US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has lifted the travel ban on two prominent Muslim scholars, Tariq Ramadan and Adam Habib.
The American Civil Liberties Union had been due to challenge Ramadan’s ban in federal court yesterday. Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project, speaking to Reuters described the decision was “a major victory for civil liberties.” He went on to say.
“The orders ending the exclusion of Adam Habib and Tariq Ramadan are long overdue and tremendously important.
“For several years, the United States government was more interested in stigmatizing and silencing its foreign critics than in engaging them. The decision … is a welcome sign the Obama administration is committed to facilitating rather than obstructing the exchange of ideas across international borders.”
Ramadan’s visa was revoked in 2004 under the Patriot Act. Intially the US government refused to give a reason but later it suggested Ramadan had links to terrorist organisations, he had donated US$1,300 to a Swiss charity later linked to Hamas.
