Tariq Ramadan’s Political Orientation: A Complex and Controversial Profile

 Tariq Ramadan was born in Switzerland to an Egyptian Muslim family. He is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. He holds a PhD in Arabic and Islamic studies from the University of Geneva. He was a professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University until he took a leave of absence in 2017 due to rape allegations. He is also a visiting professor at several universities around the world. He is known for his reformist approach to Islam that seeks to reconcile Islamic principles with modern challenges and realities. He has also been involved in interfaith dialogue and social activism. He has faced controversy for his views on democracy, secularism, violence, and women’s rights. He is currently on trial for multiple charges of rape and sexual coercion. Ramadan denies the allegations and claims that he only kissed the woman but did not have sexual relations with her. He said that he was in a state of weakness and confusion at the time and that he regretted his mistake. He said that he did not force her or beat her or insult her. He said that he was a victim of lies and manipulation. He is facing serious charges and accusations that could damage his reputation and career.

He kissed the woman who accuses him of rape and sexual coercion in Geneva. She is a Swiss convert to Islam who wishes to be known under the assumed name of “Brigitte”. She said that she met Ramadan at a book signing in Geneva and later at a conference. They had corresponded via social media. A few months later he had invited her for coffee at his hotel after a conference. He is charged with three counts of rape against Brigitte in his hotel room on October 28, 2008, and one count of sexual coercion. He denies the allegations and claims that he only kissed her but did not have sexual relations with her. He also faces charges of raping four other women in France between 2009 and 2016. He has denied those allegations as well. He was arrested in France in 2018 and spent nine months in prison before being released on bail. He was given permission to attend his trial in Geneva.

Political Orientation

His political orientation is not easy to define, as he has been described as a reformist, a neo-traditionalist, a moderate, a radical, a conservative, a progressive, and a populist by different observers and critics. He has also been accused of being a double-faced or a double-tongued speaker who adapts his discourse to different audiences and contexts. However, some general features of his political orientation can be identified from his writings and speeches. He is a proponent of an “overlapping consensus” between Islam and Western liberalism, based on shared values and principles such as human dignity, justice, pluralism, democracy, and human rights. He argues that Muslims can be fully integrated and loyal citizens of Western democracies without compromising their religious identity and commitments. He also advocates for a critical and contextualized reading of Islamic sources that takes into account the historical and cultural circumstances of revelation and interpretation. He calls for an “Islamic reform” that aims to revive the spiritual and ethical dimensions of Islam and to address the contemporary challenges and realities faced by Muslims in the West and in the Muslim world. He is also involved in interfaith dialogue and social activism on issues such as poverty, racism, education, environment, and peace. He is critical of both secularism and Islamism as ideological systems that reduce human beings to their material or religious dimensions. He is also critical of Western imperialism, neo-colonialism, and Islamophobia, as well as Muslim authoritarianism, corruption, violence, and extremism. He is influenced by his grandfather Hassan al-Banna’s vision of Islam as a comprehensive way of life that encompasses personal, social, political, and economic aspects. However, he distances himself from the Muslim Brotherhood’s political agenda and methods, and claims to be an independent thinker who does not belong to any organization or movement.

He follows or admires various thinkers and figures from different fields and traditions. Some of his influences and inspirations are:

- Muhammad Asad, a Jewish convert to Islam and a scholar of Islamic law and philosophy.

- Hassan al-Banna, his grandfather and the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, a social and political movement that sought to revive Islam in Egypt and beyond.

- Malcolm X, an African-American Muslim leader and activist who fought for civil rights and human dignity.

- Martin Luther King Jr., a Christian pastor and leader of the nonviolent civil rights movement in the US.

- Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu lawyer and leader of the Indian independence movement who advocated for nonviolence and social justice.

- Nelson Mandela, a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician who spent 27 years in prison and became the first democratically elected president of his country.

- Noam Chomsky, an American linguist, philosopher, and critic of US foreign policy and global injustice.

- Edward Said, a Palestinian-American literary critic and advocate for the rights of the Palestinian people.

- Abdolkarim Soroush, an Iranian philosopher and reformer who argues for a rational and dynamic interpretation of Islam.

 Tariq Ramadan has criticised Osama bin Laden and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi for being extremist leaders who have distorted and corrupted Islam. He has accused them of being violent, fanatical, and criminal. He has also denounced their actions and ideology as un-Islamic and anti-human.