Tariq Ramadan Fired from Dutch University
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In the world of Islamic theology, Swiss-born Tariq Ramadan is a star. Fluent in Arabic, French and English, Ramadan was made himself into a much sought after lecturer in both the West and in the Muslim world.
Tariq defines his philosophy as a renaissance in Islam. He calls for critical debate in the faith, a new interpretation of certain tenets, and for Muslims in Europe to integrate. And he has condemned terrorist attacks, including 9/11, while voicing sympathy for the Iraqi resistance against U.S. occupation and the Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation.
Some of his critics accuse him of harboring more extreme views, however. Tariq is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Most of his critics though are opposed to the prominence of a Muslim intellectual and seek to smear him on dubious grounds.
In 2006, after receiving tenure at Notre Dame University; the Bush administration denied him a visa. The reason as to why was not initially given and only after a federal judge ordered the government to issue an explanation did a State Department official cite the $1,336 Ramadan donated to a Palestinian charity tied to Hamas. The grounds for denying Ramadan entrance into the United States were always dubious due more to ideological hostility in the Bush administration than anything else. As Ramadan noted in an editorial published in the Washington Post, he made his donation on the grounds that the money was being spent to aid Palestinian civilians and he made his donate prior to the fact when the United States labeled the organization a terrorist network. If the U.S. did not even know the group had ties to Hamas, how was Ramadan to know?
The case of entrance is still pending at a lower court.
Ramadan may need that job at Notre Dame now more than before due to the fact that he was recently unburdened of his duties at a Dutch universities: Erasmus University.
Erasmus, named after the famous Dutch explorer, cited Ramadan's hosting a show on Iranian state television. The university said Ramadan's position at professor and "integration adviser" was "irreconcilable" with his position on "Islam & Life".
Ramadan "continued to participate in this program even after the elections in Iran, when authorities there hard-handedly stifled the freedom of expression," the university stated.
Ramadan, vacationing in Morocco, published an open letter of protest in the Dutch press. "Repression against and killing of civilian people cannot be accepted and must be condemned. I support transparent, democratic process, and I expect the Iranian regime to respect this principle," he wrote. He added that he was simply a moderator on a debate forum that has nothing to do with the Iranian government.
Ramadan was told Dutch radio that he will appeal the "naive and simplistic" decision.
