US denies entry to Swiss Muslim intellectual

Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa
Published: Tuesday September 26, 2006

Washington- The United States has denied a visa to prominent Swiss Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan, saying Tuesday that the man had contributed to a terrorist group. "He was denied a visa ... for providing material support to a terrorist organization," US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack told reporters, referring to US immigration law.

McCormack refused to give details.

Ramadan has charged that he was excluded for "ideological" reasons, according to The New York Times. McCormack however denied that was the reason for the rejection.

Ramadan, 44, had applied for a work visa in 2004 after he was hired to teach at the Catholic University of University of Notre Dame in the US state of Indiana. He had to withdraw from the post after the US first granted, then denied him the visa because of "new information" that "came to light" at the time, McCormack said.

His application in 2005 for a business and tourism visa was likewise turned down, McCormack noted.

US law forbids any contribution of material support, including a safe house, transportation, communications, funds, false documentation, weapons, or explosives, to a terrorist organization.

After the 2004 visa was withdrawn, Ramadan said the move was a "constraint on academic freedom of expression."

Ramadan is the grandson of the Egyptian cleric Hassan al Banna, who founded the Moslem Brotherhood, and the brother of Hani Ramadan, the head of a fundamentalist Moslem group based in Geneva. HE currently teaches at Oxford University, The Times reported.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa