Extended web-only interview with Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan about U.S. arms trade, the so-called "democratization" of the Middle East and much more. Ramadan is Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University. Ramadan was named by Time Magazine as one of the most important innovators of the twenty-first century. In 2004, Tariq Ramadan accepted a job at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, and Time magazine listed him among the top 100 thinkers in the world. But nine days before Ramadan was set to start teaching here in the United States, the Bush administration revoked his visa, invoking a provision of the PATRIOT Act that allows the government to deny entry to non-citizens who "endorse or espouse terrorism."
On Monday President Trump announced an escalation of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. He also issued a warning to Afghanistan’s neighbor, Pakistan. President Trump went on to say that the U.S. would develop its strategic partnership with India, calling on the Modi government to help in Afghanistan. Observers say that the move might be a signal to Islamabad that the U.S. would back India in the struggle between the South Asian rivals, unless Pakistan severed ties with the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, one of its factions. For more we speak with Pakistani journalist Raza Rumi, editor of the national Pakistani newspaper The Daily Times and a professor at Cornell University and Ithaca College.
Spanish police are continuing to investigate last week’s attack in Barcelona, where 15 people died after a van plowed into a crowded walkway along Las Ramblas—the city’s most famous avenue. On Monday police shot dead the man suspected of driving the van: a Moroccan-born, 22-year-old named Younes Abou-Yaqoub. Police believe he was part of a 12-person cell plotting to carry out a series of bomb attacks. Eight of the cell’s members are now dead, four suspected members have been detained. The events of the past week have shocked many in the Barcelona region. On Sunday, thousands of Muslims, including many from Morocco, marched against violence in Barcelona, chanting, "Islam is peace" and "not in my name." We speak to Tariq Ramadan, Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University. Ramadan was named by Time Magazine as one of the most important innovators of the twenty-first century. In 2004, Tariq Ramadan accepted a job at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, and Time magazine listed him among the top 100 thinkers in the world. But nine days before Ramadan was set to start teaching here in the United States, the Bush administration revoked his visa, invoking a provision of the PATRIOT Act that allows the government to deny entry to non-citizens who "endorse or espouse terrorism."
