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September 28, 2006
France: Protests Against Hani Ramadan, Tariq's Islamist Brother
We wrote on September 25 that Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan was refused a visa to enter the United States, on account of his giving money to charities which are believed by the US to be funders of the terrorist group Hamas.
We also mentioned that Tariq Ramadan himself has links with extremists and individuals convicted of terrorism. His brother is a controversial figure in his native Switzerland. Hani Ramadan (pictured) runs a Muslim center in Switzerland, the Islamic Center of Geneva, and he believes that women should be stoned to death for adultery or for sexual indulgence outside marriage.
When Hani Ramadan voiced this opinion in 2003, the Islamic Center dismissed him from his post after pressure from the authorities of the canton of Geneva, but after two court appeals he had himself reinstated.
Now, Hani Ramadan is in the news in France, as he has been invited by the Union of Young Muslims (UJM) to teach a series of courses at the Shatibi center, at the bookshop, the Tawhid Islamic Center. The Tawhid (meaning "monotheism") is situated in the city of Lyon in the south of France. As well as Hani Ramadan, two other scholars who promote sharia have been invited from universities in Medina and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to teach at the Shatibi center. The courses are due to start on October 14.
The decision to invite such an extremist to France has been protested by women's rights groups and others in France, states AKI and Guysen.com (in French).
The protests have been made in the form of a petition, which has various signatories, including former ministers, members of the UFAL university of Rhone, which was addressed to Nicolas Sarkozy, the interior minister.
The petition reads: "How can one tolerate the teachings of Hani Ramadan and other preachers of sharia, when their writings and books are fundamentally contrary to and antagonistic towards the values and principles of our Republic?"
"Hani Ramadan justifies the stoning of women in cases of adultery or "illegitimate" pregnancy (outside marriage): this would be purification! For him, AIDS happens to people who "behave in a deviant manner". That this is a punishment for "lack of respect for divine ordinances" (" Sharia Misunderstood" in Le Monde, September 12, 2002)"
"Would the Tawhid bookshop be above the laws (of France)?"
The petitioners requested "the prohibition of entry into the country or the expulsion of "religious specialists" who preach the totalitarian ideology of Sharia. This doctrine, recognizing neither the authority nor the legislation of democratic states, is contrary to the secular principles of the constitution and against the equal rights of men and women."
The petition was written by Michele Vianes, the president of Regards de Femmes a women's rights group.
Whether Nicolas Sarkozy will take any notice of the requests by these representatives of rights groups and former politicians is unknown. This evening, according to France-Echos, Sarkozy was having an "iftar dinner" at the Grand Mosque of Paris, hosted by Dalil Boubakeur, the senior imam at the mosque, and president of the Conseil Français du Culte musulman (CFCM). As we reported earlier, CFCM is suing France Soir for reprinting the Mohammed cartoons. The Paris mosque is also suing satirical magazine Charlie-Hebdo for reproducing cartoons of the child-molesting "prophet".
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at September 28, 2006 6:58 PM
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