[Reader-list] Letter to my Detractors in The Netherlands

[Sanjay Kak]

An attempt to slightly enlarge the scrutiny of events in Iran: Tariq
Ramadan is a well known scholar of Islam. The news story is followed
by his "Open Letter to my Detractors in The Netherlands".
Best
Sanjay Kak

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Tariq_Ramadan_sacked_over_Iran_TV_connections.html?siteSect=204&sid=11096119&cKey=1250682256000&ty=nd

August 19, 2009 - 11:53 AM

Tariq Ramadan sacked over Iran TV connections

Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan has been fired from his position at a
Netherlands university over connections to an Iranian-funded
television channel.

In a statement, the municipality of Rotterdam and the Erasmus
University Rotterdam said that the Swiss-born theologian's hosting of
a programme on Iran's Press TV was "irreconcilable" with his position
as a guest professor.

"Although there is no doubt at all concerning Dr Ramadan's personal
dedication, both boards found this indirect relationship with a
repressive regime, or even the impression of being associated with it,
not acceptable," the university wrote.

It said Ramadan should have "immediately and unambiguously" ended its
relationship with the channel but noted it was happy with his work.

Ramadan, who will chair an Islamic studies department at Oxford
University at the beginning of September, also lost his position as an
advisor on integration with the city of Rotterdam.

In a statement released on Tuesday on his personal website, Ramadan
said he had taken the job with Press TV, an English-language channel,
as "the path of critical debate".

"I accepted no obligations," he wrote, adding that he intended to take
"all the time necessary to make the proper decision".

That wasn't enough for the Dutch, who noted that other academics
formerly associated with Press TV had severed ties in light of Iran's
crackdown on democracy activists.

Ramadan said: "When they single out a 'visible Muslim intellectual'
for attack, their real agenda is the politics of Muslim-baiting and
fear."

Ramadan is barred from entering the United States over money he
donated to a Swiss Palestinian group from 1998-2002. Washington listed
the Association de Secours Palestinien as a banned group in 2003,
saying that it supported terrorism and had contributed funds to the
Islamic movement Hamas.

Ramadan has maintained that he was unaware of any connections between
the charity and terrorism

-------------------------------

http://www.tariqramadan.com/spip.php?article10749

An Open Letter to my Detractors in The Netherlands

Tuesday 18 August 2009, by Tariq Ramadan

Once again I have come under attack in The Netherlands. Last May and
June, I was accused of "doublespeak", of "homophobia" and of demeaning
women. Upon investigation, Rotterdam Municipality declared the
accusations unfounded. Today, the argument goes, I am linked to the
Iranian regime; I support the repression that followed the recent
elections. Should we be surprised that this latest accusation has
surfaced only in The Netherlands? It is as if I in particular, and
Islam in general, were being used to promote certain political agendas
in the upcoming Dutch elections. Geert Wilders, who wins votes while
comparing the Qur’an to Hitler’s Mein Kampf, casts a long shadow. I am
cast as the cause of an outburst of political passions that is far
from healthy. But the present controversy says far more about the
alarming state of politics in The Netherlands than about my person.

The attacks on my involvement have been extremely violent; to them, I
will respond with utmost clarity. When, in April 2008 I agreed to host
a television program on PressTV, the Iranian worldwide 24-hour news
network, the decision followed three months of careful evaluation, as
well as discussions with Iranian friends and media experts. Over time
I have closely followed political developments and growing internal
tensions in Iran. I was among the first Muslim thinkers in the West to
oppose the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. For the past twenty-five
years, while observing that compared to the Arab countries Iran has
made substantial headway in women’s rights and democratic norms, I
have been critical of the lack of freedom of expression there, of the
obligation for women to wear the headscarf, and, more recently, of the
2006 Holocaust conference (which dangerously blurred the lines between
criticism of Israeli policy and anti-Semitism). It goes without saying
that I have condemned the shooting of demonstrators and the repression
that followed the June elections.

My position has always been one of constructive criticism. I have
devoted much of my time to studying the internal dynamics of the
Iranian political system. I refuse to be swayed by propaganda claims,
either from the Iranian regime, or from Israel (which asserts, all the
while proclaiming its innocence, that Iran is the main obstacle to
peace), from the United States or the European countries, all of whose
strategic interests are involved. In Iran, the relationship between
religion and politics is extremely complex. The simplistic view that
posits two opposing camps-the fundamentalist conservatives versus the
democratic reformists-displays a profound ignorance of Iranian
reality. Moreover, no evolution toward democratic transparency can
take place under pressure from the West: the process will be internal,
lengthy and painful.

When I agreed to host a television program on Islam and contemporary
life, I chose the path of critical debate. I accepted no obligations.
My guests have included atheists, rabbis, priests, women with and
without headscarves, all invited to debate issues like freedom,
reason, interfaith dialogue, Sunni versus Shi’a Islam, violence,
jihad, love, art, to name only a few. I challenge my critics to
scrutinize these programs and in them to find the slightest evidence
of support for the Iranian regime. My program proclaims its openness
to the world; all guests are treated with equal respect.

Today, as Iran is torn by crisis, I intend to take all the time
necessary to make the proper decision. All the facts must be carefully
weighed in order to devise the optimum strategy for supporting the
long march, in Iran, toward transparency and respect for human rights.
Violent polemics and overheated debate of the kind we see today in The
Netherlands lead nowhere. Before deciding on a course of action, I am
determined to form a fully rounded picture.

When I accepted the offer from PressTV Ltd., in London (my sole
contact was with the British producers who were proposing a concept to
the network), I did so on the clear condition that I would be free to
select my topics and that I would have full editorial freedom within
the parameters of a weekly program dealing with religion, philosophy
and contemporary issues. My method, from the start, has been to
explore these issues without lending support to the Iranian regime,
and without compromising myself. It has been a choice that many
Iranian friends have not only understood, but also encouraged. Money
is not a consideration. Another international news network has offered
me three times more than what I receive from PressTV, an offer I
refused on principle. Were I to change my political and religious
beliefs I would be a wealthy man, as anyone who has followed my career
well knows. But not for me the flattery of kings and princes, of
regimes and of the rich. The price for my political stance has been
high; I have never traded on principle. I cannot to travel to Egypt,
Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Libya or Syria because of my criticism of these
undemocratic regimes that deny the most basic human rights. The United
States revoked my visa because of my outspoken condemnation of the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and its unilateral support of Israel.
Needless to say, I am considered persona non grata in the state of
Israel. Twenty years ago, a staff member from the Chinese embassy gave
me to understand that the Beijing authorities were well aware of my
commitment to the Tibetans.

I have always taken full responsibility for my views; I have never
supported either dictatorship or injustice in any Muslim majority
society, or anywhere else for that matter. As for those who condemn me
"on principle" for hosting a television program on an Iranian network,
I reply: to work for a country’s television network does not mean
support of that country’s regime. Were things so straightforward my
detractors, those paragons of political virtue, would have long ago
insisted that the government of The Netherlands sever all political
and economic ties with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel or China.
Curiously, their voices are not to be heard, just as when Rotterdam
Municipality publicly cleared me of the false accusations of
"doublespeak" or "homophobia", or, more recently, when an American
Federal Court quashed the decision of a lower court revoking my visa.
Why the silence? Why the accusations that seem to fit me alone?

The answer is simple: when they single out a "visible Muslim
intellectual" for attack their real agenda is the politics of
Muslim-baiting and fear. When it comes to seeking votes, all options
are on the table, even the most dishonest and the most scurrilous. I
respect my principles far too much to submit to this deceitful
propaganda campaign. Not only as a question of personal honor, but in
the name of human dignity, and faith in the future.
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