Hani Ramadan, 43, a Geneva-born junior high school...

Hani Ramadan, 43, a Geneva-born junior high school teacher and also director of the Geneva Islamic Centre, was suspended by Cantonal authorities after he wrote an article for the French newspaper Le Monde in which he defended death by stoning for adultery. Ramadan said he was not a terrorist, adding that the international community "has an unfortunate habit of confusing certain acts of resistance with barbarism". But Claude Torracinta, former president of the Swiss branch of the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, said he remained concerned by the content of the article written by Ramadan. "By defending sharia law in this way... [agency ellipsis] Ramadan is giving Islam a very negative image," Torracinta said.