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From: "Milan Rai" <[log in to unmask]>
Organization: Justice Not Vengeance
Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2005 12:21:11 +0100
To: NASPIR <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [naspir] "Action Plan" re Tariq Ramadan and alleged "Muslim
extremists"

Dear all

Perhaps NASPIR would either like to support this initiative from an ad hoc
group, or institute its own academic version?

While I thought the NASPIR statement on the London bombings was excellent,
it was a general response to the crisis as a whole. This is about issues
of academic and intellectual freedom, under threat in a time of national
crisis, which might be of particular significance to radical academics and
researchers.

Best wishes

Milan Rai


******


Action plan to defend civil liberties and freedom of expression



Dear friends,



Politicians, the police and much of the mainstream media are now beginning
the disgraceful but predictable witch hunt and smear campaign against
Muslims in the UK and abroad. While we expect this from The Sun and the
Daily Mail, a number of seriously misinformed articles are now appearing
in even the more liberal papers like the Independent. These stories are
serving as an ideological tool to help the government bring in proposed
new anti-terror powers that will directly target Muslims.



On Tuesday, The Sun newspaper ran a front-page story calling the Muslim
scholar, Tariq Ramadan, an "Islamic militant" who had been banned in the
US and France for being linked with terrorists and who supported suicide
bombings. The Sun called on Ramadan to be banned from the UK and
specifically barred from a conference in London he is invited to speak at,
sponsored by the Metropolitan police, on 24 July.



Anyone familiar with Tariq Ramadan and his teachings will understand that
he is a progressive scholar whose fearless work has fostered dialogue and
mutual understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims. He has never
supported suicide bombings; he has no links with any terrorist group; he
is not banned from France; and had his Visa and work permit to teach in
the US revoked last year without any reason given. The fact that the
Metropolitan police feel comfortable inviting him to a conference would
indicate he is not on their wanted list of so called "radical preachers"



We now learn, however, that the government is seeking to automatically bar
so- called "Islamic extremists" banned from the United States or other
European countries from entering Britain. The Independent newspaper states
that figures like Tariq Ramadan and Yusuf al-Qaradawi may find themselves
banned from the UK. The internationally renowned



British Muslim scholar, Zaki Badawi, who is head of the Muslim College in
London, may also now be at risk given that last Wednesday he was detained
at JFK airport in New York on entering the US for a conference ad then
deported for being "inadmissible".



We are living in very dangerous times. If the British government is
allowed to ban or deport respected progressives like Tariq Ramadan and
Zaki Badawi, then we are all under threat. It is in these times that
Muslims in Britain need to hear the voices of scholars like Tariq Ramadan.
So does the rest of the British public.



We therefore strongly recommend all organisations, activists, campaigners,
journalists/writers, and ordinary citizens to:



1. Issue statements/send out immediate press releases on behalf of your
organisation/newspaper/group rebutting untrue stories



2. Write letters to national and local newspapers; go on comment boards on
websites.



3. Make complaints to the Press Complaints Commission and Commission for
Racial Equality



4. If you are a journalist/writer, place good comment pieces in
local/mainstream press



5. Lobby your MPs to raise these issues with Ministers, launch Early Day
Motions, ask questions in Parliament and on Select Committees, sign
petitions etc



We will be looking next week at the opportunity to launch a campaign and
discuss how we can build a broad network to support each others' actions
and to defend both Muslims' and activists' civil liberties over the coming
weeks and months.



If you want to get in touch with us please send an email to

[log in to unmask]

Sincerely



Anas Al-Tikriti, MAB

Tony Benn, former Labour MP

Naima Bouteldja, Journalist

Liz Davies,  Barrister

Nick Dearden, Campaigner

Stuart Hodkinson, Red Pepper

Mike Marqusee, Journalist and writer

Rajiv Menon, Barrister

Piers Mostyn, Barrister

Dr John Mullen, Lecturer in Paris

Asad Rehman, Chair of East London Campaign against State Terrorism

Milan Rai, Justice not Vengeance

Oscar Reyes, Red Pepper

Estella Schmid, CAMPACC (Campaign Against Criminalising Communities)

Ruhul Tarafder, 1990 Trust

Robin Virgin, Pluto Press

Shaheed Yunnus, Bangla 2000





-- 
Milan Rai
Justice Not Vengeance
landline 0845 458 9571 (UK) +44 1424 428 792 (int)
mobile phone (0)7980 748 555
www.j-n-v.org


 
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