ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Tariq Ramadan, the son of Said Ramadan and the grandson of Egypt's Muslim leader Hassan al Banna, is one of the most well-known Muslim academics and speakers in contemporary Europe. Born in Switzerland, his views on Islam reflect a reformist perspective. In 2008, the British Prospect and the American Foreign Policy magazines placed him eighth in a list of the world’s top 100 contemporary intellectuals in 2008.

His writings and lectures have contributed substantially to the debate on the issues of Muslims in the West and Islamic revival in the Muslim world. However, his views have sparked controversies in Europe. He made news in August this year, when the Netherlands' City of Rotterdam and Erasmus University dismissed him as professor, on the pretext that his participation in an Iranian television programme was “irreconcilable” with his duties.

Prof Tariq holds MA in Philosophy and French literature and PhD in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Geneva, and received training in classic Islamic scholarship from Al-Azhar University scholars. In October 2007, he turned down an offer for Professorial Chair in Islamic Sudies at the University of Leiden. He has taught Oxford University (Oriental Institute, St Antony’s College ) and is also Senior Research Fellow at Doshisha University (Kyoto, Japan). He is currently President of the Brussels-based European Muslim Network. His latest books are What I Believe (2009), and Radical Reform, Islamic Ethics and Liberation (2008).