The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Rachel Myers, (212) 549-2689 or 2666; media@aclu.org

Previously Banned Scholars to Speak in New York This Week

Professors Adam Habib and Tariq Ramadan Were Kept Out of U.S. Because of Their Political Views

NEW YORK

Two prominent scholars will participate
in speaking engagements in New York this week after years of being
wrongfully denied entry to the United States on the basis of their
political views. Professor Adam Habib of the University of Johannesburg
will speak at the CUNY Graduate Center on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. and
Professor Tariq Ramadan of St. Antony's College, Oxford University, will
speak at Cooper Union on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

The American Civil Liberties Union
had challenged the denial of visas to Professors Habib and Ramadan in
separate lawsuits filed on behalf of American organizations that had
invited them to speak to U.S. audiences. In a major victory for civil
liberties, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in January signed orders
effectively ending the exclusion of Professors Habib and Ramadan. Both
men have since obtained 10-year visas and are currently in the U.S.

Details of Professor Habib's speaking
engagement

WHAT:
POLITICS AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN
SOUTH AFRICA TODAY, a public talk

WHO:
Professor
Adam Habib, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research, Innovation and
Advancement at the University of Johannesburg

Co-sponsored by the CUNY Political
Science Program and the Center for Place, Culture and Politics

WHERE:
CUNY Graduate Center Political
Science Lounge
Room 5200
365 Fifth Ave. at 34th St.
New York, NY

WHEN:
Wednesday, April 7
2:15 p.m. EST

FOR MORE
INFORMATION:
(212) 817-8670 or (212) 817-8674

Details of Professor Ramadan's speaking
engagement

WHAT:
SECULARISM, ISLAM, & DEMOCRACY:
MUSLIMS IN EUROPE AND THE WEST, a panel discussion

WHO:
Professor
Tariq Ramadan, Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at
Oxford University and author of What I
Believe, in his first U.S. appearance since he was barred from
the U.S. in 2004
Dalia
Mogahed, Senior Analyst and Executive Director of the Gallup
Center for Muslim Studies
George
Packer, Staff writer at The New Yorker and author of Interesting Times: Writings from a Turbulent
Decade
Joan
Wallach Scott, Professor of Social Science at the Institute for
Advanced Study, Princeton University and author of The Politics of the Veil
Moderated
by Jacob Weisberg, Journalist and Editor-in-Chief of The Slate
Group

Co-sponsored by the ACLU, American
Association of University Professors, PEN American Center and Slate

WHERE:
The Great Hall, Cooper Union
7 East 7th St. at Third Ave.
New York, NY

WHEN:
Thursday, April 8
7:00 p.m. EST

TICKETS:
$15/$10 for PEN/ACLU members and
students with a valid ID
Tickets available through www.smarttix.com,
(212) 868-4444, or at the door

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

(212) 549-2666