Civil rights lawyers appealed in court Tuesday against what they said was the US government's ideologically based decision to deny a visa to a leading Muslim scholar, Tariq Ramadan, seen here in 2008. (AFP/File/John Macdougall)
Posted on 03/24/2009 2:08:51 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
NEW YORK (AFP) – Civil rights lawyers appealed in court Tuesday against what they said was the US government's ideologically based decision to deny a visa to a leading Muslim scholar, Tariq Ramadan.
Attorney Jameel Jaffer, from the American Civil Liberties Union, told a three judge panel that the "government had "failed to identify ... legitimate and bona fide reasons for the exclusion."
Jaffer, ACLU national security project director, argued before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York that excluding Ramadan, a research fellow at Oxford University, also threatened free speech in the United States.
The appeal followed the decision by a lower court in December to reject the ACLU's arguments. If the appeal is thrown out, the ACLU could take its case before a bigger panel of judges, or possibly the US Supreme Court.
Ramadan was all set to take a teaching position at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in late 2004 when he was denied the visa, despite two dozen previous visits to the country.
Initially the denial was based on an "ideological provision" allowed for under the Patriot Act anti-terrorism law, Jaffer said.
Only later was the visa denial pinned to Ramadan having donated 1,300 dollars to a Swiss charity, Association de Secours Palestinien (ASP).
The charity funded Hamas, the ruling Palestinian group in Gaza, which Washington designates as a terrorist organization.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Civil rights lawyers appealed in court Tuesday against what they said was the US government's ideologically based decision to deny a visa to a leading Muslim scholar, Tariq Ramadan, seen here in 2008. (AFP/File/John Macdougall)
Didn’t see a “right” in the Constitution to automatically grant permission to enter the country ...
He looks like he was separated at birth from a combination of Rahm and Odumbo.
Ramadan was all set to take a teaching position at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in late 2004 when he was denied the visa,
—
What the heck is Notre Dame thinking?
First inviting Obama to speak there as a commencement speaker and now this?
No wonder your football team has sucked lately. ;-)
Is a Muslim scholar someone who reads one book a lot?
Immigration and Visa laws are written by countries to benefit themselves not to benefit the immigrant or visa requester. To think otherwise is to stand the law on its head. Try to visit North Korea.
Yeah, why is a Catholic University inviting Obama with his pro-abortion and embryonic stem cell research positions?
What the Hell does a Muslim Scholar do for this Country or Too It??
Screwem! Lousy terrorist scum bag. They won’t let Buddhists, Christians or Jews practice their faith in Muslime countries.
If he hasnt paid his taxes, they probably have a Cabinet position waiting for him.
OMG!
Notre Dame ... again. What on earth is their President, a supposed priest of the Catholic faith, doing???????
Aw, c’mon! We are just picking on the guy....
What’s up? The DHS knows much more than I do, but it is not talking. A review of the press, however, gives an idea of what the problem is. Here are some reasons why Mr. Ramadan might have been kept out:
He has praised the brutal Islamist policies of the Sudanese politician Hassan Al-Turabi. Mr. Turabi in turn called Mr. Ramadan the “future of Islam.”
Mr. Ramadan was banned from entering France in 1996 on suspicion of having links with an Algerian Islamist who had recently initiated a terrorist campaign in Paris.
Ahmed Brahim, an Algerian indicted for Al-Qaeda activities, had “routine contacts” with Mr. Ramadan, according to a Spanish judge (Baltasar Garzón) in 1999.
Djamel Beghal, leader of a group accused of planning to attack the American embassy in Paris, stated in his 2001 trial that he had studied with Mr. Ramadan.
Along with nearly all Islamists, Mr. Ramadan has denied that there is “any certain proof” that Bin Laden was behind 9/11.
He publicly refers to the Islamist atrocities of 9/11, Bali, and Madrid as “interventions,” minimizing them to the point of near-endorsement.
And here are other reasons, dug up by Jean-Charles Brisard, a former French intelligence officer doing work for some of the 9/11 families, as reported in Le Parisien:
Intelligence agencies suspect that Mr. Ramadan (along with his brother Hani) coordinated a meeting at the Hôtel Penta in Geneva for Ayman al-Zawahiri, deputy head of Al-Qaeda, and Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind sheikh, now in a Minnesota prison.
Mr. Ramadan’s address appears in a register of Al Taqwa Bank, an organization the State Department accuses of supporting Islamist terrorism.
There should be a lot more denials. Also deportations.
Something tells me that the Messiah will see to it that this guy is allowed into the country and allowed to stay.
I think that’s the way to treat visitors to the USA...treat them as they do us. Just that simple.
Oh yeah. That does seem to be the bottom-line qualification for Obama’s appointments. Now would someone audit our esteemed president to see if he has the same problem?
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, commented, “Although widespread public anger has rightfully focused on bonuses AIG paid to top executives using taxpayers’ money, that anger would be at an even higher pitch if the public knew that our tax dollars were being used by AIG to promote Islam and Shariah law, which provides support for terrorist activities aimed at killing Americans and destroying America.” The basis of the lawsuit is that AIG intentionally promotes Shariah-compliant businesses and insurance products, which by necessity must comply with the 1200 year old body of Islamic canon law based on the Quran, which demands the conversion, subjugation, or destruction of the infidel West, including the United States. Dick Thomson is here to explain.
http://avemariaradio.net/showArchive.php?id=kpm
“Although widespread public anger has rightfully focused on bonuses AIG paid to top executives using taxpayers’ money, that anger would be at an even higher pitch if the public knew that our tax dollars were being used by AIG to promote Islam and Shariah law, which provides support for terrorist activities aimed at killing Americans and destroying America.”
Does anyone know anything about this...one can listen to the conversation at the above link.
That guy Tariq Ramadan is bad news.
Let's see, How about, "We just don't like you". Good enough reason for me.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.