I am glad of this. I hope this will enable DHS to release some of the information on Tariq Ramadan that led them to the decision to keep him out of the country. I discuss Ramadan in my book Onward Muslim Soldiers, detailing the careful ambiguity of his Muslim moderation. There is a great deal more that is questionable about him; I hope this suit will make his allegiances clear. From AP, with thanks to all who sent this in:
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union sued the U.S. government Wednesday for preventing a Muslim scholar from entering the country, arguing that the government was using anti-terrorism laws as “instruments of censorship.”
The lawsuit asks the court to find a provision of the Patriot Act unconstitutional and seeks clearance for Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss intellectual and Muslim scholar, to accept invitations to speak in the United States.
Ramadan was blocked from accepting a tenured teaching position at the University of Notre Dame when his visa was revoked in August 2004 because of a provision of the Patriot Act, said Jameel Jaffer, an ACLU staff attorney.
Jaffer said it was part of an effort by the federal government to bar foreign scholars whose political views might be contrary to those of the U.S. government. The provision blocks entry to the country for prominent aliens who used their status to endorse or espouse terrorism or to persuade others to terrorist activity, he said.
“We don’t think there’s any evidence at all that he has endorsed terrorism,” Jaffer said. “In fact, there is overwhelming evidence that he has condemned terrorism.”