Lawsuit for Academic Freedom: Islamic Scholar banned from U.S.

The American Academy of Religion has joined the American Association of University Professors", the PEN American Center and the ACLU in a lawsuit to prevent the U.S. government from barring international scholars from entering the United States on the basis of their ideas.

According to the AAR's Press Release, there is a provision in the Patriot Act that "has fostered a policy known as 'ideological exclusion'" and the suit asks that this provision be declared unconstitutional.  

The backstory of the suit centers on Professor Tariq Ramadan, a scholar of Islam and visiting professor at Oxford University.  According to the same press release, Prof. Ramadan, a Swiss national, "is a consistent critic of terrorism" and has also been "a frequent critic of U.S. policy toward the Muslim world."

In August of 2004, Prof. Ramadan's visa was revoked and he was unable to attend the annual conference of the AAR, where he was to be a plenary speaker.

Barbara DeConcini, executive director of the AAR, responded to these developments:

Preventing foreign scholars like Professor Ramadan from visiting the U.S. limits not only the ability of scholars here to enhance their own knowledge, but also their ability to inform students, journalists, public policy makers, and other members of the public who rely on scholars' work to acquire a better understanding of critical current issues involving religion.

The legal complaint can be viewed on the AAR website here (pdf).