush administration just doesn't get it.

[Norquist Nemesis]

3. Pat Robertson to fill vacancy!

...developing.

[bin.dare]

4. Ignorance is bad but willful ingnorance is ...

unpardonable. This is the work of the likes of Daniel Pipes and David Horowitz, see for example (but don't dwell, lest you get too soiled):

"
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=14843

Why Revoke Tariq Ramadan's U.S. Visa?
By Daniel Pipes
FrontPageMagazine.com | August 27, 2004

It’s not every day that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revokes a visa issued to a Swiss-national scholar scheduled to teach at one of America’s premier universities. But this has just happened, and it’s a good thing too.
"

These guys are out to destroy academic freedom in american universities.