Swiss court declares Professor Tariq Ramadan innocent

The truth has prevailed after a leading Muslim scholar was acquitted of wholly untrue accusations of rape and sexual assault by a Swiss court on Wednesday. Tariq Ramadan, former professor of contemporary Islamic studies at St. Antony’s College and the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford, has welcomed the judgment. [1] [2]

Contents

False allegations sought “to bring [him] down”A career in academia “We thank Allah that the truth about our brother’s allegation has been revealed”Also read Also watch

In a statement released on social media yesterday, Professor Ramadan remarked,

“Today, Swiss justice has just recognised not only my innocence, but also the fact that I had not lied (there was no relationship with the complainant), that there was no aggression, that it was the complainant who ‘sought to contact (me) and seduce (me)’ (as proved by all the messages found).

“There was no ‘psychological grip’, noted the President of the Court, because I did not know this woman and I always remained very distant.” [2]

False allegations sought “to bring [him] down”

Professor Ramadan, 60, of Egyptian heritage and a grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hasan al-Banna, also made mention of the fact that the Swiss criminal accusations against him were tied with that of the French cases.

He damningly noted in the statement,

“The Geneva case also revealed that the Swiss complainant was in contact with the protagonists of the French case: the names of the three French complainants appear in the procedure, with that of a witness (who produced a forgery).

“The President of the Court noted the fact that the Swiss plaintiff was in contact with people whose aim was to bring me down for more than fifteen years: he cited the names of Caroline Fourest and Jean-Claude Elfassi who were in contact with the complainants for years. It was about smearing my reputation, and money.” [2]

The Wednesday acquittal closes the book on a deeply defamatory and painful few years for the Islamic scholar. During the trial, he had shared with the court that he has multiple sclerosis (MS).

In criticising media organisations and their complicity in falsely portraying him as a “predator” and an “aggressor”, he has expressed his gratitude to family and both legal teams in Switzerland and in France. [2]

Pendant des années, on m'a présenté comme quelqu'un qui menaçait les #plaignantes alors que, la plupart du temps, elles s'écrivaient à elles-mêmes des menaces avec de faux comptes.

Aujourd'hui la justice a parlé : #Yann le Mercier vient d'être incarcéré. C'est lui qui a fait la…
— Tariq Ramadan (@TariqRamadan) May 25, 2023

A career in academia

The son of Said Ramadan and Wafa al-Banna, the Islamic author and educator was born into a family of activists. Indeed, Ramadan’s birth in Switzerland in 1962 came after Said Ramadan was exiled by then Egyptian dictator Gamal Abdel Nasser.

A speaker of English, Arabic, French, and Spanish, Professor Ramadan holds a lifelong passion for interfaith dialogue and has extensive academic credentials that include a Masters in French literature, and a PhD in Arabic and Islamic studies. [3]

He is a visiting professor at Morocco’s Université Mundiapolis, and was formerly a visiting professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar. Ramadan is also a senior research fellow at Japan’s prestigious Doshisha University. [3]

“We thank Allah that the truth about our brother’s allegation has been revealed”

Upon hearing the latest Swiss court ruling, Shaykh Dr. Haitham al-Haddad told Islam21c,

“We thank Allah that the truth about our brother’s allegation has been revealed. We congratulate our brother for this victory after this five-year-long battle.

“Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) says,

وَجَعَلْنَا مِنْهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا لَمَّا صَبَرُوا وَكَانُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يُوقِنُونَ

“‘And We made from among them leaders guiding by Our command when they were patient and [when] they were certain of Our signs.'” [4]

Furthermore, the senior jurist at the Islamic Council of Europe and specialist in the Islamic sciences stated,

“InshāAllah, we wish that our brother, Professor Tariq Ramadan, comes out of this ordeal stronger than before.

“A person who has gone through a difficult ordeal with his enemies—and especially powerful actors such as the state apparatus—is armed with a type of first-hand understanding and empathy that those writing from the safety of ivory towers can rarely provide.

“This experience will—inshāAllāh—only strengthen the leadership that our brother can provide the Muslim community in the West.”

Discussing the topic of similarly placed Muslim leaders, and particularly those who carry out vital work in the Western world, Shaykh Dr. Haitham al-Haddad noted,

“Other Muslim leaders should be ready for challenges, particularly in the West, because this is the nature of da’wah.

“Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) says,

الم – أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوا أَن يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ

“‘Alif, Lam, Mīm. Do the people think that they will be left to say, ‘We believe’ and they will not be tried?'” [5]