Bush Administration Says Prominent Muslim Scholar Can’t Teach in the US

Our next guest is a professor at the University of Oxford and is considered to be one of the most prominent Muslim intellectuals in Europe. Time magazine described him as one of the 100 most likely innovators of the 21st century. His name is Tariq Ramadan. Two years ago the University of Notre Dame in Ohio offered him a teaching position but the U.S. government blocked Ramadan from entering the country. After the government refused to state why they rejected his visa, Ramadan sued. In June a federal judge ordered the government to provide a ‘legitimate and bona fide reason’ why Ramadan could not enter the country.

Earlier this week the Bush administration said Ramadan’s visa was rejected because he once gave money to a French-based Palestinian charity. The United States claims the organization has ties to Hamas even though it is a legal charity in France. Tariq Ramadan is on the line now from Britain.

* Tariq Ramadan, Professor of Islamic Studies and Philosophy at Oxford. He is the author of ‘To Be a European Muslim’ and ‘Western Muslims and the Future of Islam.’ He has been described by Time magazine as one of the 100 most likely innovators of the 21st century.

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