Tariq Ramadan: Divisive Scholar Draws Parallels Between Islam and Democracy
Tariq Ramadan has a huge following in Europe but a controversial profile in the United States. The Islamic scholar has been barred from entering the country since 2004, when he was denied a visa he needed to accept a professorship at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
Yesterday, however, students at Georgetown University heard and questioned the influential Egyptian-born writer as he gave the first of three public lectures to be delivered on the campus by satellite video hookup from London. For 90 minutes, he appeared on a large screen in Gaston Hall, seated and wearing a sports jacket and open shirt, with Big Ben in the background.
"Why Tariq Ramadan cannot be with us physically today, we are still not sure. But if we are serious about dialogue between Islam and the West, we need to listen to Islam's most important voices," said Thomas Banchoff, director of Georgetown's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, which is sponsoring the lectures.
Ramadan, a citizen of Switzerland, is an outspoken but contradictory figure in Islamic scholarship. His grandfather founded the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most influential Islamic groups of the past century. He is popular with audiences in Europe, but he has been banned from entering France and accused of supporting the militant Palestinian group Hamas.
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Yesterday, however, students at Georgetown University heard and questioned the influential Egyptian-born writer as he gave the first of three public lectures to be delivered on the campus by satellite video hookup from London. For 90 minutes, he appeared on a large screen in Gaston Hall, seated and wearing a sports jacket and open shirt, with Big Ben in the background.
"Why Tariq Ramadan cannot be with us physically today, we are still not sure. But if we are serious about dialogue between Islam and the West, we need to listen to Islam's most important voices," said Thomas Banchoff, director of Georgetown's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, which is sponsoring the lectures.
Ramadan, a citizen of Switzerland, is an outspoken but contradictory figure in Islamic scholarship. His grandfather founded the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most influential Islamic groups of the past century. He is popular with audiences in Europe, but he has been banned from entering France and accused of supporting the militant Palestinian group Hamas.