18 August 2009

Dutch university fires Islamic scholar Ramadan

A Dutch university fired Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan on Tuesday for hosting a show on Iran's state television, which the school said could be seen as endorsing the regime. Ramadan — known as a reformist who condemns terrorism, seeks to modernize Shariah law and urges Muslims living in Europe to integrate — has recently been criticized in the Dutch press for allegedly voicing more conservative views for Muslim audiences than he does in the West.

Both the City of Rotterdam and Erasmus University dismissed Ramadan from his positions as "integration adviser" and professor, saying his program "Islam & Life" airing on Iran's Press TV is "irreconcilable" with his duties in Rotterdam. Ramadan "continued to participate in this program even after the elections in Iran, when authorities there hard-handedly stifled the freedom of expression," Rotterdam and the university said in a joint statement. [Yahoo] Read more See Also: [independent.co.uk] Read See Also: [Islam in Europe] Read