A Muslim scholar resigned his appointment to the University of Notre Dame on Tuesday four months after the Bush administration revoked the scholar's work visa before he could take up his teaching position. "I'm abandoning the idea of moving to the United States," Tariq Ramadan told The Associated Press from Geneva. "I want to maintain my dignity."
Ramadan notified the university on Monday, citing the stress on him and his family from the uncertainty of their situation, said R. Scott Appleby, director of Notre Dame's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. Ramadan, a Swiss citizen, was barred from working in the United States in August just days before he was to begin teaching at Notre Dame. The Department of Homeland Security cited security concerns but released no specifics. Ramadan's work visa was issued in May. Ramadan said Tuesday there is nothing in his past to justify the ban and demanded that U.S. authorities give details of its investigation of him in order to clear him of the "untrue and humiliating" claims that he was barred because of ties to terrorism. ... |