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Lack of Visa Forces Muslim Scholar to Abandon Post to Teach in US


A prominent Geneva-based Muslim scholar has given up plans to teach at a U.S. university after his work visa was revoked.

Tariq Ramadan said Tuesday he has notified the University of Notre Dame in the midwestern state of Indiana of his resignation.

Mr. Ramadan called his struggle to get a work visa in the United States an "obstacle to academic freedom."

He originally was issued a work visa last May, but U.S. officials revoked it in August without giving specific reasons. The scholar applied again in October, but no decision was reached.

The State Department said today his resignation will end the visa review process.

Mr. Ramadan is a leading intellectual among European Muslims and has promoted Western traditions as compatible with Islamic values. But he also is a controversial figure because his grandfather was Hassan al-Banna, who founded the radical Muslim Brotherhood in 1928.

Some information for this story provided by Reuters and AP.

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