Tariq Ramadan (2)

Richard Silverstein who blogs at the Huffinton Post and his own blog, Tikun Olam, and who is a regular contributor to a lot of other publications like The Guardian or the daily Forward, had this to say on what happened to Tariq Ramadan:

Here I thought that only the Bush administration ham-handedly overreacted to the alleged threat of Muslim militantcy by denying Tariq Ramadan a visa to teach at Notre Dame. Now, a Dutch university and city have engaged in the same type of ludicrous conduct in firing Tariq Ramadan from a teaching job at the school and from a job helping the city to encourage the intergration of Muslim residents into communal life. Ramadan’s offense: he conducts a TV show about Islam on the Iran-backed Press TV. Apparently, in doing so Ramadan has somehow become an apologist for “mad mullahs” who stole the recent presidential election..

and

At least two people with divergent political views who I know and respect have been guests on Press TV: Dan Fleshler and Juan Cole. Does this mean that they too have drunk the Kool Aid and become raving defenders of the Iranian regime? C’mon. As I said above, this is ludicrous. If a Muslim scholar were to host a regular show on Voice of America does this mean that he would be an American stooge and defender of every outrage perpetrated by this country against Muslims?

Apparently, Rotterdam’s mayor is Muslim and I’m guessing that this is an attempt by his political opponents to embarrass him. In fact, this entire episode may be more about the mayor and Ramadan may only be a useful foil for the anti-Islamist right.

If he hasn’t already written about this, someone pick up the phone and tell Daniel Pipes that the Islamists have been vanquished at the dikes of the Zuider Zee just before their onslaught on all of European civilization. Thank God some [Christian] God-fearing souls were willing to stand up against Trojan Horses like Ramadan, who sweet talk their way into the salons of the effete liberal-class, thus dissolving their will to hold the breach against the Mohammedan horde.

It's nice to see that some people outside the Netherlands share the opinion of the small sane minority that is still left in this country. What I have to say to Richard is the following: I'm afraid that Rotterdam's muslim mayor was among the people who wanted to get rid of Ramadan. Why? I'd like to ask him one day. Maybe he took his integration one step too far?
The second thing is about Daniel Pipes. Why inform him? He probably has heard the good news already from his Dutch twin, our own Pipes, who happens to be a professor in 'social cohesion, citizenship and multiculturality' (no less) at Leiden University by the name of Afshin Ellian. I think it was him who shouted woolf, as soon as he found out that Ramadan had this show on Press TV. Ellian and Pipes, two brothers in arms in the common jihad-watch to save our culture from (hidden)islamic threats.