Tariq Ramadan Responds

Today's New York Times features an op-ed by Professor Tariq Ramadan, whose visa to enter the United States (to teach at the University of Notre Dame) was recently revoked (apparently at the urging of the Department of Homeland Security). Ramadan's intellectual project -- one that he says is "inherently controversial" -- is "to foster communities within the Islamic world that are seeking a path between their often bitter experience with some American and European policies on the one hand, and the unacceptable violence of Islamic extremists on the other." In this op-ed, Ramadan responds to his "detractors", who have "tried to demonstrate that [he has] links with extremists, that [he is] an anti-Semite and that [he despires] women." Ramadan writes:

For 20 years, I have dedicated myself to studying Islamic scripture, Western and Eastern philosophies and societies, and built an identity that is truly Western and truly Muslim. I make no apologies for taking a critical look at both Islam and the West; in doing so I am being true to my faith and to the ethics of my Swiss citizenship. I believe Muslims can remain faithful to their religion and be able, from within pluralistic and democratic societies, to oppose all injustices.

Here is an article from the student newspaper at the University of Notre Dame, describing, among other things, the reactions of Fr. Malloy, the President of the University, to the revocation of
Ramadan's visa.

Rick