GEVENA, December 19 (IslamOnline) - The Swiss government on Wednesday, December 18, fired Dr. Hani Saed Ramadan, barring him from teaching in schools.

The dismissal came after Ramadan wrote an article about the misunderstood Islamic Shari’a published December 10 in the French Le Monde.

The education authority in Geneva claimed the article incite violence and runs counter to established secular values.

Former Swiss public prosecutor Bernard Bertossa, who worded the dismissal, claimed Dr. Ramadan did not respect the laws of the profession which oblige teachers to separate between state and religion.

Justifying Ramadan’s sacking, Bertossa said Dr. Ramadan chairs the Islamic center in Geneva and is the Imam of Friday's prayer, which makes him influential among the Muslim community.

This, he claimed, contradicts with the neutrality teachers must abide by and with the principle of separating state and religion.

Bertossa alleged that Dr. Ramadan was not ready to abide by secular education laws, recalling his defense of Islam in various media means.

Ramadan, of Egyptian origin, holds the Swiss nationality and was born in Geneva in 1959.

Bertossa alleged Dr. Ramadan was not ready to abide by secular education laws, recalling his defense of Islam in the media

He received his B.A. in literature from Geneva university in 1981, a B.A. in philosophy in 1983, followed by a B.A. in the Arabic Language and Islamic Sciences and finally a Ph.D. in philosophy in 1990.

Immediately after graduation, he began teaching French in government institutes and assumed presidency of the Islamic Center following the death of his father in the mid-90s.

Dr. Ramadan enjoys popularity among Muslim youths in Switzerland and France and his books, lectures and tapes are widely circulated.

Several parents of his students regretted the government’s decision to sack him, asserting he never talked about religion in his classes.

The Geneva government which underscored by Ramadan’s dismissal the importance of adherence to secular values and the separation of state and religion, has amazingly left no stone unturned in its bid to lure Islamic banks and financial institutions to open branches in the country.

Dr. Ramadan declined to give any statements on his dismissal before challenging it in the appeal court in mid-January.