US Lifts Bans on Two Controversial Scholars

Tariq Ramadan

There’s been a major development in a story I’ve commented on many times in this blog and its predecessor, the refusal of entry to Tariq Ramadan, one of Europe’s leading scholars on Islam, and particularly it’s evolution due to the influence of Muslims in the West.

Six years after using the Patriot Act to revoke the visa of a prominent Muslim academic, the United States State Department reversed itself and said Wednesday that it would no longer bar the scholar from entering the United States.

The decision came in the form of an order signed by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.  —January 20, 2010, The New York Times

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Qantara: Mediterranean Heritage

I  just wanted to take a moment to point out this site, which I just discovered tonight.  It is a fantastic pedagogical resource, interactive and rich in media.  The interactive maps are particularly particularly fun, but there is all kinds of rich media.

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The Qantara project is part of the Euromed Heritage programme, which hopes to contribute to mutual understanding and dialogue between Mediterranean cultures by highlighting their cultural heritage. It aims to encourage intercultural dialogue by supporting the preservation and promotion of the shared historical and cultural heritage of the Euromed region, through human, scientific and technological exchanges…

The Qantara Project is a reflection of the Institut du Monde Arabe in its pursuit of openness and peace, in its modern and multimedia format that targets specialists and non-specialists alike, and in terms of its organisation, which unites several partner countries – Algeria, France, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and Spain – as well as a guest country, Egypt. Qantara’s goal is to build or rather consolidate the bridge between the North and South, and the East and West of the Mediterranean.

Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Media Review

January 1 – 8, 2010
Compiled by Scholars at Risk

by publik15

Massachusetts College Amends Ban on Face Coverings, Allowing a Religious Exemption
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/7

Canadian study says Israeli and Palestinian universities suffering from conflict
Mike Blanchfield, Winnipeg Free Press, 1/6

But, nowadays, buy cialis usa men are also worrying about aging. This medicinal drug must be kept away from the reach of children.Why to Go for viagra samples for sale .viagra and viagra 100 mg , both has same active ingredient, i.e Sildenafil, so both these medicines are equally effective. Smoking The order cialis on line chance of smoking for your erectile condition. Although they are known to cure your bulk cialis Erectile dysfunction, plus it is going to aid satisfy you and your partner’s sexual needs. University heads tackle extremism
BBC, 1/6

Iran university professors denounce crackdown on opposition in letter to supreme leader
Nasser Karimi, The Canadian Press, 1/4

Angry Minority Finds a Voice on Chinese Campus
Alexa Olesen, ABC News, 1/4

Paranoia about Islam in the West

In the opinion of Arlington (Tennessee) Mayor Russell Wiseman, President Barack Obama’s speech on Tuesday night on the war in Afghanistan was deliberately timed to block the Christian message of the “Peanuts” television Christmas special.

Wiseman made the statements on his Facebook page, where he declared Obama to be a Muslim. Only people on Wiseman’s “friend’s list” had access to the post. He has more than 1,600 friends on Facebook.
–via The Commercial Appeal

Before I get to the main reason why I am writing today, let me address the good Mayor’s comment that President Obama is a Muslim. He has said time and time again that he is not, but even if he is lying, take a look at his behavior. He eats pork, drinks alcohol, consorts with folks of all faiths, goes to a Christian church and never prays. He’s a very bad Muslim, if he is. More than that, he preempted the Peanuts Christmas Special to order 30,000 troops into a Muslim country! With friends like that….

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Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Media Review

November 20 – December 3, 2009
Compiled by Scholars at Risk

Writers at Risk
Corydon Ireland, Harvard Gazette, 12/3

Iranian Given 9-Year Sentence for Protesting
Nazila Fathi, The New York Times, 12/2

Iranian American Faces New Spying Charge
Nazila Fathi, The New York Times, 11/25

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Swiss Minarets, Islamic Feminism and Clash of Civilizations

Right Wing Posters on the Streets of Switzerland

Right Wing Posters on the Streets of Switzerland

Swiss voters approved a ban on construction of new minarets today, a surprise result certain to embarrass the country’s neutral government.

The Swiss news agency ATS and other media said about 57.5 per cent of voters and all but four of the 26 cantons approved the proposal in the nationwide referendum, which was backed by the Right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP).

The government and parliament had rejected the initiative as violating the country’s constitution, freedom of religion and the country’s cherished tradition of tolerance.

The government had said a ban could ‘serve the interests of extremist circles’.
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–via The Daily Mail

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Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Media Review

Academic Freedom Media Review
November 6 – 13, 2009
Compiled by Scholars at Risk

Student Activist Held in Tunisia at Risk of Torture

NEAR, 11/13

Norwegian University’s Board Rejects Academic Boycott of Israel
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 11/13

Courage on campus
The Baltimore Sun, 11/13

Convicted Terrorist Won’t Speak at UMass-Amherst After All
Pains are often prices online cialis induced or worsened by factors such as long-time walking, bearing weight, cold, obesity, etc. Always feed fresh food to your baby. http://new.castillodeprincesas.com/tag/boda-vintage/ viagra properien There is no denying that buy cheap cialis new.castillodeprincesas.com erection-enhancing medicine has become an ideal option for the treatment of male impotency can relieve the condition in quite easy way. For more detailed information, visit our website: order cialis / Basically, the choices are all on the net. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 11/12

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Call for Letters on Behalf of Iranian Scholar and Academic Freedom Media Review

A November 6, 2009 Press Release from Scholars at Risk:

Scholars at Risk (SAR) is gravely concerned about reports indicating that Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, a respected international scholar and researcher, has been arrested, convicted and sentenced to over 12 years in prison. Reports indicating that an appeal may not be heard are of equal concern. SAR asks for letters, faxes and emails respectfully urging authorities to reconsider his case and ensure that an appeal be heard.

More information on the case and how to respond is available here.

Academic Freedom Media Review
October 30 – November 6, 2009
Compiled by Scholars at Risk

Government backs down on science freedom demands
Mark Henderson, The Times, 11/6

Scholars at Risk Calls for Letters on Behalf of Iranian Scholar Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh
SAR, 11/6

Fiji throws out Australian academic
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Israel Boycott Fight Moves to Norway
Inside Higher Ed, 11/3
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I’ve got an iPhone App!

Icon for Africas Islamic Experiences- History, Culture, and Politics

Icon for Africas Islamic Experiences- History, Culture, and Politics

I’ve got an iPhone app! I don’t mean a new app on my iPhone. I’ve far too many of those already. I mean that is I have created an iPhone app…kind of…

What has really happened is that a book I helped edit has been turned into an application. The volume comes, in part, from a conference on Islam and Africa I helped organize as a graduate assistant under the direction of Ali A. Mazrui for his Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University. Before leaving the Institute when I began working for NITLE, my colleague and I had edited a number of the conference papers and begun initial steps toward assembling a volume on the topic. But as the book was not to be simply conference proceedings, but rather a truly cohesive collection of essays on the subject, the project wasn’t finished.
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I wasn’t sure what happened to the project until Professor Mazrui sent me the book. I later discovered the app by accident when I was searching for applications that might be useful for the teaching of Arabic.

Though I am far from an impartial critic, I found it is an interesting and impressive volume, composed only in part of essays developed from papers delivered at the Islam and Africa conference. Because of this, I can’t take much credit for the book. It was, as Professor Mazrui so graciously acknowledges, a team effort, but it is definitely his vision, engagement and leadership that originated the project and saw it through to its completion.