Tariq Ramadan to Teach in Oxford

LONDON, August 27, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Famed Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan is to take up a post at Britain's prestigious University of Oxford.

St Antony's College, the most international of the seven graduate colleges of Oxford, said Ramadan is due to begin a Visiting Fellowship in October, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"Professor Ramadan is an internationally-recognized scholar," the college said in a statement issued Friday, August 27.

"He was named by Time magazine as one of 100 innovators of the 21st Century for his work on creating an independent European Islam.

"He was recently appointed to a prestigious chair in Islamic studies in the University of Notre Dame in the United States."

Ramadan was unable to take up the position when the Department of Homelands Security revoked his visa in July 2004.

Over a dozen US academics protested the decision and the Chicago Tribune described it as a punishment for his views on Iraq invasion and Israeli policies.

"St Antony's college is a forum for free academic exchange on the issues of our times, and opposes all manifestations of hate speech and intimidation designed to curb academic freedoms," a college spokesperson said.

Established in 1950, the college specializes in international relations, economics, politics and history of particular parts of the world - Europe, Russia and the former Soviet states, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, China, South and South East Asia and Latin America.

Famous St Antony’s College alumni include Anne Applebaum, a Washington Post journalist and Pulitzer prize winner; Bridget Kendall, the BBC diplomatic correspondent, and Thomas Friedman, New York Times columnist.

Moderate Ramadan

Many see Ramadan, 38, as a moderate voice in the Muslim world who could make a valuable contribution to the debate about Islam.

The father of four is known for his calls on Muslims in the West to avoid standing on a defensive line and to present Islam as a universal message.

Ramadan publicly condemned the 11 September and is against the taking of innocent life.

Invited to a one-day anti-terrorism conference sponsored by London Metropolitan police, he called on Muslims to condemn the London terrorist attacks "with the strongest energy".

"Criminals, no doubt, will continue to kill, but we shall be able to respond to them by demonstrating that our experience of human brotherhood and mutual respect is stronger than their message of hate."

On March 30, the prominent Muslim intellectual called for a moratorium in the Muslim world on the application of Hudud (prescribed Islamic penalties).

The grandson of Hassan Al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Ramadan currently lives in Geneva.

He studied philosophy and French literature, having two doctorates, one in Philosophy, and the other in Islam.

Ramadan also studied Arabic and Islam in Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.

He held the position of lecturer of Religion and Philosophy at the University of Fribourg and the College de Saussure, Geneva.