UK Picks Ramadan for Anti-terror Panel: Report

CAIRO, August 31, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – The British government has named famed Swiss scholar Tariq Ramadan as one of a government committee set up to address the underlying causes of terrorism in Britain, a leading British newspaper reported Wednesday, August 31.

The academic attended a meeting at the Home Office last week to discuss extremism among British Muslims as part of the group's work, well-placed sources told the Guardian.

The 13-member taskforce is comprised of Muslims from community groups, like Inayat Bunglawala from the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), academics and the MP Shahid Malik.

known as the working group on tackling extremism, the taskforce is part of the government's response to the July 7 attacks on London, and was announced by (Prime Minister) Tony Blair. Its 13 members had been chosen by the Home Office.

The group will report to the home secretary and prime minister by late September and make proposals to stop British Muslims turning to violence, according to the paper.

Right Person

Ramadan’s appointment to the committee was hailed as the right person for the right job and evidence of the government's willingness to stand up to rightwing tabloids that had savaged the moderate scholar.

"It sends all the right messages that the government is engaged in a real search for answers, rather than pandering to kneejerk elements in the rightwing press and their prejudices," Labour MP Sadiq Khan told the paper.

"It's important for the government to listen to people who have scholarly knowledge of the issues."

One source with knowledge of the setting up of the group said: "He [Ramadan] brings understanding of Islam that young people respect."

Hailed by the Time magazine hailed him as one of the 21st century's innovators, Ramadan is considered to be one of the leading Islamic thinkers and an important voice in improving relations between Muslims and the west.

He is to take up a teaching post at Britain's prestigious University of Oxford.

Invited to a one-day anti-terrorism conference sponsored by London Metropolitan police, he has 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."

Ramadan is scheduled to appear at a Guardian-organized fringe event at the Labour party conference in Brighton September 28, and has appeared at past events organized by the Guardian with British Muslim communities.

The grandson of Hassan Al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Ramadan, 38, was born 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.