Some Reasons Tariq Ramadan Was Denied A Visa
By Douglas Farah
There has been some outcry and dismay over the U.S. government decision to deny a visa to Tariq Ramadan, one of the new generation of leaders of the international Muslim Brotherhood, who has achieved near superstar status among Muslims in Europe.
While consistently presenting a moderate face of Islam in public, his ties to more radical groups are several. As is usual in these cases, there is no smoking gun, but the persisent nature of the contacts and references to him by those engaged in Islamist violence gives rightful pause to those deciding on visas.
Earlier this month Jean-Charles Brisard first revealed the following Ramadan ties. to the less than moderate elements of Islamist structure. European intelligence sources had privaely told me of the contents of the Swiss report on Ramadan's arrangement of a 1991 meeting with Zawahiri and the "Blind Sheikh," Omar Abdel Rahman. Since the information is already in the public domain, I am reprinting some of the ties outlined by JCB, from his blog, that may be useful in understanding the decision even if one does not agree with it. My full blog is here.