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| Tariq Ramadan: I'm the Sixth Pillar of Islam. |
Former Salafist Henda Ayari, 40, who now identifies as a secular feminist, filed a complaint with French authorities in Rouen accusing Ramadan of sexually harassing her, raping her, and issuing death threats towards her. The feminist activist also revealed that she had written about her experience in a book, but had been too fearful to print Ramadan’s name, L’Express reports.
On Friday, Ayari posted on her Facebook account about the situation saying: “I have been silent for several years because of fear, because by threatening to press charges for the rape I was a victim of, he did not hesitate to threaten me and to tell me also that he could go after my children. I got scared and kept quiet all this time. I really hope that other women victims, like me, dare to speak, and denounce this perverted guru who uses religion to manipulate women!” she wrote.
Finally, the former Islamic radical asked for support from her followers saying she expected that Ramadan would employ a “team of lawyers” against her.
"I said "No, please, stop," and the more I said "No", the more he got angry, and he hit me very violent, he slapped me on the face, then he strangled me, for a couple of seconds I couldn't breathe! I thought I was going to die, and then he violently raped me." Ayari told the interviewer on French television.
Ramadan has been mostly silent on the issue but has launched a lawsuit against Ayari for defamation in the French courts. Ramadan is not only a controversial Islamic scholar but is also the grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna.
Ramadan was also banned from entering the United States by the George W. Bush administration in 2004 after it was alleged he donated to the Association de Secours Palestinien (ASP/ Palestinian Relief Organisation) from 1998 to 2002.
The U.S. government considered the ASP a group that funded terrorism by giving some of their donations to the anti-Israel terrorist organisation Hamas which is proscribed in the U.S. But Ramadan’s U.S. travel ban was later lifted by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2010 during the Obama administration.
The sexual assault allegations against Ramadan are just the latest in a slew of other allegations against prominent figures in the media and politicians following the revelations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
Even the European Parliament has been rocked by allegations from staffers who have accused senior MEPs of sexual misconduct, including allegations against European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
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| I'm just following our prophet Mohammad's well-documented sexual practices. |
Charlie Hebdo Gets Death Threats over Tariq Ramadan Cartoon
French police are investigating death threats made against satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo over a cartoon of Islamist scholar Tariq Ramadan, who despite facing rape allegations continues to teach at Oxford University. The provocative magazine was the target of a deadly jihadist attack in January 2015 after publishing cartoons of the Muslim prophet Mohammed.
On the cover of its edition published last Wednesday, Mr. Ramadan with hugely erect dick is depicted in an explicit pose, with the caption: “I am the sixth pillar of Islam.” The five pillars are faith, prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage to Mecca. Many Sunni scholars consider jihad, or holy war, as the sixth pillar of the faith.
Swiss national Mr. Ramadan, 55, is a lecturer at Oxford University and a controversial figure in France where he represents both conservative Islam and soft Islamism. His grandfather founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and his father was a senior figure in the organisation, which pushes for a global caliphate ruled by Islamic Sharia law.
He is under investigation after being accused of rape by two women after the Harvey Weinstein scandal sparked a wave of sexual abuse accusations around the world. Supporters of Swiss-born Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan say claims of sexual assault against him are all part of a "Zionist plot."
Laurent ‘Riss’ Sourisseau, Charlie Hebdo‘s editor, said the threats and hate mail had “never really stopped” after the 2015 jihadist attack in which 12 people were gunned down at its offices. “Sometimes there are peaks when we receive explicit death threats on social media – this has been the case once again,” he told Europe 1 radio.
However, he suggested the climate had worsened. “Calls to murder have become commonplace,” he said. “It’s always difficult to know if these are serious threats or not, but as a principle, we take them seriously and press charges.”
Jean Plantureux, one of France’s most famous satirical cartoonists, added: “It’s great this drawing. I don’t see what people have against it. He’s got a big d*ck and says I’m the sixth pillar of Islam. They’re just having a bit of fun.”
Oxford professor Tariq Ramadan takes leave of absence amid fresh abuse complaints from four women: Latest development follows a string of damning rape and sexual assault allegations about Tariq Ramadan, who has taken a leave of absence from his role at the university.
Four more women have spoken of suffering abuse during relationships with Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan, who has taken a leave of absence from his prestigious teaching post at Oxford University. It is understood the four women have not filed formal complaints, but have been in touch with French journalists to describe their experiences.
The latest development follows a string of damning rape and sexual assault allegations about Mr Ramadan, a professor at Oxford University and the grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Mr Ramadan has denied the allegations and is counter-suing for libel.
Caroline Fourest, a French author who has written a book and a documentary on Mr Ramadan, told The National that she began hearing complaints about him as far back as 2009. The four latest women who have made direct claims about Mr Ramadan’s behaviour all live in Europe – in France, Belgium and Switzerland.
Accusations about Mr Ramadan’s love life have circulated in European newspapers since late last month. One woman, Majda Laroussi, published pictures of Mr Ramadan half naked in a hotel room. Another, Lucia Canovi, spoke to other French journalists and says she is in contact with many more victims. Sexually explicit screenshots of Mr Ramadan on a Skype call, taken by an unnamed woman, have also been leaked to The National.
“What they describe confirms he is a Machiavellian character,” Ms Fourest said. “A predator is very smart to take advantage of girls who were vulnerable and target those who will be too scared to complain. In that case, the girls are too ashamed to speak up, and frightened by the Muslim Brotherhood. He had double standards, in his personal life as well as his professional life.”
She added: “My real fear is that we are only hearing from women in Europe. Mr Ramadan has been on countless trips around the world, giving lectures and speaking at conferences over the past 30 years. What about the women he encountered in Senegal, Yemen and Qatar? Will they be able to make complaints?”
Those who have made complaints say they have been inundated with insults and abuse. French writer Henda Ayari, who lodged a rape complaint against the 55-year-old Swiss national on October 20, told The New York Times that she was subjected to an onslaught of vitriol since naming him as her attacker.
“The reaction, the buzz, really frightened me,” she said. “I am very scared of being recognised when I go out in the street. I am scared that they will hurt my children, that they know where I live. It is very hard.”
Ms Ayari has also received online death threats on her Facebook page. “If complainants in France are receiving death threats, you can imagine how hard it is for women in other countries, in the Middle East and North Africa, to speak up,” Ms Fourest said.
Mr Ramadan has said the allegations are part of a campaign by his enemies to blacken his name. In a Facebook post last week, he said a new legal suit would follow "within a few days, in response to the campaign of lies launched by my adversaries". He did not respond to requests for comment.
However, Ms Fourest has no doubt that the complaints are genuine. “Maybe some of the women were seduced by him, but they didn’t give their consent for rape and violence,” she said.
On Tuesday following the mounting allegations of rape and sexual assault, Oxford University announced Mr Ramadan would be taking a leave of absence. Mr Ramadan is professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at St Antony’s College in Oxford, which is financed by Qatar. A statement released by the University said the decision had been made by "mutual agreement" with immediate effect.
"Professor Ramadan's teaching, supervising and examining duties will be reassigned, and he will not be present at the University or College. The University has consistently acknowledged the gravity of the allegations against Professor Ramadan, while emphasising the importance of fairness and the principles of justice and due process," a spokesman for the University of Oxford said.
"An agreed leave of absence implies no presumption or acceptance of guilt and allows Professor Ramadan to address the extremely serious allegations made against him, all of which he categorically denies, while meeting our principal concern - addressing heightened and understandable distress, and putting first the wellbeing of our students and staff."
On Saturday, Aisha Ali-Khan, a prominent women’s activist in the UK, filed a petition asking Oxford to suspend Mr Ramadan while the investigations are underway. Ms Ali-Khan told The National that she had heard reports of Mr Ramadan’s sexual misconduct going as far back as 2008. In 2011, she spoke to an officer of the Metropolitan Police, the London police force, about a possible victim in the UK but no charges were filed and the matter was later dropped.
“Following the most recent allegations as revealed by The Tribune de Genève and The National, questions are now being raised about the safety of the female students who encountered Mr Ramadan in his role at Oxford,” Ms Ali-Khan said.
“Parents whose daughters were in Oxford are now bound to ask: 'Could our daughters have been subjected to sexual harassment by him given the nature of the allegations that are now coming out?’”
She added: “I am really afraid of the numbers could be incredibly high,
especially if some of his victims are Muslim women who may be reluctant to come
out and speak about sexual assault in case it compromises their or their
family’s honour. This could just be the tip of the iceberg.”
It is the latest in a string of damning allegations against the renowned Oxford professor. Four of Tariq Ramadan's former students have come forward with new information suggesting he seduced them when they were just teenagers.
It is the latest in a string of damning allegations against the renowned Oxford professor. Four of Tariq Ramadan's former students have come forward with new information suggesting he seduced them when they were just teenagers.
Tariq Ramadan is said to have seduced
four of his teenage pupils in shocking new allegations against the prominent
Islamic scholar. According to The Tribune de Geneve newspaper, the incidents
took place in the 1980s and 1990s when he was teaching in his hometown of
Geneva.
Four of his former students have come
forward with this new information. One of them claimed that he tried
unsuccessfully to seduce her when she was just 14 years old. He allegedly
targeted three others, who were aged between 15 and 18 years old at the time,
according to the newspaper's report.
It is the latest in a string of damning
allegations about Mr Ramadan, who is a professor at Oxford University and the
grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Three women have
accused him of rape or sexual assault in the past two weeks, providing graphic
details in interviews and on social media. After the first accusation, Mr
Ramadan issued a strong denial and filed counter-charges for libel.
The Tribune de Geneve said that four
Swiss women, all non-Muslim, had agreed to testify about their former teacher’s
alleged behaviour towards them when they were just teenagers. They described
how they felt Mr Ramadan, who worked as the professor of French and Philosophy
at the Cycle of Coudriers and then at the College de Saussure in Switzerland,
exercised a strong psychological influence on them.
One, known as Sandra, was 15 when Mr Ramadan made advances towards her.
She said he told her: “I feel close to you. You are mature. You are special. I
am surrounded by many people but I feel lonely.” She started spending time with
him outside of school, and “two or three times we had intimate relationships.
At the back of his car”. She added: "He said it was our secret.”
Another, Lea, said she was 14 years old
when the teacher approached her during a trip. "He put my hand on my mouth
telling me he knew I was thinking about him in the evening before falling
asleep. Which was wrong. It was manipulation. He said he thought of me but he
was married.”
In her case, she says nothing physical
happened. She described him as a “crooked, intimidating man who used perverse
relational ploys and abused the trust of his students. There was such an
impression on us.”
A third woman, known as Agathe, was 18 and described being “captivated
by the speech of this charismatic teacher”. She said Mr Ramadan invited her for
a coffee outside of school, “and then I had sex with him. He was married and a
father. This happened three times, especially in his car. It was consented but
very violent. I had bruises all over my body.”
Agathe says the scholar threatened her
and demanded she tell no one about the encounters. “It was an abuse of power,
pure and simple.”
The fourth woman, Claire, was 17 when
the pair started a relationship and 18 when they first had intercourse. “I was
fascinated, under his control. He took me, threw me, established a relationship
of dependence.”
None of these incidents was made public
before now, with one of the women expressing feelings of “disgust” and “shame”
which made her stay quiet. Several former officials contacted by the Tribune de
Geneve said they had heard rumours of Mr Ramadan’s predatory behaviour, but
denied actual knowledge of the acts.
"If the facts are true, we are
deeply shocked," Pierre-Antoine Preti, head of communications at the
Department of Education, told the newspaper.
The latest revelations suggest that Mr Ramadan may have been abusing
women, including underage girls, long before the recent cases in France. The
Paris authorities have opened an investigation after two women accused him of
rape and a third accused him of sexual assault.
Last Saturday, Mr Ramadan wrote on his
Facebook page: “These accusations are simply false, and betray all the ideals I
have long strived for and believed in.” Supporters of Mr Ramadan are describing
the accusations against him part of a Zionist plot to destroy his name.
But other former friends have come
forward in recent days to disparage him. Stephane Lathion, a Swiss specialist
in Islam who spent years accompanying Mr Ramadan on his trips across Europe,
told the Tribune de Geneve that he had heard various rumours and suspicions
about his former close associate’s behaviour over the years.
He shared his opinion with the paper,
saying: “I'm not surprised to see testimonials coming from everywhere. Not only
are the reported facts shocking, but they also reveal the discrepancy between
his attitude and his discourse on a moralising Islam, which advocates sexual
relations in the exclusive context of marriage.”
He continued: "Tariq Ramadan is a
predator who has abused his power as a teacher, preacher and intellectual to
seduce women and girls, who have suffered.”
(Bernard Godard, who was considered the
“Monsieur Islam” of the French Ministry of the Interior between 1997 and 2014,
was well acquainted with Mr Ramadan, a prominent Islamic scholar and grandson
of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
During his time as the expert of Islam
at the Ministry of the Interior, Mr Godard advised Jean-Louis Debré,
Jean-Pierre Chevenement, Daniel Valliant, Nicolas Sarkozy, Francois Baroin,
Michele Alliot-Marie, Brice Hortefeux, Calude Gueant and Manuel Valls successively.
His claim puts the French authorities
in a tricky position as it suggests they were aware of Mr Ramadan’s abusive
behaviour towards women but failed to act.)