Patriot game theory

The academic and Swiss national whose US visa was revoked after he was appointed to a faculty post in the US last autumn had his chance to address his peers last weekend.

Tariq Ramadan spoke at the annual conference of the American Association of University Professors via video link and, after a standing ovation, was unanimously invited to attend next year's conference in person.

Dr Ramadan was a professor of philosophy at the College of Geneva and a professor of Islamic studies at the University of Fribourg until he was hired last year by the University of Notre Dame in the American Midwest. He was forced to relinquish the position as a result of the visa decision.

Martin Snyder, coordinator of the AAUP conference in Washington DC, said the 375 delegates discussed balancing heightened national security with scholarship.

"It is a big issue and it is getting bigger. Some of it focuses on restrictions on access to research materials and government access to records from bookstores and libraries. Then there is the issue of foreign scholars being restricted from travelling to, or working in, the US," he said.

The AAUP has joined with library groups and booksellers to push for changes to the Patriot Act, passed after the September 11, 2001 attacks, which places restrictions on access to research materials and allows government investigators to review library records.

"What we and the American Library Association and booksellers are arguing for is striking a balance between security concerns and individual privacy and academic freedom," Dr Snyder said.

"It would be dangerous to polarise this topic. I don't think we're talking about wild-eyed (faculty) lunatics arguing for complete freedom to do anything under any circumstances. It is some nuanced discussion of a refinement of some of the details that affect national security,"he said.