Various media reports indicate that a U.S court has upheld the government’s ban on a visa for Muslim Brotherhood figure Tariq Ramadan to enter the U.S. As a previous post has reported, the U.S. revoked his visas several times since 2004, initially giving no reasons but later saying it was based on a provision of the Patriot Act, and eventually stating that he supported terrorism based on 1,670 Swiss Francs ($1,946) the gave to the Swiss Association de Secours Palestinien (ASP) , an organization designated as terrorist by U.S for its support of Hamas. Ramadan made the donations before the group was designated. The ACLU had taken up the case on behalf of Ramadan arguing that he had been barred for his political reviews, but the current reports state that a U.S. District Court judge has ruled that the government had shown that it excluded Ramadan for legitimate reasons, stating that the law requires Ramadan to provide “clear and convincing evidence” that he no knowledge of ASP’s illegal activities. The ACLU has said it expects to appeal the decision.
Ramadan is an extremely important figure within the Global Muslim Brotherhood network, perhaps best described as an independent power base with sufficient stature as the son of Said Ramadan, and the grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood to challenge positions taken by important Brotherhood leaders. His statements and writings have been extensively analyzed and he has been accused by critics of promoting anti-Semitism and fundamentalism, albeit by subtle means. On the other hand, his supporters promote him as as example of an Islamic reformer who is in the forefront of developing a “Euro Islam.”