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In 2004, Tarq Ramadan a leading Scholar of Islam was offered a tenured position at teh University of Notre Dame.
Just days before he was to begin teaching, the U.S. Government revoked his Visa, claiming Professor Ramadan "Endorsed or Espoused" Terrorism.
After the ACLU Filed a Lawsuit, the Government abandoned this claim, but continued to exclude Professor Ramadan because of his political views.
Tariq: I know why I was banned from this country. It has nothing to do with my terrorist views
or my view about violence. I was invited by the State Department five months before being
banned from this country. I said it. I am condemning violent extremists, and I have
nothing to do with this. I'm not going to keep quiet when I think that
the American policy is wrong. When going to Iraq was wrong and was illegal. That to not
to support the right of Palestinians, in my view, is wrong, and I want something which
is a more balanced policy coming from the United States of America. I'm still waiting
for this, but I think that this is my right. This is why I am a true citizen. This is a
dignity when I am asked ... I am free to speak about this.
There is something which is quite important, and this is the starting point, also, of our
discussion. This is why I got the problem, which pushed an administration to ban me from
the country, is that we are loyal to our country and loyal to our values.
What does it mean to be loyal? It means that I'm loyal to my country when I'm committed
citizen. When I'm a committed citizen means that when I agree with my government, I'm
going to support it. But when I disagree, in the name of my free citizenship, in the
name of my freedom of speech, I should be able to say that's wrong.
I should be able, for example, to say that to go to Iraq is wrong. I should be able,
for example, to be involved in anything which has to do with social injustices, or anything
which has to do with discrimination, racism, unemployment, and international issues. This
is the only way to be loyal as a citizen, is to be critically, constructively, loyal.
Let me add something which is quite important for all of us. That if you are someone, what
are you first? Are you first an American, or are you first a Muslim? Let me start by
saying it's a silly question. I don't want to answer silly question. I have multiple
identities. If you ask me about me when I am going to vote, I'm a Suiss. If you're asking
me who I am when I'm dealing with my own death, I'm a Muslim, because this is where I'm putting
the meaning of my life. If you are asking me what is my origin, I'm an Egyptian by origin.
I have multiple identities. In a democratic society, we should be able
to also understand that if we want to live together, we should be able, in the United
States of America as well as in Europe, to speak about international issues, about what
is going on in the Muslim-majority countries. You cannot disconnect this from that, if we
want to live together. This is the only way, with all this challenges, to get what is missing
today. Two things. Trust, trusting each other. I disagree with you, but I am ready to listen.
You are critical, but I'm ready to be challenged. This is the sense of humility. The second
thing is the sense of belonging. I am a European. You are Americans. This is your country. Let
us, with this [new wee 0003:58], come to a critical discussion. We disagree, but our
future is common. Or we may disagree, but our future is common, and this is why we should
come together. Thank you.
Jameel: We can all decide for ourselves whether what Tariq Ramadan has to say is persuasive,
or unsettling, or even infuriating. But we should take a moment to appreciate that we
can decide for ourselves. One point of the First Amendment is to create
a political space in which we can discuss and debate issues of public concern without
government interference or censorship. Tonight's discussion takes place within that protected
political space.