Tariq Ramadan is an Islamic scholar, author and public intellectual of Swiss-Egyptian nationality.
Early Life and Education
Ramadan was born in Switzerland on 26 August 1962. His father was Said Ramadan, an Egyptian activist and reformer who had been expelled from Egypt by Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1954, and his mother, Wafa Al-Bana, was the daughter of Hassan Al Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. Ramadan studied in Geneva and obtained both a bachelor’s degree and a PhD in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Geneva.
Personal Life
Ramadan is married and has four children. He speaks French, Arabic, English and Spanish and is an avid believer in interfaith dialogue.
Career
Ramadan began his career as a professor of philosophy and Islamic studies at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, where he also founded the Islamic Centre of Geneva and the Centre for Islamic Studies and Research. He has taught at the Universities of Lausanne, Antwerp and Erasmus University Rotterdam, and is currently a professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at the University of Oxford.
Ramadan’s best-known works include “The Roots of the Muslim Renewal” (1994), “In the Footsteps of the Prophet” (2007) and “What I Believe” (2009). He has also written widely on contemporary Islamic thought, and has been widely interviewed on the topics of Islamic reform and contemporary Islamic discourse. He has written for the Guardian, Al Jazeera, the Huffington Post and many other international publications.
Ramadan is a sought-after speaker and has lectured at many prestigious universities around the world, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, the Sorbonne, the American University in Cairo, the University of Jordan and the University of Toronto. He is also a frequent guest on television and radio programs, and has been interviewed by the BBC and other international media outlets.
Ramadan is actively involved in numerous charitable initiatives and serves as a board member for several non-profit organisations.
Tariq Ramadan on Social Media
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