Policies of Ideological Exclusion: Good or Bad? [incl. Tariq Ramadan]

The days of ideological exclusion during the red scare are long gone, but some believe this form of suppression has returned, creating unlawful restrictions on foreign nationals. With passage of the Patriot Act, former President Bush granted exclusionary power to government officials that banned certain individuals solely because of political beliefs. While justifiable from a national security perspective, others feel that some were denied basic rights simply because of their personal beliefs. This is seen with two prominent Islamic scholars who recently achieved victory in their battle to lecture at American universities.

Last week [1] Secretary of State Clinton signed orders to lift a sanction on Prof. Adam Habib of the University of Johannesburg and Prof. Tariq Ramadan of Oxford University. After being denied visas because they expressed criticism of U.S. foreign policy, the two world renowned scholars can now teach American students about Islamic tradition. Just days before coming to the US to accept a tenured position at Notre Dame in 2004, Prof. Ramadan was prevented from entering the country. With success in releasing the ban, Prof. Ramadan said “I am very happy and hopeful that I will be able to visit the United States very soon and to once again engage in an open, critical and constructive dialogue with American scholars and intellectuals.”

According to the US State Department [2], neither of the scholars are a threat to national security, but they will face the same procedures as any other immigrant seeking a visa. Phillip Crowley of the State Department said “the secretary of state signed an exemption for Tariq Ramadan and Adam Habib,” under the Immigration and Nationality Act”. With profound diversity now found at American universities, enabling scholars from various cultural backgrounds to teach in our country seems inconsequential. As Mr. Crowley states “in the Secretary’s judgment, and consistent with President Obama’s outreach to the – to Muslims around the world, we want to encourage global debate. We want to have the opportunity potentially to have Islamic scholars come to the United States and have dialogue with other faith communities and people here in our country”.

By allowing scholars such as Prof. Habib and Ramadan to converse about Islam and the culture of Middle East countries, we are opening our minds to understanding a divisive culture. While our country consists of immigrants from around the world, it remains difficult to understand cultures that are drastically different from our own. Are we ready to have American ideals challenged or should our focus linger on national security?

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