Follow-up to my post #5669:
The problem is the same for all three blocs. It is absolutely necessary to their structure that there should be no contact with foreigners, except, to a limited extent, with immigrants and coloured dogsbodies. Even the official ally of the moment is always regarded with the darkest suspicion. Immigrants apart, the average citizen of Oceania never sets eyes on a citizen of either Eurasia or Eastasia, and he is forbidden the knowledge of foreign ideas.
If he were allowed contact with foreigners he would discover that they are creatures similar to himself and that most of what he has been told about them is lies. The sealed world in which he lives would be broken, and the fear, hatred, and self-righteousness on which his morale depends might evaporate.
Excerpted from:
Message 12958981
Jewish Notre Dame students speak out in support of Ramadan
28-08-2004
By Margaret Fosmoe
SOUTH BEND, South Bend Tribune -- Members of a Jewish student group at the University of Notre Dame Law School have written an open letter disagreeing with the U.S. government decision to revoke the visa of a prominent Muslim scholar who had been scheduled to teach at the university.
The letter states members of Notre Dame's Jewish Law Students Society were surprised and saddened to hear that the work visa of Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss Muslim scholar, was revoked by the U.S. State Department. The revocation was recommended by the Department of Homeland Security, apparently under terms of the Patriot Act.
Government officials have refused to reveal why. The law allows visa revocations of individuals who endorse or espouse terrorist activity or are deemed a national security threat.
Ramadan is considered a moderate Islamic voice by some and an Islamic extremist by his critics. He was hired as a tenured professor of religion, conflict and peace-building at Notre Dame's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. He had been scheduled to teach a course this semester on Islamic ethics.
"As members of the small Jewish community at Notre Dame, we support the Kroc Institute's hiring of Professor Ramadan and condemn the Department of Homeland Security's action," the letter by the Jewish student group reads.
"Diversity in opinion, particularly in religious and political viewpoints, is essential to the well being of any academic community; Notre Dame is no exception. Although we understand that national security interests may have motivated the revocation of Professor Ramadan's visa, we know of nothing in Professor Ramadan's history indicating that he presents a threat to our country or our university. On the contrary, it is the repression of dissenting opinions and critical thought that, throughout history, has been the greatest danger to a free society."
The letter is signed by Jessica Tannenbaum, a second-year law student from Colorado who serves as the group's president, and four other members.
The ND Jewish law students group, founded early this year, has about 12 to 15 members. Most, but not all, of the members are Jewish.
The letter represents the opinion of a majority of the group, Tannenbaum said, and group members were pleased to hear Ramadan was to join the faculty.
Tannenbaum said group members were disturbed to read media reports that the visa revocation was supported and requested by some Jewish organizations.
"Not all Jewish groups feel that way. As Jews, we are especially aware of religious persecution and religious intolerance," she said.
Tannenbaum, who holds a bachelor's degree in international relations, called Ramadan "a brilliant scholar" and said she had hoped to enroll in one of his courses.
The fact that Ramadan's grandfather founded the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1920s in Egypt should not be held against the scholar, she said.
"This is the U.S. I don't think our destinies should be determined by the actions of our family members," she said.
Members of the group were contacted a few weeks ago by representatives of the Fox News Channel show "The O'Reilly Factor" and asked to appear on the show during a segment about Ramadan, Tannenbaum said.
"They wanted us to express our outrage about him being hired. We weren't outraged," she said. Group members declined the offer to appear on the show, she said.
"I was very impressed and excited that the Kroc Institute and Notre Dame had decided to bring to campus such a world-class scholar," said Bradley Schrager, a second-year Notre Dame law student from Rock Island, Ill., and treasurer of the Jewish Law Students Society.
Group members said they have e-mailed Ramadan messages of support.
Schrager said he has read some of Ramadan's books and wanted to enroll in one of his courses. He's disappointed he won't have the opportunity.
"We're still fortunate, for now," he said, "that ideas don't need visas."
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