Tariq Ramadan

Tariq Ramadan
Ramadan in December 2017
Born	(1962-08-26) 26 August 1962 (age 61) Geneva, Switzerland
Nationality	Swiss
Alma mater	University of Geneva (PhD)
Era	21st-century philosophy
Institutions	Collège de Saussure St Antony's College, Oxford
Main interests	Islamic studies Theology philosophy Politics Interfaith dialogue Literature Reform
Website	tariqramadan.com

Tariq Ramadan (Arabic: طارق رمضان, [tˤaːriq ramadˤaːn]; born 26 August 1962) is a Swiss Muslim academic, philosopher, and writer. He was a professor of contemporary Islamic studies at St Antony's College, Oxford^[1] and the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford,^[2] but since 2018 has been taking an agreed leave of absence due to being held in prison following two rape allegations.^[3] He is a senior research fellow at Doshisha University in Japan, and is also a visiting professor at the Université Mundiapolis in Morocco. He was a visiting professor at the Faculty of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, and used to be the director of the Research Centre of Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE), based in Doha.^[4] He is a member of the UK Foreign Office Advisory Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief.^{[needs update][5]} He was listed by Time magazine in 2000 as one of the seven religious innovators of the 21st century and in 2004 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world^[6] and was voted by Foreign Policy readers (2005, 2006, 2008–2010, 2012–2015) as one of the top 100 most influential thinkers in the world and Global Thinkers.^{[7][circular reference]} Ramadan describes himself as a "Salafi reformist".^[8]

In November 2017, Tariq Ramadan took leave of absence from Oxford to contest allegations of rape and sexual misconduct.^[9] The university's statement noted that an "agreed leave of absence implies no acceptance or presumption of guilt".^[3] In February 2018, he was formally charged with raping two women: a disabled woman in 2009 and a feminist activist in 2012.^[10][11] In September 2019, the French authorities expanded the investigation against Ramadan, already charged with raping two women, to include evidence from two more alleged victims.^[12] On 5 December 2019, a Swiss woman who had accused him of rape in 2018, launched a new case against him for slander. The charges have not come to a full conclusion yet,^[13] but he was acquitted of one charge in May 2023.^[14] In February 2020, Ramadan was formally charged with raping two more women^[15] and in October 2020, Ramadan was formally charged with raping a fifth woman.^[16]