Muslim scholar who was to teach at Notre Dame has visa revoked

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The U.S. visa of a Swiss Muslim scholar who was to teach at the University of Notre Dame has been revoked, a State Department spokeswoman said Tuesday, apparently under terms of the Patriot Act.\nThe work visa for Tariq Ramadan, who has been criticized for links to Islamic militants and for remarks branded as anti-Semitic, was revoked at the request of the Department of Homeland Security, spokeswoman Kelly Shannon said.\nShe cited the Immigration and Nationality Act, part of which deals with aliens who have used a "position of prominence within any country to endorse or espouse terrorist activity." Another section denies entry to aliens whose entry may have "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States."\nShannon did not immediately clarify whether either section applied to Ramadan's case.\n"We don't know a reason why either of those should apply to Tariq Ramadan," said Matt Storin, a Notre Dame spokesman. "He's a distinguished scholar. He's a voice for moderation in the Muslim world."\nNotre Dame had named Ramadan earlier this year to be its Henry B. Luce professor of religion, conflict and peacebuilding at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.\nHe was scheduled to begin teaching the class Tuesday, the first day of classes for the fall semester at Notre Dame. Another professor will teach the class for now, Storin said.\nRamadan remained in Switzerland, and Storin said he would relay to him a message seeking comment.\nThe University doesn't know whether the decision to revoke the visa can be appealed, Storin said, but hoped that news about the visa decision would help.\n"Perhaps with the spotlight that now may be put on him, people will realize this is not a reasonable decision that's been made," Storin said. "We wait. We hope. We're optimistic because we don't feel there is any reason his entry should be prohibited."\nA message seeking comment was left Tuesday at the office of Scott Appleby, director of the Kroc Institute.\nIn a recent statement, Appleby said the institute was "delighted that (Ramadan) has been able to gain a hearing within traditional Islamic communities as well as in secularizing societies." He said the institute was committed to engaging "many perspectives in the debate over the role of religion and religious leaders in the development of tolerant and progressive societies."\nRamadan has been teaching at the College of Geneva and the University of Fribourg, both in Switzerland, and has gained a popular following among European Muslims in showing how Islamic values such as freedom and tolerance are compatible with those of secular European society.\n"In many ways, he has defined what it means to be a European Muslim," said Muqtedar Khan, a political scientist at Adrian College in Michigan. "He has essentially tried to bridge the culture gap."\nHowever, terrorism expert Yehudit Barsky of the American Jewish Committee described Ramadan as a Muslim proselytizer who tries to bring legitimacy to Islamic militants.\n"We really had hoped the University had exercised more caution in bringing him over here," she said in a recent interview before news of the visa revocation became known.\nRamadan has come under harsh criticism in the Jewish community for an article posted last fall on a Muslim Web site in which he suggested certain French intellectuals' views on Israel and the war in Iraq were swayed by the concerns of Jews.\nSayyid Syeed, secretary general of the Plainfield, Ind.-based Islamic Society of North America, described Ramadan as a "bridge builder."\n"I think he represents a blend of Islamic authenticity and the Western understanding of religion and society," Syeed said.\nRamadan was scheduled to speak at ISNA's convention in Chicago over Labor Day weekend.